Many veterinarians will advise their clients not to declaw a rabbit. The reasons behind this advice are well grounded in the anatomy of the rabbit's feet. There are three bones called phalanges in each toe:

When any animal is "declawed," the very last phalanx of the toe is removed. If you examine your own fingers, you can see that declawing would be analogous to removing the tip of the finger from the point where it makes a bending joint. Cats have claws that retract, meaning the nail of the last bone in the toe can be pulled up off the ground, and cats don't walk on the last phalanx in the same manner as a rabbit or a dog. When this last phalanx is removed from a rabbit's foot, the animal's weight becomes concentrated on the tip of the second bone in the toe. It is possible that this change in weight on the feet may be uncomfortable and disorienting for the rabbit.

The pads on the bottom of the rabbit's foot are a little different from those in dogs and cats. Rabbits do not have a very large fat cushion under the tips of their toes. Rabbits rely on a firm pad of fur along the foot to accept much of their body weight and thumping action. The tips of the toes would have to take all the pressure instead of this pad of fur if a declaw is performed.

The fur along the toes and between each toe must be clipped away for the area to be thoroughly disinfected prior to surgery. The skin under this fur is very thin. This area of very thin skin is the tissue that a veterinary surgeon would have to cut and suture back together as part of the surgery. To prevent the sutures from falling open, and the surgical site from becoming infected, the veterinarian would need to bandage the rabbit's feet for several days after a declaw surgery (cats do not need to be bandaged). Bandaging tends to be a stressful condition for the rabbit.

Following any surgery, veterinarians try to provide relief from pain by using certain drugs called analgesics. Still there are certain rabbits who refuse to eat or ones who may chew on the sutures because of the stress and discomfort from the procedure. Not eating for 2-3 days can have serious effects on a rabbit's gastrointestinal system.

Overall, there are several reasons why rabbits should not be declawed unless there are outstanding medical circumstances, such as infection or trauma. The procedure itself is not a difficult surgery, and most veterinarians are skilled in the technique. However, the short term and long term effects on rabbits lead to the recommendation not to declaw them.

Editor's Note: Dr. Paul-Murphy specializes in exotic animals at the University of Wisconsin Veterinary School and Teaching Hospital. After she provided us with this article on declawing, an HRS member from Milwaukee sent us an article from a recent issue of Veterinary Medicine (April 1995), given to her by Dr. Diane Bennetts of the Small Animal Hospital in Milwaukee. It too opposes declawing:

"We strongly advise against this practice..... Declawing a rabbit, like a dog, is [an] invasive procedure and involves surgical dissection of the entire third phalanx. Rabbits tend not to tolerate this procedure well...Injuries to people caused by scratching can be alleviated by frequent nail trimming, either biweekly or monthly. However, some rabbits don't like to be held and will scratch while trying to escape. These animals simply should not be held." (371)

Return to Home Page