To declaw or not to declaw? How many cat owners favor it? I personally don't..that is a cats #1 way of?

Question

proctecting itself from other cats, dogs...you name it.

Answer 1

It is an absolute horrible thing to do to any animal. Please read.

Contrary to most people's understanding, declawing consists of amputating not just the claws, but the whole phalanx (up to the joint), including bones, ligaments, and tendons! To remove the claw, the bone, nerve, joint capsule, collateral ligaments, and the extensor and flexor tendons must all be amputated. Thus declawing is not a “simple”, single surgery but 10 separate, painful amputations of the third phalanx up to the last joint of each toe. A graphic comparison in human terms would be the cutting off of a person's finger at the last joint of each finger.

Declawing is not without complication. The rate of complication is relatively high compared with other so-called routine procedures. Complications of this amputation can be excruciating pain, damage to the radial nerve, hemorrhage, bone chips that prevent healing, painful regrowth of deformed claw inside of the paw which is not visible to the eye, and chronic back and joint pain as shoulder, leg and back muscles weaken.

The fact that many cats recover from the hideous experience of declawing without untoward effects, and even though they may not hold grudges, that doesn't seem sufficient justification for putting a family member through such a repugnant experience. In short, a declawed cat is a maimed, mutilated cat, and no excuse can justify the operation. Your cat should trust you, and depend upon you for protection. Don't betray that trust by declawing your cat.

I would never ever declaw my cats.

Answer 2

I never liked the idea, but working with a vet and watching many declawing surgeries showed me how barbaric it is.
It makes a sickening sound like the the joints of grocery store chickens being torn apart. Then the poor things have huge bandages on their arms. They are in terrible pain for days and I would suppose it would me painful up to almost a month. They can't stand up or do cat things with the bandages.

Cats do need their complete feet to function well physically and emotionally.

Today there is no need for declawing. There are several options. There are little plastic sheaths that can be glued on the tips so they are not so sharp. They even come in pretty colors.

Answer 3

My cats are declawed in the front and insist on going outside. I still find them in trees, they do not lose fights with the neighborhood bully cat and have never shown any signs of missing them. My cats have had long, happy, healthy lives, the first living to 23 yrs. old. The long bloody scratch on my arm, attests to the fact that they use their rear claws very effectively when they feel the need. I do not feel that I should have to choose between pets and decent furniture. I have several friends who spent much time and money trying to train their cats not to scratch up everything and them, but eventually they gave up. My sister won't de-claw and her home is a wreck. People who get ridiculous about this are often the same ones with issues on "fixing" their pets. It really doesn't matter what others think, do what works for you and how you want to live.

Answer 4

IMHO, declawing is about the most inhumane thing you can do to your pet (cat or dog) It's NOT a "severe nail clipping" as many people think, it's an AMPUTATION!! Also, claws ARE their main protection from other animals (and humans). If there's an issue with your cat scratching furniture, etc, there are other, MUCH more humane ways of dealing with it. I wouldn't even adopt or buy a cat that was declawed. It shows badly on the previous owners, IMHO

Feline Trainer-checked out those links-that's why I mentioned that claws are protection from humans-I cried when I saw the picture of the kitty with bandages on it's paws :((

Answer 5

Personally, I think that it depends on the cat and its household.

I have a cat that I'm considering declawing since she likes to claw people in the face. She can be sitting on a chair and if you simply lean down near her, she will take a swipe directly at your face. She clawed my husband in the face, and luckily for him, he was able to move away just enough that she didn't get him in the eye. (She clawed his eyelid and below his eye.) I'm scared that a small child, such as a grandchild, might get too close and lose an eye because of her. She doens't warn you at all before she swats, and she always aims for your face if possible.

The reason that I consider declawing her the best alternative is because she is a four year old cat who has already been abandoned at our local shelter twice, and luckily for her, rescued twice. I'm afraid that she will be "put down" or abandoned if we choose to find her a new home. So, under these circumstances, I believe that declawing her is the best option for all.

Answer 6

If it's an inside cat it's ok because they leave the back claws in case the cat gets out. Don't think I would declaw an outside cat.

Answer 7

I have 3 cats and I will never ever declaw them. I think it's cruelty to animals and if they are outside they cannot defend themselves. I know that there are people that claim that their cat is only a strict indoor cat but they seem to forget that a cat can escape and if that happens the cat is in no way able to defend itself when needed.

Answer 8

Good question.
I think that it is better to declaw a cat than to give it to a shelter for clawing stuff up. Also, old people have fragile skin and you can't train a cat to be gentle sometimes. Again, better to live without claws and have a home than the other way around.

Answer 9

Declawing is a cruel and savage way to treat an animal yu claim to love.
Declawing basically in cat terms is akin to yanking our fingers apart at the first knuckle.
It is healthier and safest for the cat to be an inside cat anyways, so declawing should not be in the picture.
Just my opinion.

Answer 10

It is so cruel to do that to a cat-like having your fingernails pulled out-causes terrible pain to the cat and vets who do this for a lot refuse to do it for they know how horrible it is for the cat-but the vets who do should lose their license. In the lost section o the paper there's always lost cats who are declawed-they have no means to scape-since they can't climb nor defend themselves and are often killed by dogs and so on. People who do this are totally irresponsible pet owners who obviously have no real connection with their cat.