Cats declawing

July 4, 2010 9:05am CST
Cat lovers think declawing is cruel, but some people say its necessary. what do you think?
1 person likes this
6 responses
• Australia
6 Jul 10
Cats are digitigrades. So removing the digits from a cat is just plain ignorant and stupid. The vets who declaw cats are not genuine and should not be allowed within an inch of any animal. The same goes for the pet owners who think declawing is okay so long as it benefits them, regardless of the pain that the mutilated and crippled cat must go through for the rest of its life. Declawing a cat is the same as removing a human's fingers to the last knuckle. And it is, in fact, incorrectly named. Declawing should actually be called 'de-toeing' as it is an amputation. It's horrifically cruel hence illegal in 38 countries around the world. If it weren't cruel and it was necessary, do you honestly think it would remain legal? These vets lie, they are corrupt and driven by money. Never trust a vet who declaws. They break their oath to harm no animal by destroying the lives of innocent cats.
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Jul 10
When we got our first cat, he was actually a kitten that we rescued and nursed back to health. We had never had cats before, but we had a lot of dogs. When our kitten got well enough to start clawing and tearing up stuff, we thought that it might be a good idea to declaw him. We had no idea what it was, but we heard many people say that they had done it to their cats, so we thought it was kind-of like getting our dogs toenails clipped. When we talked with our Vet about it, however, he told us exactly what they would have to do to our poor kitty. He said that we could have it done, but he wouldn't recommend it and he wouldn't do it. As soon as he told us what they did, we decided that we wouldn't do it, either.
@annamol (275)
• United States
7 Jul 10
Declawing is not cruel, it's just sad. Because what if your cat runs away. If that happens he won't be able to feed or protect himself. That's why it's so sad. But it's not cruel. And if you are 100% sure that your cat will be safe and will always stay with you at home then you can seriously think of declawing it.
• United States
7 Jul 10
Why do you say that it is not cruel just sad? Do you know that they are amputating part of the cat's toe to "declaw" it? That is like cutting off our fingers and toes up to our knuckles, which I am sure is very painful. That is the cruel part, especially since they then have to walk on the stubs, which again I am sure is quite painful. Imagine having your toes cut off up to the joint and then trying to walk on it. Don't get me wrong, I didn't realize that it was such a big deal, either, until I talked to my Vet about declawing our kitten. Once he told me what they had to do, however, I will never do that to a cat.
@ElicBxn (63235)
• United States
4 Jul 10
Honestly, the only time I've ever declawed a cat was after he sent me and the roomie to the hospital 3 times.
• United States
4 Jul 10
I think that I would go by the advice of a Veterinarian that I trusted. My Vet told us what they do when they declaw a cat, and he strongly recommended that we use other methods to avoid our stuff from being torn up. After hearing what really was involved in the procedure, I had to agree with him. I thought that they just snipped the nail really, really short and that was pretty much it, but I was wrong. Do you know what they have to do to declaw a cat?
@KellyGwen (193)
• United States
4 Jul 10
Declawing is cruel. It is also unnecessary. They have SEVERAL products available that can be used instead of having your cat professionally maimed. My favorite are those claw covers that are glued on to your cats nail... It's sort of like a rubber press-on nail :) They need to be replaced monthly, but it is SO worth it! When you get your cat declawed it is VERY painful. If the procedure is done "correctly" they remove the cats toe up to the FIRST KNUCKLE. Then cat can never go outside again because it is unable to protect itself. I have also seen what happens when a cat is declawed incorrectly. If the whole first knuckle isn't removed the nail will regrow under the skin and coil up causing a LOT of pain.
• Canada
16 Jul 10
I would never get my cat's declawed. I heard when they do this they aren't just cutting the nail, but they go furhter than that. It would be like us having the ends of all our finger's cut off. If we wouldn't do that to a human, I believe we should not do that to any animal. As far as them ruining furniture, there are other ways to solve that issue. What my mom has done is bought microfiber couches. Cat's don't scratch them. They can't get their nails caught in that type of fabric as easily.