Feelings on Declawing

[khalltusk]

Another case of the law becoming a mockery.

Nah, its common sense. No need to maim an animal for no logical reason. Neutering helps reduce stray cat popuations/unwanted kittens.

Declawing a cat only serves a purely cosmetic aspect for the owner. It does not help the cat, it does not reduce stray cat populations it does not help to prevent the spread of cat aids.

No point discussing it further with you. You have your position and won't budge despite being shown valid reasons why its wrong to declaw cats.

Last point :

Feral cats live on all continents except for Antarctica. The worldwide feral cat population is estimated to be at least 100 million. The United States' feral cat population is estimated at 60 million, Australia's at 12 million, and Britain's at one million.

from Wikipedia, not the best source but cba to go looking around more. Neutering really plays a huge role in reducing stray cat numbers.

[SL1200]

There isn't anything cosmetic about it. I like how people like to cite population control. If population control was really the issue, they could just not let their animals outside. And they shouldn't be letting their animals go outside unattended anyway.

It's really because they don't want males marking territory. They don't want females going into heat, and they like the temperament of spayed and neutered animals.

[Themius]

Mine won't. Because I'm a caring and responsible pet owner.

"Mine won't" doesn't solve the problem that many end up dead directly due to being declawed

A biting cat is far far far worse than one that can warn by stretching and that's what often happens.

And you're' not caring or responsible if you decided to cut off your cats toes at the first joint. and if you indeed know how it is performed and what it means long term for the cat...that's just utterly horrible.

[crewskater]

Plenty of animals, including humans, learn to adapt their behavior to the loss of partial or entire limbs. That doesn't mean we should to just go around chopping peoples fingers arms or legs off. Or do you expect animals and people who lose limbs, fingers, toes or whatever to just curl up and die in response to their misfortune?

Where did I even come close to suggesting that or did you pull it out of your ass? That doesn't even happen in the majority of cases so you're being intellectually dishonest. I could argue that in the vast majority of cases, it's unnecessary to neuter your pet.

What you're doing is making an exception that it's fine to neuter an animal but not declaw them without any justification, which is known as special pleading. Sorry but this is all or nothing. I really hope you're against circumcising boys, because if not then you're a huge hypocrite.

[Lollis]

Yet nobody cares for these poor farm animals being dehorned in brutal inhumane ways, but declawing cats, which happens far less is just evil. I think it's stupid.

But alright, it is how it is.

I completely agree with you that cutting horns is awful too. I wasn't aware just how uncommon the rhino-type horn that lacks a central bone structure actually is.

The problem with domesticated non-pet animals is unfortunately that many people don't even see them as an animal almost, nevermind a pet. It's just food, which even as a meat eater I think is quite sad.

If it is done under controlled conditions, such as in the UK where it is actually illegal to dehorn/debud without the use of anaesthetic, then it is beneficial to many animals because they tend to injure themselves or others, especially in the dairy business where they are often dealing with pens and metal grates on a daily basis.

[Irian]

I don't personally agree with it but I'm also not going to crucify someone who does it. I know there are adopted adult cats that are too set in their ways.

However, if you can't deal with claws and training a cat then I simply wouldn't have a cat. I genuinely think declawing a cat is pretty cruel to the cat itself, akin to removing their fingers. Cats use their claws for a lot of stuff in their daily lives.

[NoRest4Wicked]

It's sad that so many people did not even follow the OP's comments. He adopted a problem cat from a shelter. He and his family have experience with cats. They provided it with numerous scratch posts. They made an effort to train her and when that failed they paid a professional trainer to assist them. The cat is still clawing his walls to a level so destructive as to scratch through them.

Declawing is amputation. It is horrid. But the fact remains that the alternative here is returning this cat to a shelter for it to be euthanized because noone is going to adopt her. Honestly the only other options are to sterilize the cat (if it is not already sterilized) and then let it go feral or try to find someone to adopt her in an a rural area where the cat can mainly be outside. The first is possibly illegal, the second just depends on luck or networking the OP might not have. I had such a rescue once, she never stopped scratching however much we trained her and we ended up giving her to a farm were she'd mostly be outside.

I figure by this point no one is going to read past the first post (most likely just the title). But I appreciate it, we tried many things and declawing her wasn't our first solution.

[Deleted]

It's sad that so many people did not even follow the OP's comments. He adopted a problem cat from a shelter. He and his family have experience with cats. They provided it with numerous scratch posts. They made an effort to train her and when that failed they paid a professional trainer to assist them. The cat is still clawing his walls to a level so destructive as to scratch through them.

Declawing is amputation. It is horrid. But the fact remains that the alternative here is returning this cat to a shelter for it to be euthanized because noone is going to adopt her. Honestly the only other options are to sterilize the cat (if it is not already sterilized) and then let it go feral or try to find someone to adopt her in an a rural area where the cat can mainly be outside. The first is possibly illegal, the second just depends on luck or networking the OP might not have. I had such a rescue once, she never stopped scratching however much we trained her and we ended up giving her to a farm were she'd mostly be outside.

Declawing the cat will not solve any problem for the cat, it will only make them worse. The cat is doing what he is for a reason, it can be a lot of things, i do not know the cat so i can't say what. What i do know is that the cat cant release the stress it has the way it did. I have adopted numerous older cats with problems, from just peeing at random places to downright feral. None of them required anything near that drastic of a means to solve the problem. Yes it takes effort and time, but if you can't bring your self to take care of your animal the way you are supposed to then you simply should not have an animal. I do not know how things are in other countries, but where i live animals will only get put down when there is something physically wrong with them and are suffering. I am sure shelters like these exist everywhere, it might cost you some, but so does declawing.

[makketota]

Unless its a in-grown claw or some other medical reason for it , it's just stupid and likely to have an impact on the cats quality of life.

[Sorcath]

Some people view it as inhumane, as it would be akin to literally chopping off our fingers at the first knuckle.

Then again we do circumcision without a second thought.

If the cat is an indoor cat, and it is done at a younger age I wouldn't take issue with it, but I can see how some might be reluctant.



I didn't realize tendonectomy was an option. I think most of the declawing here in the US primarily is the method surgically removing the tips/claws

Well it's akin to chopping off your first digit because you ARE chopping off the first digit of the cats paw. There is no 'akin' to doing the process. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals...declawing.html

There is not comparable to circumcision because that's skin. Extra skin at that, that many Mediterranean ethnic groups feel is dirty and their god commands them to chop it off because they have poor hygiene. Given that most nations are Christian, coming from that same dirt pile...

[Tico]

Declawing is wrong.
Claws are a natural part of the animal.
Why do we people want to know things better than nature? Actually we don't.

[Katchii]

Where did I even come close to suggesting that or did you pull it out of your ass? That doesn't even happen in the majority of cases so you're being intellectually dishonest. I could argue that in the vast majority of cases, it's unnecessary to neuter your pet.

What you're doing is making an exception that it's fine to neuter an animal but not declaw them without any justification, which is known as special pleading. Sorry but this is all or nothing. I really hope you're against circumcising boys, because if not then you're a huge hypocrite.

My point is that declawing is the same as an amputation, by definition it is literally the partial removal of a phalange/ digit/ finger, and the animal will learn to adapt, so of course they will be "fine." That doesn't make it OK.

Neutering is not a required surgery either for the health of the animal, it's a preventative thing to ensure the population doesn't get out of hand and we don't end up with a bazillion feral cats.

Neutering is a necessary evil that's for the good of the animal population, preventing overpopulation among other things. Declawing is a completely unnecessary procedure that is ONLY beneficial to the owner, there are VERY few exceptions where the procedure would be necessary or beneficial for the animal. I'm not making an exception, I'm making a distinction. You can't use a blanket statement and say it's all or nothing...it's never all or nothing unless you're unwilling to think about the nuances and differences

Circumcision is a completely separate discussion IMO because it's deeply rooted in religion and this is not a religious discussion nor is it one about humans, it's about cats and declawing. Stay on topic.

[Deleted]

Great solution for huge pussies like yourself. Most people can deal with cat claws though so maybe it's unnecessary.

It's ok I'm not a huge cat but it helps with irresponsible owners who aren't considerate of other animals.

[crewskater]

My point is that declawing is the same as an amputation, by definition it is literally the partial removal of a phalange/ digit/ finger, and the animal will learn to adapt, so of course they will be "fine." That doesn't make it OK.

Neutering is not a required surgery either for the health of the animal, it's a preventative thing to ensure the population doesn't get out of hand and we don't end up with a bazillion feral cats.

Neutering is a necessary evil that's for the good of the animal population, preventing overpopulation among other things. Declawing is a completely unnecessary procedure that is ONLY beneficial to the owner, there are VERY few exceptions where the procedure would be necessary or beneficial for the animal. I'm not making an exception, I'm making a distinction. You can't use a blanket statement and say it's all or nothing...it's never all or nothing unless you're unwilling to think about the nuances and differences

But most cats are indoor cats so your point doesn't really apply. Spaying or neutering them is done generally out of convenience for the owner, just like declawing. You recognize that neutering is a necessary evil but you still condone it? That just ended the debate right there.

Nuances are fine so long as they are justified. There can be cases where it is all or nothing. Take for example that killing is bad/wrong. I don't see how you can have any nuance there.

[Katchii]

But most cats are indoor cats so your point doesn't really apply. Spaying or neutering them is done generally out of convenience for the owner, just like declawing. You recognize that neutering is a necessary evil but you still condone it? That just ended the debate right there.

Nuances are fine so long as they are justified. There can be cases where it is all or nothing. Take for example that killing is bad/wrong. I don't see how you can have any nuance there.

Indoor or outdoor cats doesn't change what you're doing TO THE CAT, you're amputating part of their fingers. How does it being an indoor cat make my point no longer apply? Neutering/ spaying can also be beneficial to the owner because now they don't have to worry about their cats getting pregnant, but making it so they can't reproduce is a benefit to the overall cat population

How does recognizing that neutering is a "necessary evil" yet still condoning it end the debate? It something that needs to be done to keep the cat population in control and prevent thousand of feral cats from wandering around causing problems and possibly spreading disease.

MURDER is bad/wrong always, but killing? There are far too many ways that it can happen that don't make bad or wrong. Tragic perhaps and not something you should ever strive to do, but accidents happen and defending yourself is not wrong.

[lockedout]

Next you'll be against tail docking and ear cropping.........

[Puxycat]

Let me explain to you this way;
If i was a cat and was asked to be declawed or being stray, i would rather go live on the streets without hesitation.

[Melusine]

Out of curiosity, did he ever exhibit 'the floppy walk'? Where the cats paws will 'sink in'?

One thing I would like to bring up is that declawing isn't just something that people do to domesticated cats, many people who own exotic or big cats will have them 'declawed' to make them easier to work with or control and in many cases it can lead to negative results, like with this cougar:

In all seriousness, Pooh was a lazy kitty, and a rather loving animal, companion pet, and he never really had trouble walking, but that wasn't the whole of the problem. We had another cat who we did not declaw, because she wasn't inclined to claw anything, and she used that disadvantage on him to bully him until he bit her one day when she swiped at his backside. It didn't draw blood, but I've never heard a cat scream so loud at that point, so, Pooh got her pretty good, and wouldn't let go of her. After that day, she never swatted him, and they were actually good companions for each other. When we had to put the girl cat down, he sat in front of the door for about a month waiting for her to come home.

[Celista]

It's sad that so many people did not even follow the OP's comments. He adopted a problem cat from a shelter. He and his family have experience with cats. They provided it with numerous scratch posts. They made an effort to train her and when that failed they paid a professional trainer to assist them. The cat is still clawing his walls to a level so destructive as to scratch through them.

Declawing is amputation. It is horrid. But the fact remains that the alternative here is returning this cat to a shelter for it to be euthanized because noone is going to adopt her. Honestly the only other options are to sterilize the cat (if it is not already sterilized) and then let it go feral or try to find someone to adopt her in an a rural area where the cat can mainly be outside. The first is possibly illegal, the second just depends on luck or networking the OP might not have. I had such a rescue once, she never stopped scratching however much we trained her and we ended up giving her to a farm were she'd mostly be outside.

I 100% agree. Far too many people glossed over how destructive the cat was, and how many steps were taken to correct the behavior.

Having a hard-to-train, destructive cat be an outdoor cat isn't a great alternative, although a far better alternative to euthanasia. The lifespan of outdoor or indoor/outdoor cats is typically short. Even in rural areas where there is less worry of a cat being run over by a car, predators are a constant worry. Back home in Alaska, it was not uncommon to hear about cats and very small dogs being carried off by bald eagles.

Even in cities, predators can be a problem. We have a coyote problem in close-in Portland that has been killing off cats.

[-Gr-]

I 100% agree. Far too many people glossed over how destructive the cat was, and how many steps were taken to correct the behavior.

Having a hard-to-train, destructive cat be an outdoor cat isn't a great alternative, although a far better alternative to euthanasia. The lifespan of outdoor or indoor/outdoor cats is typically short. Even in rural areas where there is less worry of a cat being run over by a car, predators are a constant worry. Back home in Alaska, it was not uncommon to hear about cats and very small dogs being carried off by bald eagles.

Even in cities, predators can be a problem. We have a coyote problem in close-in Portland that has been killing off cats.

Animal abuse is animal abuse regardless of the justification.
That cat will be in pain for the rest of it's life so if you are going to bring a cat in to your home you can deal with it's issues or take it back to a shelter that can find someone else to help it or euthanize it. That is better than torturing the animal for the rest of it's life. You don't go around customizing living creatures for your benefit because you don't like how the animal treats your shit. It literally can cripple them. DO SOME RESEARCH
I don't even see how anyone can argue this shit, it baffles the hell out of me. You bring an animal to your home to take care of them, not hurt them. How dare anyone say they help animals and turn around and say they declaw their cats. Disgusting human being.