Americans and their pets?

Question

I have noticed in the pets section that it seems very popular in america for people to clip their birds wings so they cant fly, de-claw their cats so they cant scratch and to keep dogs in cages when they are out of the house so that they cant make a mess.
Why get a pet if you cant cope with its natural behaviour?
And why is this more acceptable in america than in the UK?

For the record, i stated that it was americans who answer questions on THIS SITE, not ALL americans. I have also been to other countries and witnessed much worse than this but I was enquiring about americans who should know better.

Answer 1

I am an American and I can safely say that not all Americans that answer on this site do those things. I don't believe in crating dogs and have never done so. I am highly opposed to declawing a cat as it is cruel I have cats and accept it is part of there nature to sharpen their claws. And as for clipping my birds I only do so until they are handlable once they have accepted me there wings grow back (but it's much more difficult to teach a bird to step up when it keeps flying away from you).
As for acceptability in US I think its because as a culture we want the fastest easy solution for everything. It's sad when you think of it the forefathers of this country were willing to work hard to give us freedom and now we want all the benefits without the work.

Answer 2

You make a very good point. I think the reason people clip their birds wings is so that they don't get hurt and fly away when they take them out to play. My cousin is very abusive to her second dog and I REALLY want to stop her some how because she keeps the poor animal in a cage when she's at work almost all day with no water. Also, the cat de-clawing is of course to make sure they don't scratch on furniture, I agree with you.

Answer 3

I agree with you in the sense that I don't believe birds should have their wings clipped or that cats should be declawed. Its just not very nice AND it is borderline abusive.

When I purchased my parakeets they had been "clipped" by the pet shop. :( Since I have let their wings grow back they have never been happier!! They may not be as happy to spend time with me since they rather fly around and perch on my curtain rods BUT they still appreciate the care I give them. Nothing wrong with that arrangement!

I don't know exactly how pro-animal people in the UK are, however, I do know that you guys are not too into altering animals. I own ferrets and I found it interesting that "descenting" a ferret is actually against the law in the UK. hehe :) As I agree with not declawing cats or "clipping" birds I am very GLAD that my ferrets are descented!!!

As you would say...CHEERS!

Answer 4

I think generalizing entire groups of people is just as bad as being ignorant about a topic. It creates animosity, and doesn't get anything resolved.

There are many people in the United States (myself included) against declawing, ear cropping, devocalization and animal abuse of any form. Many veterinarians have voiced their disapproval of the practices and refuse to provide any of these services to patients. Some states have already banned a few of these procedures, while others are working to enforce stricter legislation in accordance with animal care.

Most of these problems lie with irresponsibility and ignorance. This can also be said of pet owners everywhere however.

I think the bottom line is that we need to have stricter rules enforced and more education to the general public in regards to animal ethics on what is appropriate and what is not.

As for Americans using this site:

I can't vouch and say that everyone on here that responds is American. I can say that I do see a lot of trolling, point-gaming, spam and just plain ignorant responses in order to provoke other users. I think this is somewhat of a problem that's become increasingly popular on the net (I blame extreme boredom).

I have found it increasingly harder, to find a decent conversation without running into one of these 'trolls' or 'spammers' in a chat room.

It's sad to see and something else that I think should be fixed. :T

Answer 5

We have a parrot(Yellow Nape Amazon). His wings aren't clipped. But I sure would hate to have the bird startled and fly off. We seven cats(none declawed). The dogs we just found(and keeping) have been real good at learning the 'going outside routine". One of them does act like he's been crated though. Most people get a pet as an impulse thing without thinking it through. But I don't think that it's just americans doing it.

Haggish doesn't have a freaking clue. "All americans this and that". What nonsense.

Answer 6

I am an American, and this is called Irresponsible *Pet* Owners. I would NEVER do that as it is Cruel and Inhumane. I have 2 Cats, and two Gerbils who I love very much and would defend them as I would my child if someone tried to hurt them. Check out some of the Questions that get Posted and you will have a broken heart if you love *Pets* like I do. People get animals BEFORE they know how to care for them and when they get hurt or sick, they come to YA for answers INSTEAD of taking them to the VET, I wish that they could TRADE places with the *Pets* and see how they like that. It would seem that if they are going to get an animal they would KNOW HOW to care for them FIRST. It is heartbreaking indeed. Shame on the ones Guilty of this, and I am sure I will like always get reported again for speaking up for the poor unfortunate Babies people have that are not responsible enough to *have* them. We are *Pet* Guardians, not *owners* as they ARE a PART of the Family and should be treated as such. I feel so sorry for those who are with the ones who fall into this category. Thank God it is not all, (but most) They should have a Catagory in YA Titled *Stupid Is As Stupid Does* to quote Forrest Gump.

Answer 7

It's not acceptable for all of us in the US. The clipped wings and declawed cats are, to some of us, a form of cruelty, because you've just taken away the animals right to defend itself. As for the dogs in cages - it's really dependent upon what type of dog you have. Both of my dogs have crates, however, the door is always open. Some dogs actually need a "secure" place to be when their owner isn't at home, and we usually find them asleep in their crate when we get back.

Answer 8

I agree with you, that the "modifications" that you list are -- for the most part -- selfish, cruel and unnatural. I don't, however, believe that the handful of backward cretins who post to the pet sections on YA are truly representative of the majority of pet-owning Americans (indeed, they probably don't even represent the attitudes of the majority of people who post to these pet boards). Unfortunately, every society has people who are backward, cruel and/or ignorant; we have them here, and (unfortunately) I'm sure that you have them on your side of "the pond." In the U.S. -- and all over the world -- these sorts of backward and/or ignorant and/or willfully stupid people cling desperately to their old notions and outdated traditions, as the world changes around them. As society progresses and becomes more enlightened, the cretins of the world grow *louder* and more ornery; they view change, intellect and growth as a threat to their narrow little world views; as such, they scream and whine and grasp tighter to their outmoded thoughts, traditions and rituals. Few people in the world listen to these pathetic (and often cruel) little cretins; nobody cares what they have to say; this, in turn, makes them angrier. Yahoo Answers, for better or worse, provides all of us -- even the outmoded cretins -- with a forum to share our viewpoints on a host of topics. In the "real world" nobody listens to the nasty little cretins and their ill-mannered rants (and outmoded ideas), so they flock to public, yet safely anonymous, forums like this where they are able to while away the day, screeching their little screeds... desperately trying to tell everyone else how WRONG they all are to not believe what the backward little cretins believe. They are, alas, everywhere -- and in all realms and brackets of society. The more the world progresses, their frustrated little tantrums grow louder and nastier. In no way, however, do these frustrated fools *represent* our society, any more than do Europe's own cretins (granted, it *is* possible that our U.S. cretins are a bit noisier and nastier -- and maybe a tad more ignorant; we are, after all, still a young country). ;-)

Please, though, don't allow the comments of the nasty little cretins (a very small minority) to color your view of all Americans (as a few of the posters above have done). Most of us abhor cruelty to animals; many of us were/are horrified to read of those parents who altered their disabled daughter to keep her forever in a state of childhood; the majority of citizens in this country do NOT support the current war in Iraq (puzzlingly, your own Tony Blaire helped to push us into the Iraq quagmire by kissing up to Bush on this issue); and, indeed, many Americans are appalled by the acts of our current president (remember, he wasn't even really *elected* the first time around -- and he barely won the second time). Oh, and most of us here in the U.S. are NOT rich -- not even close. :)

Can't we all just get along?? :)

Answer 9

I don't know if it's more acceptable - I would be interested to hear from Americans on the subject.

Here in the UK we actually have very strict animal protection laws, and very serious punishments for offenders. We do consider ourselves a nation of animal lovers, and I think there's a lot of truth in that.

A recent example is the fact that docking dogs is going to be banned in England and Wales this year (I believe it's already illegal in Scotland). Generally I do think it's considered unacceptable in the UK to modify animals for your convenience. Neutering them is generally thought to be OK, though.

Answer 10

It's more acceptable here because EVERYTHING'S more acceptable here. People have no morals anymore and I find it downright sad. I personally do not declaw my cats, and would never think of it. I know that a daycare my younger brother attends has cats that are declawed, but they're inside cats and totally safe.