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Fatwa CenterDeclawing a cat to prevent damage to furniture
Question
Can you please tell me if it is permissible to spay or neuter a cat which is always kept indoors as a pet? Also, is surgery to dewclaw the cat in order to prevent damage to furniture permissible?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
With regard to the answer to the first part of your question, please refer to Fatwa 85017. As regards removing the claws of the cat, this is not permissible, as this causes harm to it, and this is depriving it from what Allaah bestowed for it as a means of obtaining its food and defending itself. You should remember the saying of the Prophet 
: "A woman entered Hellfire because she tied a cat, she did not feed it and did not set it loose so that it could eat the vermin of the earth." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
For more benefit about animal's rights in Islam, please refer to Fatwa 83830.
Allaah Knows best.
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