Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Declawing cats is not right. I know a lady who had a declawed indoors only cat & the cat got out one day. She found her cat dead the next day. The very tame & loving cat got into a fight with a dog & could not defend herself or get upa tree. Her cat (missy) was only 5 yrs old. I broke off ties with this lady cause i told her to not get the cat declawed when she adopted her. My cats are MUCH more important to me then some damn furniture. I have plenty of scratching posts & that helps alot. When people tell me they hate or dislike cats or their cat is declawed i say " BYE" & thats forever.
If you notice those who have their cats mutilated by de-clawing always have some justification, some excuse such as the cat is destroying the furniture, scratched their child etc. I've always found these gross exaggerations. They can always trim the claws as we do or use those claw-covers. And worse yet are those who complain the cat destroyed the scratching post or cat-tree-condo. Well... duh, that's what you buy them for! All can be re-roped and re-carpeted. They're for the cat to claw instead of the oh-so-precious sofas or armchairs. People know when they get a cat that cats need to use their claws for both scent marking and health reasons, then run them to the vet to be de-clawed when they act like cats. Some who do this mutilation even claim cats can still defend themselves with their useless stumps. They cannot, nor can they climb trees.
I'm trying to picture someone getting a puppy knowing puppies love to chew things... then having it's teeth ripped out because it chewed up a few slippers, doggy toys or shoes.
My neighbor watched her de-clawed cat try and climb the hickory tree when the dog came into view. Without claws they cannot climb tree trunks as nature intended. Claws are used as grappling hooks. She was traumatized as she watched the dog kill her cat. By the time she flew out the door with the broom, screaming, the cat was dead. What a horrible death for that poor cat. As I recall the cat was already mutilated/declawed when she got her. The cat would sneak out occasionally when her husband and son left for work in the morning. Had the cat had claws she would have climbed the tree to the closest branch and saved herself.
No one seems to get upset when someone has the surgery to silence a barking dog or put a shock collar on them either.
Really? I have seen many anti-shock collar posts on the internet. Silence a barking dog? How is that harming the dog? It has to be pretty rare.
[quote]Whomever shares the home with the cat is the one who should decide what is to be done if anything. [/quite]
Which includes torture if the person is a sadistic nutcase? If de-clawing wasn't cruel and of no benefit to the cat, other countries and some USA cities wouldn't have outlawed it.
Quote:
I'm afraid not everyone on the planet is as perfect as some are and keep everything closed, locked up, hung up, in a drawer, out of the way, and have 17 scratching posts, furniture covers or cheap furniture that is just fine for the cats to destroy and has a life outside of doing nothing but chasing a cat around all day to make sure they do not destroy anything. Declawed cats can and do live perfectly normal "cat" lives and are as healthy as their humans keep them.
De-clawing isn't a religion, or a theory. It's a surgical procedure. There's nothing to believe in or not believe in. It happens. In most states, it's legal. In many countries where it's illegal, it's also perfectly acceptable for domestic cats to spend most of their lives outdoors. That makes good sense for it to be illegal in those countries, and I agree with it. But here in the USA, everyone says "keep your cats indoors." And so I don't see any problem with it. I also see no problem with castrating male cats, rendering female cats infertile through surgery, circumcision of male human infants, or ear piercings on baby girls.
De-clawing isn't a religion, or a theory. It's a surgical procedure.
And a cruel and unnecessary one that often enough has long term ill effects on the cat and is of no benefit to the cat. Why do you think so many nations have banned this cruel practice?
Quote:
There's nothing to believe in or not believe in. It happens. In most states, it's legal.
And in most other advanced Nations and some US cities it is illegal.
Quote:
In many countries where it's illegal, it's also perfectly acceptable for domestic cats to spend most of their lives outdoors. That makes good sense for it to be illegal in those countries, and I agree with it. But here in the USA, everyone says "keep your cats indoors."
And still most cats are NOT indoor-only cats. Stupid people even allow those de-clawed outside. That is no excuse to de-claw cats.
Quote:
And so I don't see any problem with it.
You wouldn't since it's something you BELIEVE in doing for your own convenience rather than use claw-caps or clip the claws every few weeks.
Quote:
I also see no problem with castrating male cats, rendering female cats infertile through surgery, circumcision of male human infants, or ear piercings on baby girls.
Those things do no harm to the cat or child. In fact spaying and neutering are beneficial in the long run - mutilation of the paws is not. You're comparing apples to oranges. And you seem to be unaware that there is a anti-circumcision movement in this country. None of those things you mention render the person defenseless or cause the problems de-clawing can and does cause.
The problem with declawing is that you have no way of knowing what the outcome will be. Sure, your cat may do just fine with it and you'll live happily ever after or he won't and things will get much, much worse than it ever was before when the problem was just a few scratches.
I have a declawed foster cat right now. I got her when she was 3 weeks old and she was adopted at 5 months. She was a wonderful little cat in every way and had a bright future. But she liked to kneed on her human's chest (I found this endearing) and the adopter didn't like that so a few months after she was adopted they took her to have half her toes cut off, despite the fact that they had signed a contract agreeing not to. But they did. Just a couple of months later the problems started. Choo-Choo stopped using the litter box consistantly and started to go all over the house. She became very nervous which lead to reoccuring diarrhea. The adopters had to go clean up piles of runny poop all over the house all the time. Choo-Choo became more and more afraid and started to hide under the bed most of the day. She became terrified of the husband. For some reason they decided that she couldn't stay in the bedroom at night so she'd stand outside the door and wail four hours.
She became miserable and her owners became miserable. After about a year and a half of this the adopters contacted me and asked me to take her back so now she's been back with me for a year and is struggling. None of this was happening before she was declawed and knowing cats as well as I do, and knowing her, it wouldn't have happened had she not lost something that was such a huge part of who she was. She's now defenseless and uncomfortable. She can't even play properly anymore. She loves to play with things on a string but because she has no front claws she can't grab it so after a while of batting at it without being able to catch the toy she gets frustrated and stops. She doesn't use the litterbox. She potties in the bathroom sink. Because she's defenseless she's afraid of some of the other cats and as a result she's stuck in our bedroom. That's her world now. One room, a bathroom and a closet. She's nervous a lot and so different from how she used to be. Nobody is going to adopt a cat with these issues and I really don't have another option. I guess we will have yet another cat that we really don't need. None of this had to happen but it has simply because someone thought it would be more convenient for them if Choo-Choo didn't have any front claws. As a result Choo-Choo's life is nearly ruined. Please don't take the risk of ruining your cat's life too simply because it may be easier for you. It may turn out to be the opposite for both of you. Don't do that to your cat.
Your post made me shutter. I can't imagine mutilating a feline by having him declawed, it is so painful and you take away an important part of their anatomy. Anyone who declaws a cat, should not have a cat. Please reconsider this barbaric practice, declawing is done for the convenience of the owner, it ignores and disrespects a cat's function, and their dignity. I have 2 cats and aside from 1 chair, we have no problems because of claws. Cats take great pleasure in cleaning their front claws, but also this can be a sign of getting ready to play and/or just simply pleasure in the experience of sinking their claws into something and feeling the resistance which strengthens their paws and joints and fends off arthritis and makes them much more nimble. Think of losing your finger nails, and how that would change your life. Please don't do it.
I would love to know what happened with this. I agree with the one poster who suggested rehoming the cat instead of declawing him. I've had cats my whole life, and they have never destroyed anything to a point that made me what to rip off there claws.
I'm actually totally thrilled my cat has his claws, and uses them on the furniture (even though we've bought him stuff to claw on, and he uses that too.)
We moved into a nice new house, and often when you buy your first house, you have this insane urge to run yourself into the poorhouse buying all new things for your all new house. I had been mulling it for a couple months when I decided to get myself a cat. I have perfectly serviceable, comfortable old furniture. It's ugly though, so I cover it with these nifty microfiber throw blanket sofa covers and stuff. I have gorgeous lambskin rugs in my chair and sofa too. All at a fraction of the cost of a fancy new sofa...and I don't worry one bit about Nimbus clawing it. I'm really glad...the cat seems to have saved me at least hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that might have been spent impulsively buying stuff we totally didn't need. And I guarantee I get much more happiness from my cat than I would from a new couch.
Twice in life, albeit many years ago, I had the experience of losing everything I had in some life catastrophe. I learned the hard way that things are just things. I think too many people haven't learned this lesson...
I would love to know what happened with this. I agree with the one poster who suggested rehoming the cat instead of declawing him. I've had cats my whole life, and they have never destroyed anything to a point that made me what to rip off there claws.
Nothing has happened. The cat still has his claws.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
All can be re-roped and re-carpeted. They're for the cat to claw instead of the oh-so-precious sofas or armchairs. People know when they get a cat that cats need to use their claws for both scent marking and health reasons, then run them to the vet to be de-clawed when they act like cats. Some who do this mutilation even claim cats can still defend themselves with their useless stumps. They cannot, nor can they climb trees. 
