[kat]

Okay, I am just going to put this out there... because I keep reading this and frankly it is making me soooooo angry!

WHY IN HEAVENS SAKE WOULD PEOPLE DE-CLAW THEIR CATS!!!!

In my opinion, if you are so worried about your materialistic stuff in your house, like furniture, tables etc WHY would you get a cat... IN FACT why would you have pets in the first place. Cats AND dogs can make a pretty big mess, IF they're not trained! My kitties very seldom scratch my furniture, BECAUSE i have provided enough scratching posts for them...

uuuurrrrggg! Sorry y'all, I just get so angry! I mean, how would they like it if someone cut off the tips of their fingers and told them TO DEAL WITH IT!

Even though cats can't talk they still have rights... AND THIS IS JUST NOT RIGHT! Oh, I'm so angry!!!

Even if my little babies scratch my furniture (and they do, don't get me wrong...) the furniture is materialistic... I can replace that... BUT I can't replace Dizi and Sasha, and the way they are today!

Some people would argue that its the same with neutering and spaying, but that isn't permanent damage physically and mentally for them... in fact, since I've had my Sasha spayed, she is FINE! If it ever affected her behaviour it has been positively! Its ironic, people come onto this site claiming that they are such big cat lovers but THEY DO THAT! WHAAAAT???? Please explain this to me... why do they even have cats if they're so concerned about how their furniture etc is going to look in a couple of years... WHO CARES! For me it adds character in my house... its like theres a sign up that says "spoilt cats live here"

Sorry, it just really affects me as to how cruel and inhumane people can be, and they wonder why their cats have behavioural problems...

Okay, I've vented... where was I...

[acerlt]

whew! When I first saw the title of your thread Kat my stomach sunk, I was afraid you were asking about it for your babies.

Yes, I am avidly rabidly against declawing. It is banned in at least 26 civilized countries around the world as cruel and inhumane, and six cities so far in the USA.

England
Scotland
Wales
Italy
France
Germany
Bosnia
Austria
Switzerland
Norway
Sweden
Netherlands
Northern Ireland
Ireland
Denmark
Finland
Slovenia
Portugal
Belgium
Brazil
Australia
New Zealand
Yugoslavia
Malta
Israel

The USA cities are:

West Hollywood, CA
Santa Monica, CA
Beverly Hills, CA
Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco, CA

And Norfolk Va

Here is a website that gives more information, including the amputation that is actually performed on these poor cats.

DECLAWING: What You Need to Know

It is base mutilation for the sake of lazy selfish humans and I will not believe anyone who can use the words "love my cat" and "declawing" in the same sentence.

[kat]

hehehe, that is kind of my point!

I want to catch people's attention so that they read it... so if they search "de-claw" then they will find this thread - I'm cheeky hey?

But people need to seriously learn, and thank you for listing all the countries that it is illegal... that helps my purpose

[supersmithy]

Oh, I agree wholeheartedly, it makes my blood boil to think that so called "cat lovers" can do such a thing. To take away a cats natural defences will of course affect their phsychological state.

We have discussed this in depth previously and Kat I feel just the same WHY have cats if you are worried about the state of your house!!

I too have scratching posts but Sasha just loves clawing at the carpet in our bedroom, I kind of tell her off but she just looks at me and I melt : it's not such a big deal...

So - too add my voice, JUST DONT DO IT!!!!!!!!!!

[AK49BWL]

Originally Posted by acerlt

It is base mutilation for the sake of lazy selfish humans and I will not believe anyone who can use the words "love my cat" and "declawing" in the same sentence.

Truer words were never spoken IMO..

Thanks for this post though, now I have a good solid link I can use to show people I need to tell this to.

[Lu_Bloodmoon]

Well done Kat! I couldn't have said it better and I totally agree with you.

It's a horrid, cruel, bestial and inhumane (I could keep on using adjectives here) thing to do to a cat, an animal you are supposed to love and care for. Cats cannot defend themselves or even scratch an itchy spot if they're declawed!!! It makes me so MAD just thinking there are people doing that, those people should not be allowed to have animals.

I had a dog and now I have a cat, of course sometimes they damage some things around the house but if I wanted to have a house like a museum where nothing can be touched or ruined, I wouldn't bring an animal to live with me! I probably wouldn't live there myself LOL.

My cat behaves pretty well so far, but I have a couple of scratches on my sofa already and I DON'T CARE really. They're just physical objects that can be easily replaced. My cat, on the other hand, can't be replaced.

P.S. My dog used to chew a lot when she was a puppy and ruined some stuff like a mobile phone, a tv remote, a wooden table... but I always forgave her. It's in their nature to be a little wild. :P

[kat]

EXACTLY Lu... like I said earlier, I think it adds character to the house...

Its just so sad that people even consider this kind of torture!

I wonder how they would feel if they had their nails ripped out of them without a say in the matter

I bet they would not be thrilled I can tell you... but our little furry bundles of joy have no voice, so my thoughts with this post is to give them a voice...

On behalf of all our little kitties: "JUST DON'T DO IT... THINK OF WHAT WE WOULD SAY IF WE HAD BEEN ASKED... "I DON'T WANNA!!!!" "

[Lu_Bloodmoon]

Some people should think twice before getting an animal, I mean all of us - humans - need to be conscious and realise what is more important: to gain a furry friend or lose some material stuff. If they prefer the second one, please don't get a pet. Sometimes animals can't help it, they're just being themselves.

For example, last summer I did some re-decoration in my home and replaced all curtains. I remember at the time taking into consideration that I was getting a kitten soon and that he might eventually destroy the curtains. So instead of buying some stupidly expensive curtains, I decided to buy some less expensive ones, easily replaced (without crying for the money spent) if a "cat accident" occurred. It didn't so far but you can never be sure.

It's just to say that an animal brings extra responsibilities and obligations. They depend on you for almost everything: food, water, love, etc. Just came to my mind a recent comment from someone I know: "I can't be bothered to clean my cat's litter box everyday or when it needs to be cleaned." - Then why on earth did you get a cat if you can't be bothered with something so simple to do? DUH I can't understand this... some people want a pet but not the trouble.

But I digress from the topic, sorry.

[J.J.]

Interesting topic.. YES I do agree with all of you .. animals have feelings. I'm sure if you were in a kitty's place you wouldn't like it...

OMG.. I would never do that to MY Tasha.. EVER... cats are very week animals and their only way of defending themselves is their claws without them, they could be in serious dangour.. I should know cause Tasha once had a fight with another a cat in the street, you should've seen her !!! nothing major but, she wouldn't let me touch her..( she was hurt really bad) Imagine she never had her claws that day; her wounds would've been serious.... Oh thank GOD

As you all said : if you want everything in your house perfect, simply don't get a pet

[musicanimal]

I completely agree with you all. "Amputation is mutilation". When you get into the basic damage it's doing it's just terrible. First they cut off their nails up to what is considered our middle knuckle. This can potentially cause spine issues for them. Not to mention there is a potential for the nail to grow back, and supposedly it's twice as painful as when they took the nail out. I can't understand why anyone would want to take this chance on another's god given rights. And then if someone burglarizes their home, or it burns (heaven forbid) or a window is left open and kitty escapes in one of those manners. Kitty now has to figure out how to manage in the world with no defense. I could rant all day on this as well with you. Everytime I hear someone talk about declawing, I immediately butt myself into their conversation and unleash the info. I know, they probably think I'm crazy. But I am, who am I to disagree! haha.