Feelings on Declawing

[Demona3]

how long have you had this cat.

My rule of thumb.

If you can't control your cat and you don't like that it uses its claws... don't have a cat.

Cats come with claws.. this is like being annoyed that your cat keeps knocking things over with its tail so cut off the tail...

But yet... people crop dog's ears to please what our idea of what is "beautiful", we chop off cat and dogs' balls, and vets clip a part of a cat's ear off to show it's a feral, but sterile cat.

I understand the spaying and neutering of animals. But the same goes on this situation. It is a procedure that does place the animal in pain. =P Again though, it's a 1 time thing.

[Zabatakis]

You should not do it. If you are not dumb af, you can youtube how to train a cat and within 10min know how to stop them from destroying stuff.

HOWEVER! If declawing the cat is what needs to happen to keep it out of a shelter then that is the lesser of the two evils. I feel the same about removing dogs vocal cords. Horrible and only done by lazy/stupid owners but better than sitting in a 3x6 cell waiting to be put down. Even lazy/stupid owners can love their animals.

[Techno-Druid]

Now that I know what 'declawing' entails (thought it was just 'pulling' the claws out or filing them down) I'm dead set against it. No wonder my brother called me a piece of shit when I suggested we do it to our cat.

For anyone who owns cats, I suggest reading this article that talks about the negative effects of declawing (excruciating pain, litter box avoidance, possible increased aggressive, etc) and humane alternatives like clipping and 'soft paws' (capping your cat's nails)

https://www.thespruce.com/declawing-...natives-552089

[NoRest4Wicked]

This will be an unpopular opinion but I think you probably made the best decision for the cat. Clawing through baseboard and drywall to the point of creating a hole in your wall is impressively destructive. If this is what you told vet clinics when you pursued declawing, I'm not surprised that they were OK to do the procedure for this reason. Destructive clawing might have been the reason your cat was released to the shelter that you got her at in the first place. Something like 75% of cats are euthanized at shelters in the US due to lack of adoption, if your cat is an adult cat with destructive scratching problems, the cat's re-adoption chance if returned to a shelter would probably be very low.

Cats are not dogs, they are trainable but it is far more difficult than with dogs and when they are adults with bad behaviors set in, they can be very difficult to break. I would not choose to declaw my cats but at the same time, if I was in your shoes I would have probably chosen to rehome the cat because I couldn't afford to live with such destructive behavior.

I hope/assume you did everything possible training wise to break the cat's habit of scratching/clawing sidewall before declawing. If you did, then you shouldn't feel bad if that was truly your last option. The alternatives for your case would have been even worse.

Yeah, we explained the reasons to the vet and they told us about the same. We could put her back in the shelter, but because of her excessive destructiveness she would likely be put down. We didn't get the cat with the intent of declawing, my wife and her mother have actually been rescuing animals their entire lives - at one point having 13 dogs and 10 cats. She knows how to train them, we sought professional training to break the habit, and they all failed.

[Kathandira]

Here is a non opinionated video of how a declaw is performed. The video shows the three different procedures used for Declaw. Guillotine, laser, and scalpel.

Watching the Gullitine method in person is not pleasant. I used to be a Vet Tech, and i've seen this a few times.

[Gaaz]

Declawing is right there on the border with cruelty towards animals. It should not be done in my opinion. If your cat is forced to stay indoors and can not go outside to claw on something, you really should not have gotten it in the first place. Declawing with amputation is similar to removing fingertips or toes for humans, so that you are no longer bothered by nail growth. Cats need and can be taught to claw specific thing only, like a rope wrapped wood piece for example, or you can buy something like this:

Usually, if a cat has access to outside areas, a few hints (a light slap with a newspaper for example) is enough for it to stop with house furniture for good. And it is not like every cat even does claw furniture in the first place. My current one, for example never clawed anything except an entrance rug (some thick wood / thick grass-like woven thing that we clean shoes with then we enter the house.

[Demona3]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYGODXH...a-318807050319

We used to use these, but we've had some issues with them. Sometimes the plastic thing doesn't fall off when the cat's nail sheds and the claw grows through them. We had to take ours to a vet to have it removed, which was painful for our cat and costly.

[Daedius]

It's fucking barbaric, if you can't deal with what an animal is don't own one.

[Mifuyne]

But yet... people crop dog's ears to please what our idea of what is "beautiful", we chop off cat and dogs' balls, and vets clip a part of a cat's ear off to show it's a feral, but sterile cat.

I understand the spaying and neutering of animals. But the same goes on this situation. It is a procedure that does place the animal in pain. =P Again though, it's a 1 time thing.

Here in the Netherlands doing any of that stuff is illegal.

[Themius]

But yet... people crop dog's ears to please what our idea of what is "beautiful", we chop off cat and dogs' balls, and vets clip a part of a cat's ear off to show it's a feral, but sterile cat.

I understand the spaying and neutering of animals. But the same goes on this situation. It is a procedure that does place the animal in pain. =P Again though, it's a 1 time thing.

neutering is not the same and I don't agree with docking or clipping ears.

[Kathandira]

But yet... people crop dog's ears to please what our idea of what is "beautiful", we chop off cat and dogs' balls, and vets clip a part of a cat's ear off to show it's a feral, but sterile cat.

These things are also on the decline as people are becoming more compassionate towards animals and better understand the difference between quality of life procedures, and cosmetic procedures.

[Celista]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYGODXH...a-318807050319

I got those for my last cat, they are a good alternative to declawing for cats that don't chew them off immediately. I was gone for a week on vacation, put them on all four paws and held my cat in my lap for 30 minutes after application and used an appropriate amount of glue, came back and half of them were gone.

They're not a perfect solution for all cats but if the cat tolerates them, is definitely a good option.

[NoRest4Wicked]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYGODXH...a-318807050319

We tried them, but she chewed them off within hours. We ended up being worried she would swallow too much of it and end up getting a blockage.

[Shakadam]

Honestly, it's not anyone else's business what you do to your pet.

Nope, that doesn't fly.

You're not free to do whatever the fuck you want to your kids either, even though they're "yours".
We have child protection laws to protect children against shitty parents, just like we have animal protection laws to protect animals against shitty owners.



If you cat(s) claw your furniture, get a spray bottle and fill it with water, then spray the cat whenever it starts scratching somewhere it shouldn't. I've never seen a cat not respond to that technique.

[NoRest4Wicked]

Nope, that doesn't fly.

You're not free to do whatever the fuck you want to your kids either, even though they're "yours".
We have child protection laws to protect children against shitty parents, just like we have animal protection laws to protect animals against shitty owners.



If you cat(s) claw your furniture, get a spray bottle and fill it with water, then spray the cat whenever it starts scratching somewhere it shouldn't. I've never seen a cat not respond to that technique.

I understand what you're saying, but it's not illegal to do here.

[SL1200]

Yeah, I wouldn't own a cat that wasn't declawed. We've had a few that had their front claws removed and were not any worse off for it.

[Techno-Druid]

But yet... people crop dog's ears to please what our idea of what is "beautiful", we chop off cat and dogs' balls, and vets clip a part of a cat's ear off to show it's a feral, but sterile cat.

I understand the spaying and neutering of animals. But the same goes on this situation. It is a procedure that does place the animal in pain. =P Again though, it's a 1 time thing.

Cropping is also inhumane and I doubt anyone who is against declawing is supportive of ear cropping.

Also, spaying and neutering prevents an animal from reproducing. Declawing is literally partial finger amputation which impedes on a cat's ability to walk, can potentially increase biting and aggressive (there's a hypothesis that cats will scratch to relieve stress or annoyance), in most cases prevent the cats from using the littler box because of the pain the cat is undergoing and is overall an unnecessary and inhumane practice.

[NoRest4Wicked]

Yeah, I wouldn't own a cat that wasn't declawed. We've had a few that had their front claws removed and were not any worse off for it.

We first tried to rescue a cat that had already been declawed, but the place we went wouldn't let us bring home a declawed cat with kids in the house (the owners personal rules).

[Techno-Druid]

I understand what you're saying, but it's not illegal to do here.

That's an appeal to social contract. Just because it happens doesn't mean its humane. FGM is a common practice in much of Africa, but that doesn't mean its humane or healthy.

[Themius]

Yeah, I wouldn't own a cat that wasn't declawed. We've had a few that had their front claws removed and were not any worse off for it.

you also wouldn't be worse off if you amputated your cats tail. and your cat wouldn't be worse off is someone else cut off your fingers.