Declawing

[MCR_Rox]

Declawing is extremely inhumane and cruel to cats. This is why you shouldn't declaw your cat.

Websites About Declawing that are very informative:
DECLAWING: What You Need to Know
the Declawing Menu - Educate!! Don't Amputate!! (tm)

Petition Against declawing:
Petition-them.com

A cat I named Chocolate used to come around here when I was little, and my family and I used to feed her. She was declawed in the front. She was a really friendly cat once she came around. However, I used to pick her up, and when she'd get irritated from me holding her, she'd bite me quite hard. One time, a dog who was taken care of by someone who came in this neighborhood every once in a while came into my yard while I was holding the cat. The dog went after the cat, so I threw her down and screamed. The cat ran, but when she tried to climb up a tree in my yard, she was unable to. The dog threw the cat up in the air a few times, but the cat got away. That dog could've killed the poor cat.

Declawing isn't some kind of manicure for cats or anything. It is actually amputation of their toes. This amputation can cause many problems for the cat and could make the cat dangerous to small children. Please do not declaw your cat. There ARE safe, effective alternatives to declawing.

Alternatives to Declawing, Nail Caps for Cats

[Paula]

It's true, it's a ridiculously inhumane practice and I think vets should stop doing it altogether. People that want their cats declawed should be have their fingers amputated at the first knuckle and see how they like it.

I've heard the argument that an indoor cat can be declawed without issue, but whether the cat lives indoors our out, or both, removing a cat's claws leaves him or her with only one defense mechanism - the teeth. So, a bite from a cat who has lost his claws is much more likely to result in serious injury than one from a cat who had the option of using the first line of defense nature intended, his claws.

Thanks for posting this petition here. Hopefully everyone will "sign."

[Angelgal]

I don't agree with declawing, we've actually been having a week long discussion on this topic in ethics.

Now IMO declawing is acceptable in certain situations, medical related reasons and in this case it is only limited to the effected claws, not all.
There is actually a cat at the humane society who has two nails that are merging into one and its already effecting her, they will be removed when she is spayed. That is a medically accepted reason IMO, its an act truly for the well-being and health of the cat, not the selfish aspect of any owner. An owner caring too much about their furniture IMO NOT a good reason.

There are alternatives to declawing, very humane alternatives. It's a vet's professional duty to inform owners of these humane alternatives. Sadly there is a huge lack of education and many owners don't realize it. Cats scratch, its what they do - its a means of marking. There are many helpful tips and products to teach your cat to use a scratching post (squirt guns with water, pheromones etc.). Frequent nail trimming will help, and Soft Paws can be considered.

[gooberific]

I never understood declawing. Yeah, so it's an indoor cat... WHAT IF? Duh.

And I just have to say, that soft claws with all those colors, look like the cutest things... And if I had a cat, I could put those orange ones on because it's my favorite color... But I'm still glad I'm not a cat person.

[guineapigluver1]

I know. I got into a huge argument on another forum over de-clawing, posted tons of links everything and still they thought it was fine (except for some people who agreed with me). I don't see how anyone can think it's fine. I mean it doesn't just remove the claw, it removes bone and cartilage. And what if they got outside and got lost? They wouldn't really have any means of defense. We once had a cat that had been de-clawed before we got him and he always dug in the litter box weird, and he walked weird (compared to our cats we have or have had), and his balance was deffinitely not very good.

[guineapigluver1]

Originally Posted by Angelgal

I don't agree with declawing, we've actually been having a week long discussion on this topic in ethics.

Now IMO declawing is acceptable in certain situations, medical related reasons and in this case it is only limited to the effected claws, not all.
There is actually a cat at the humane society who has two nails that are merging into one and its already effecting her, they will be removed when she is spayed. That is a medically accepted reason IMO, its an act truly for the well-being and health of the cat, not the selfish aspect of any owner. An owner caring too much about their furniture IMO NOT a good reason.

There are alternatives to declawing, very humane alternatives. It's a vet's professional duty to inform owners of these humane alternatives. Sadly there is a huge lack of education and many owners don't realize it. Cats scratch, its what they do - its a means of marking. There are many helpful tips and products to teach your cat to use a scratching post (squirt guns with water, pheromones etc.). Frequent nail trimming will help, and Soft Paws can be considered.

I know someone who said they tried Soft Paws and her cat kept getting them off, although I know a lot of people who's cats use them and are fine with them. The one person had to because the cat scratched her other cats eye out.
It just annoys me when people don't even try to deal with it (when a lot of the time it is very easy to deal with), and instead just get them de-clawed.

[TwilightStar]

"People that want their cats declawed should be have their fingers amputated at the first knuckle and see how they like it."

Seriously?

[guineapigluver1]

Umm...Yeah. That's basically what they do to cats when they de-"claw."

[MCR_Rox]

Maybe we should search the Internet for vets who encourage claw amputation and send them some links, including the petition, to their e-mail or something. I just thought of that idea a few seconds ago. Does anyone else think that might be a good idea? It won't hurt to try to sway their feelings toward declawing, right?

[katiewilson]

Originally Posted by TwilightStar

"People that want their cats declawed should be have their fingers amputated at the first knuckle and see how they like it."

Seriously?

Absolutely. A local kitty shelter (Cat Adoption Team) won't even adopt kitties out unless people sign a contract that strictly prohibits declawing. 2/3 of kitties have behavior issues after declawing, and over half have surgical complications. And of course, when the kitty becomes a "hassle" for the kind of owner that would declaw them simply to avoid scratched furniture, they dump them at a shelter, contributing to the overpopulation problem that we all know too well.

As many members pointed out, there are just too many alternatives to put a kitty up for the risk. It's horrifying to me that vet offices will still perform this procedure.

[Paula]

Originally Posted by TwilightStar

Seriously?

Yes, seriously.

It's what happens to a cat when s/he's declawed, and I wholly believe that if you're willing to do something that barbaric and heinous to an animal, you should have it done to yourself too, regardless of the reason or justification for doing it to the animal.

Aside from the physical component, in many cases, declawing a cat causes serious emotional trauma and even bigger problems than the ones the owner was hoping to curb or avoid by removing part of his body in the first place.

This is Hooper, 23 lbs of lean, mean feline machine ...



He plays way rough and often scratches the crap out of me. Furthermore, he’s destroyed a couch and a loveseat with his clawing. Is that an offense so egregious that he should he lose parts of his body for it? I think not. Is any piece of furniture worth him losing parts of his paws? NO WAY.

Instead, as the person capable of rational thought, I'd say it's decidedly MY responsibility to make sure he doesn't destroy MY furniture and instead has other options, wouldn't you?

[Jennicat]

I worked with a girl many years ago who had an intact female cat who became aggressive. Not aggressive in a "trying to kill people" way, but she would simply swat at the dog or pounce on feet. My coworker was determined to declaw the cat because it was "dangerous", and may hurt the owner or the owner's small dog.

I pleaded with her to simply have the cat spayed, that she was likely going insane from being in nearly continuous heats. She compromised by having the cat spayed and declawed. I told her about how painful it was, and how unfair it was, and she did it anyway.

Her cat came home from the vet and she had had an ovarian cyst. Probably dumping huge amounts of hormones into her system and making her a little anxious and irritable. Her feet bled on the carpet from where they had taken her little toes and chopped the ends off.

2 weeks later, the same cat was fearful, shy, and refused to come out from under the bed. Her mom tried to get her out one night to play with her by petting her softly and talking to her, and the cat attacked her. She ended up going to the hospital to get stitches from the numerous cat bites. She gave the cat away to her mom's vet, who pledged to take care of her, but after a similar attack, the vet felt like she couldn't keep her, and couldn't safely give her to anyone. She put the cat to sleep.