How do you feel about declawing cats? Do you think it's okay? Would you ever have you cat declawed?
I would never declaw my cats. I believe it is cruel to them. They have no way to defend themselves without their claws. And how would you like it if you had your nails pulled out?
I take it declawing also removes their razor-sharp teeth then, if it leaves them with no way to defend themselves...
I would not. Even though I hate it when my cat decides to sharpen her claws on my leg. To be, their claws are as necessary as their eyes, or their tails. They need them to be what they are.
I take it it's hard to cope with some clawed furniture, specially expensive ones like sofas and long couches. But there are other ways to prevent them from scratching where you don't want them to.
Claw caps - apparently cats don't really mind wearing these, and both sides win: cat keeps his claws, you keep your furniture untouched.
Keeping claws clipped/trimmed - with a nail clipper.
My kitten got its claws cut trimmed today but he still claws at everything though. can't do much about it anyway, he's young and playful and I still didn't get him a scratching pole.
One of my cats is declawed, but it's just her front feet so she can still grip with her back feet if she jumps. She doesn't go outside so there is no need to worry about defending herself. My other cat, however, still has her claws because she's both outdoor and indoor.
I heard somewhere that declawing cats is bad though, because their claw is a part of their bone.
I assisted in dozens and dozens of declaw surgeries when I worked in animal medicine. It is a horrible, painful, inhumane thing to do to an animal. People believe that it's only their claws being removed. That is not the case. If a person were to have a similar surgery done to them, they would have the first knuckle of every finger cut off. Not just the fingernail, but the entire first knuckle.
There are other ways to deter your cat from tearing up stuff in your house. Declawing cats should be considered animal abuse, as far as I'm concerned. I can't remember how many of those surgeries went wrong and resulted in a cat in major pain, severe bleeding, massive infections and in 2 cases, the cats died.
If you own a cat and are considering having this horrid thing done to them, ask yourself how well you'd do with the top knuckle of every finger removed.
For the first part - exactly as Rebecca Chambers stated. Claws aren't their only defence.
Secondly, people do have their fingernails/toenails pulled out when there are issues. Declawing is not simply like the removal of human fingernails. It's much more complex and inhumane. :rolleyes:
It sounds like something that would be very uncomfortable for the cat and judging by [MENTION=1290]Smooth[/MENTION]'s post it is even worse than that. It's unnatural for a cat not to have its claws as they are such an integral part of what a cat is. I would suggest that if you feel the need to do this to your cat, perhaps you would be better off not owning a cat at all. Maybe fish would be a better pet for you.
can't do much about it anyway, he's young and playful and I still didn't get him a scratching pole.
