which do you agree with (declawing)?

Question

You dont have to read the whole thing, just skim thru and see which you agree with

declawing is safe
http://www.geocities.com/declawing/

declawing is evil
http://littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=002

its not me, i would NEVER declaw a cat, its my parents im trying to convince that its wrong and that there are methods besides it, but then i found that site that is for declawing and it sounds like its not a big deal

Answer 1

I agree more with the first one. It goes from a more factual basis, while the second one seems more like, "Don't you feel guilty now? You should agree with us." Also, my philosophy is that, if I'm providing you a home and food, where you otherwise may die, I'm not going to allow you to scratch me, my family, or my things.

Answer 2

I admit that I've always been something of a fence-sitter on the issue. All but one of the cats I know now are clawed, with varying behavioral results. I don't mind clipping my cat's nails every so often to keep her from catching on things.
I grew up with a cat that lived a long, full life (almost to 16). We had his front claws removed at the same time that he was neutered. The cat that my mother has was also declawed in the front when she was little. Neither of them seemed bothered by this as they got older. In fact, my mother's cat was running around the day after she came back from surgery (she had the laser claw removal done, I believe, while the other cat had the old more painful way done some 20 years ago) like nothing had happened. My mother says that she doesn't even seem to realize that she's been declawed, as she still tries to claw at the furniture.
Both of these cats were indoor cats. I think it would be wrong to remove the claws on an outdoor cat, as that would leave them without an important line of defense.

Answer 3

I would never, ever, declaw a cat. It is unquestionably cruel, and I honestly wish it was outlawed in the US, as it is in Europe. Did you know in England it is a punishable crime, called "animal mutilation"? And that is exactly what it is. If you are more worried about your furniture or your "things", then do a cat a favor and don't own one only to do something this cruel to it. If you absolutly must have a declawed cat, adopt a cat that is already declawed from a shelter. But again, alot of the declawed cats you'll find in shelters are there from getting mean after being declawed.

You can choose furniture that isn't so "attractive" to cats. Any overly-plush furniture that they can not sink their claws into, they will usually leave alone. I've done this, and have 3 cats, and my 4 year old furniture still looks like new. Of course, supply them with scratching posts.

If you aren't willing to do that, then fine, but forgo owning a cat then. You only make yourself and the cat miserable.

A neighbor of mine was telling me how she inherited her mothers cat when her mother died. She immediately took it out and got it declawed, and now they can't figure out why it is acting so strangely, hiding and wanting to bite. Gee, I would think that is a no brainer! I was in tears listening to that story.

And the saddest part of declawing is, many people just assume it is something that "has" to be done, and have it performed on small kittens. Do not let any vet tell you it has to be done.

I don't understand, if someone talks about getting a dog's voice box removed to stop barking, people are outraged. But yet its perfectly acceptable to mutilate a cat.

How are the two any different, really? You're talking about mutilation for something that is behavior-correctable. If you don't have the time to work on what is acceptable behavior from a pet, then really, you don't have time for a pet, do you?

Answer 4

It's an evil elective thing for lazy people who want to chose which bits they think their cat needs.
And of COURSE a pro-declaw site would make it out to be no big deal - they obviously don't realise that a cat,l even in immense pain, will purr till the very last, as if to say "please don't take more away, I don't know what I did wrong but I won't do anything, I promise"

http://cats.about.com/cs/declawing/a/nodeclaw.htm
http://www.de-clawing.com/
http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/
http://www.goodcatswearblack.com/
http://www.avar.org/avar_cat_declawing.html

Answer 5

Look at it this way;

Declawing is Safe - An article written by someone who is not a vet and merely worked part-time at a vet clinic for two years.

Declawing is Evil - An article written by a qualified and highly respected vet.

Whose opinion would you trust?

P.S. You could advise your parents that in the UK and most European countries, declawing is illegal because it is quite rightly classed as animal cruelty.

Answer 6

I don't even have to read the articles in order to answer the question. I think it is down right evil to declaw a cat. Why would anyone do it? To save furniture? What if the cat gets outside and is attacked by another cat or a wild animal? It has no defense. I wonder how people would like to have their fingernails pulled off to save a couch..............

Answer 7

I have to say I feel declawing is cruel.. I don't bear my weight on my finger tips but I know I would be in pain if I was to have to top half of all my fingers surgically removed. Cats show joy through the flexing if their claws. Yes I know many would argue for the reduction of cat scratches on their furniture and the fact that in time they wouldn't feel it at all. But why put any cat, or any animal for that matter, through that sort of pain? If you are worried about your couch don't get a cat.

Answer 8

Declawing is cruel and inhumane - period. Unless there is a serious medical condition that would warrant declawing necessary, it should be be made illegal. I'd sooner have scratched up furniture than put a cat through that kind of cruelty.

Answer 9

No cat disearves to be declawed! It's mutilation pure and simple. They cut of part of their "fingers!"!!!! Cats scratch! And if a person values their furniture more than their pets, they don't disearve to have cats to begin with. It can cause arthritis later on, causes other behaviorial issues such as biting, aggression, and marking and is down right cruel.
My dad declawed his cats and now you can't go near them. They used to be the sweetest cats and now they try and bite everyone that goes near them. Can you blame them though? Their primary mode of defence was removed..

Answer 10

I have to say that declawing is totally cruel! It is illegal here in Australia. If you are concerned with cals clawing furnature, then you simply need to provide them with a scratch pole - an upright peice of timber wrapped tightly in rope - they can scratch to their hearts content. I have three cats, one of which is only six months old, and have never had an issue with scratching anything - except what they are supposed to - their scratchy pole!!

Answer 11

I agree with declawing. I have had cats that are both declawed and not. I don't think that it is completly nessasary but I don't think it is cruel or anything. I know that it is not popular at all in Europe but pretty popular in the United States. My kitten that I have now is declawed, I had it done at the same time that I got her spayed.