Declawing cats

Rydia

Rydia

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What is your opinion on declawing cats? There is an increasing number of vets who are refusing to declaw cats because they feel it is inhumane. However, some people want to own a cat, but they do not want to see their furniture all scratched up and the cat may refuse to use the scratching post.

Here is a pro and con website about declawing.

http://www.edubook.com/pros-and-cons-of-declawing-cats/2339/

And a site against declawing

http://www.declawing.com/

I just rescued a 3 year old cat from the SPCA and he still has his claws. I do not plan to have him declawed becaues after reading about it, I am not comfortable getting the surgery done. I'm not going to look down on anyone who chooses to declaw their cat though.
 
I wouldn't ever feel comfortable declawing my cats. Because even though I'm very strict about wanting to keep them indoors so they don't get run over by idiot cars, if they ever accidentally got out, they would need their claws to defend themselves and get food. It would be awful if they ran across a stray cat with claws and couldn't fight back, or a dog or other larger animal :sad3: Or if they couldn't kill and catch their prey as easily without the claws. I would still try very hard to find them and bring them home, but in the interim they would need all the defense they could get against the outside world.

I also can't stand the idea of doing something like that to an animal for the sake of furniture >.> I'm messy and spill stuff every once in a while when I'm sitting on the couch, but that shouldn't mean I should stop being allowed to eat there. If your furniture is that expensive or fancy, you can always put covers over it, and only take them off when you have company over or something. And so if the cat claws the cover, it's not as big of a deal. And many cats don't like strangers, so if the company comes into that room to visit, I think the cats would be likely to stay away from there in the meantime, until you can put the cover back on :hmmm:
 
I have a lovely house cat myself, and I wouldn't dream of having her declawed. At the end of the day, if someone is going to get a pet they should look after it and treat it with care. In my opinion, declawing an animal for the sake of sparing furniture a few potential scratch marks is just plain cruel.
 
I find it bad. I would never declaw my cat. They need those for a reason! >.<

I agree with the vets. And it hurts them, why cause something that will hurt your animal? You (not anyone particular in this thread of course lol) are the one who decided to have a cat, I think you can get over their claws xD

EDIT:
What happens if your house sets on fire or something and the cat runs away? Without any claws, how will they fend for themselves? Or what if you are driving your cat to a new home and you crash and then open the door to get our and bam! There goes your cat without any way to defend and feed themselves!

I also find it inhuman and just plain wrong to do.
 
In my eyes, cats have them for a reason. It's like cutting a tail off a dog because the owner thinks it looks better that way. Or trimming their ears. The excuse for it being healthy is failed to be seen by us in Britain and I hope it remains that way. I just find it to be cruel. Declawing a cat is the same in my opinion. Just because you can't see it, does not mean that you have not mutilated it in some way. They need them not only to protect themselves (outside cat or to perhaps stop themselves from having a serious fall - they do climb in awkward high places!) but to groom themselves. My cat, Oliver (who I have had since I was 8 years old) is an indoor cat. So I have seen him save himself from serious falls on many occasions WITH HIS CLAWS for when I couldn't get to him in time. Raven, my other cat, protects herself from dogs in the streets with her claws. Claws are a birth right, not a privilege just for someones convenience.


Side note; I trim my cats claws. As any owner SHOULD do anyway. This stops them from injuring themselves and still have some use for their claws. You can't cut them totally off because of nerve endings. You can see where it starts and ends visibly if you take the time to look. If you can't deal with a cat kneading at your furniture, why even get one?
 
I think it is not a good idea at all. Seriously, cats need those. If they manage to get away from the house, and they don't have claws, they are nearly defenseless. And like everyone else is saying, if you don't want your furniture torn up... don't get a cat.

If you are going to adopt a cat, take the responsibility. Making sure they are safe, and ok, and NOT in pain.
 
I think that if people are afraid of their furniture and what not getting ruined by cats then they shouldn't get a cat. Plain and simple.

I think it's terrible to do such a thing to an animal because you don't want your possessions to be ruined.

I love my nice house with my furniture and so would never dream of ever getting cat for the simple fact that they will do damage, plus leave cat hair over eveything.

I wouldn't buy a cat and then declaw them ever. =/ Safer just to not get a cat.
 
Aye i totally agree with ya there Kandy. If you dont want the scratches on yer nice leather sofa then dont get a cat. The claws are part of them, you cant just go cutting the things off. Besides if they get in a fight with another cat theyre gunna get totally mauled aswell as theyve lost their claws.
ITs stupid :hmph:
 
Aerith said:
In my eyes, cats have them for a reason. It's like cutting a tail off a dog because the owner thinks it looks better that way. Or trimming their ears. The excuse for it being healthy is failed to be seen by us in Britain and I hope it remains that way. I just find it to be cruel. Declawing a cat is the same in my opinion. Just because you can't see it, does not mean that you have not mutilated it in some way. They need them not only to protect themselves (outside cat or to perhaps stop themselves from having a serious fall - they do climb in awkward high places!) but to groom themselves. My cat, Oliver (who I have had since I was 8 years old) is an indoor cat. So I have seen him save himself from serious falls on many occasions WITH HIS CLAWS for when I couldn't get to him in time. Raven, my other cat, protects herself from dogs in the streets with her claws. Claws are a birth right, not a privilege just for someones convenience.


Side note; I trim my cats claws. As any owner SHOULD do anyway. This stops them from injuring themselves and still have some use for their claws. You can't cut them totally off because of nerve endings. You can see where it starts and ends visibly if you take the time to look. If you can't deal with a cat kneading at your furniture, why even get one?
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Aerith has the right idea. It's not a big deal with the claws when you can simply trim it. If the animal is aggressive and is difficult to deal with, groomers and vets are always available. Sure it might be costly, then again as an owner such a thing would come to mind before acquiring a pet cat.
 
There are many alternatives to declawing cats. You can get claw coverings. All you do is trim the cat's claws, and put the covering over it, which looks like a real claw. They can even come in colors so it looks like your cat got a manicure XD. But they do have clear. The only problem is, they only last about 4 weeks and they are expensive.

http://www.safepetproducts.com/soft-claws.html?gclid=CO2Qjvv5lacCFSVa7Aod4nKDbw

They also sell sticky mats that you can place on the side of your furniture, so that if the cat tries to scratch it, it gets the unpleasant feeling of getting it's paws stuck XD.

There is one reason where I would be for declawing. If someone would be willing to adopt a shelter cat, but wanted it declawed, then I wouldn't have as much as a problem with it. When an adult cat gets adopted from the shelter, it's like winning the lottery. I'd rather them lose their claws then their life way before it's time :( It's so hard to watch the cats get "changed" out so often because there are way too many unwanted ones. However, it's not too hard to find a cat that has already been declawed at a shelter. Also, humane society is not very humane :D

And I typically do not look down on people for declawing because of lack of education. Many people just do not realize that declawing a cat is like amputating part of a person's finger. So I'm not going to be bitchy when I see that their cat is declawed. Maybe if they get a new cat, I would suggest that it not be declawed. Also, if they cat had a previous owner that had declawed it and I was unaware of this, I don't want to sit and tell the person how cruel they were when they had nothing to do with the act.
 
Declawing a cat is never a good idea. If you want a cat and good furniture, you can always try this:

A good idea to keep cats from scratching up your stuff, is to putt tin foil near where the cat is scratching. The sound scares them away from the spot. Though I only had one cat that scratched the sides of my couch, I found this effective for keeping them off the counter. One or three encounters with this sound will tell them "no counter/couch".

Another good way, is to spray them with some water. Two of my friends spray their butt whenever they do bad things and they learn when they get sprayed, their actions aren't wanted. :P

Though I just waggled a finger at my cat and it knew when it did something wrong. xD

Rydia:
I didn't know they had clip on claws xD
 
Rydia said:
I typically do not look down on people for declawing because of lack of education
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I agree with everything you have said. Some people just don't do the research or ask the right questions to the right people so don't know what else to do. However, I find it to be very frustrating when certain people in the world will still get a pet without knowing fully how to take care of it. Sometimes it can cost an animal its life. And that's why I get annoyed with people who don't know. I'm not saying I would look down on them or think ill of them... but I would be disappointed and irritated. I just hold my own cats very dear, so I guess that strives my opinion. They're like family to me and if they are going through something, I ask myself first, would it hurt them? How can I fix it? When can it get done?

You seem to be very much an animal lover and extremely open minded, which is wonderful, but doesn't it saden you sometimes when a person turns and says, "oh well, it's done now"? Sure, past is past. What is done is done... but some things can just be so easily avoided. As an owner, I just see it as all the more reason to educate yourself on the animal you wish to take care of. Pets are like children to me; and you wouldn't put a child through an operation without first knowing how it can be avoided or if it benefits them more than yourself.
 
I'm not sure how to take this, as in just clipping them so the pointy bits are off? Yes, I do that myself for the two cats we have. They don't get outside besides the balcony, but they never go off that, of course. They just lounge there in the summer.

However, the only reason we clip them is because our cats get this play mode and sometimes get too in to it, that the other wacked her sister the other day, and it was bleeding on her shoulder. 8( So...

I also clip the sharp tips off so that they don't get stuck on the blankets, like they do sometimes.

Nothing wrong with that, we clip our nails if they get too long, don't we? It's uncomfortable if they get too long, and it's not an outside cat.

To point it out, I'm an animal lover, and this is not cruel. IF you mean clipping the tips off, (not removing the whole nail, that's just sick. 8()
 
Aerith said:
I agree with everything you have said. Some people just don't do the research or ask the right questions to the right people so don't know what else to do. However, I find it to be very frustrating when certain people in the world will still get a pet without knowing fully how to take care of it. Sometimes it can cost an animal its life. And that's why I get annoyed with people who don't know. I'm not saying I would look down on them or think ill of them... but I would be disappointed and irritated. I just hold my own cats very dear, so I guess that strives my opinion. They're like family to me and if they are going through something, I ask myself first, would it hurt them? How can I fix it? When can it get done?

You seem to be very much an animal lover and extremely open minded, which is wonderful, but doesn't it saden you sometimes when a person turns and says, "oh well, it's done now"? Sure, past is past. What is done is done... but some things can just be so easily avoided. As an owner, I just see it as all the more reason to educate yourself on the animal you wish to take care of. Pets are like children to me; and you wouldn't put a child through an operation without first knowing how it can be avoided or if it benefits them more than yourself.
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When the cat is declawed, it's declawed. There is not point in telling them how horrible they are for doing such a thing. It won't bring the claws back or reverse the operation. Cats can also recover from declawing. If they do get another cat, I can educate them on declawing and suggest alternatives. Cats can live for 20 years so it could be a very long time before that even happends. And it is such a common practice where I live. I think it is worse to make a cat an outdoor cat, because regardless of whether or not the animal has it's claws, indoor cats live on average 15 years, out door cats live on average 3 years. I will not let my cat out unless I am there to supervise. I do get a little annoyed when people do not raise their animals properly, but I see it much more with dogs. What annoys me the most, is people that refuse to have their animals neutered or spayed. Cats are also low maintenance animals, however, they do not adapt well to being in cages. Walk into an animal shelters cat room and you'll hear a lot of agonizing meowing. Many cats in shelters are very stressed and kept in small cages. And if the volunteer staff are a bunch of idiots, which is often the case in government run shelters, some are never given the chance to be outside of the cage and end up developing issues, which lessens their chance even more of being adopted. At least the cats that have been declawed are most often in loving homes and well taken care of. If someone is not happy with their cat scratching furniture, I'd rather they'd declaw and keep the cat than put it through life in a shelter. I think in this case, its the lesser of the two evils. Most cats sent to shelters never come out. And so many people refuse to neuter or spay their animals, and many kittens are then sent to shelters.


Also working in a shelter, you hear some pretty awful abuse stories that harden you to some of the lesser cases. I will not post them here.

Neutering and spaying an animal also puts them through an operation and gets rid of a body part. But this in encouraged. However most people agree that it benefits animals because it helps to control the population when there is already so many that never get adopted.

As for loving animals, I will not buy from any pet stores that sell puppies because it is very likely that they came from puppy mills. I will not give those places my business. Volunteering at a shelter can also be very emotionally draining. You bond with these animals and it is very heart breaking when they have to make room for more to come in. And then hearing stories about abuse. But I do it for the animals.
 
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D: no! that's the equivalent of pulling off our finger nails. just file/trim it until its not too sharp and you're done.
 
Tmoo said:
D: no! that's the equivalent of pulling off our finger nails. just file/trim it until its not too sharp and you're done.
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Actually, that would be better. It's more like ripping off your finger to the first knuckle. An insanely cruel act, and it's very easy to see why vets would refuse to perform it. A large number of pet adoption groups use this as a screening question. They get your information, ask you if you intend to declaw the cat, and if you say yes, refuse you the adoption. If your furniture is more important than the comfort of a living creature, then you are clearly incapable of caring for one.

I see a lot of people saying that they wouldn't judge others for declawing due to lack of information, and that's far more forgiving than I could ever be. If you're going to take responsibility for the life of another being, the least you can do is a little homework. If reading up a bit on cats before getting one and reading up on declawing is too much effort before having it done to your cat, then, well, quite simply, fuck you. I realize that won't bring back the cat's claws, but anyone who can't be bothered to research their pet is more than just lazy: should something happen through their willful ignorance they are intentionally cruel as far as I'm concerned. To make a simple analogy: ignorance of the law is not an excuse nor a pardon for breaking it.

As a cat owner, I have pretty strong feelings about people that would intentionally inflict cruelty on cats.
 
Absolutely against it

If you cant be arsed training it to scratch a post or deal with it scratching your furniture (should see the state of the side of my settee :rage: ) then dont get a cat. It's just cruel imo. Velcro is the most ungraceful cat ever, shes always falling on her face - or at least she would if she didnt have her claws to save her stupid arse last minute

I just can't fathom why someone would want to do it, its like this whole carrying dogs about in handbags, its almost like they want to treat their pets like ornaments. Well. I hope they shit in their gobs while they sleep
 
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