How do you feel about declawing?

Pamie · 10-14-2007

I completely agree with Joe Katz that declawing is cruel! I would never, ever declaw my cat. There are other, less invasive techniques to try before resorting to such a cruel surgery. I am not sure I agree with the claw caps either. I read in the book House Cat that cats scratch to mark territory and to remove dead skin cells that build up around their claw area. My cat never scratches anything that he is not suppose to, however this wonderful behavior did not happen in 1 hour. I made sure to supply him with scratching posts that are tall enough for him to stretch. If they can't stretch they will use something else, like your couch. I built two cat trees for my cats and one of them has a 3 foot post covered in sisal rope to allow him to stretch to the max. When he showed an undesirable behavior such as jumping up on the two couches which are "humans only" instead of his designated reclining chair with a blanket I would spritz him with a spray bottle containing water and say NO in a semi-loud firm voice. After a while the sight of the bottle was enough to cause him to stop the undesirable behavior. Now, I can just say NO and he stops. It took about 2 months to get to this stage. I suggest buying a cat behavioral book and learning all the different training methods and find one that works for you and your cat. Many people, my boyfriend included has mentioned that to train a cat is alot of work and to some is not worth the time. My answer to that is people who do not want to invest the time to train their cat should not have a cat. You have to take the good with the bad and by putting in extra love and care the bad can be almost completely eliminated. Good Luck and I hope you take this advice to heart and consider your cats position. You are her/his owner and by taking that position you take the position to train him/her and provide him/her with the love, attention, and time that he/she deserves.

Spotkittycat · 10-22-2007

My cat Spot would never go outside as I have trained him and yes I have declawed his front paws only. I have kept the back ones on the one chance he had to climb, he could. If the vet is a good one, this doesn't hurt them at all. On the other hand, if the kitty is and outdoor or an indoor/outdoor kitty, by all means DONT declaw...later

Pamie · 10-23-2007

You have either been sadly misinformed or do not wish to acknowledge how cruel declawing is. However, it is understandable when taken into consideration the role of animals in today's society.
Declawing, which is a euphemism,should be referred to as "de-toeing". The surgery is actually an amputation of the front toe at the first joint. The process, no matter what any veterinarian may tell you, is painful. After the opperation the cat experiences not only physical pain but psychological pain as well. In one study that followed cats for only 5 months after surgery, nearly 1/3 of cats developed complications from both declaw and tendonectomy surgeries. Research has shown that, in the immediate post-operative period, newly declawed cats shift their body weight backward onto the large central pads of the feet, and off the sore toes. This effect was significant even when strong pain medication was given, and remained apparent for the duration of the study (up to 40 hours after the surgery). If this altered gait persists over time, it would cause stress on the leg joints and spine, and could lead to damage and arthritic changes in multiple joints.
As a last "dose of reality", I must pose the question: Did your vet do this surgery for free? The answer of course is no. Unfortunatley for some vets money speaks much louder than the well-being of animals. Vets would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if they stopped providing the declawing option. As long as there are people who do not read all the literature or who try to justify their decision by ignoring the knowledge obtained by research, there will still be vets who are willing to take your money.
Sadly you approach this topic with a euphemisitic attitude. Maybe you would feel different if you were put in the same position as you have put your cat. That is, if your fingers were amputated up to the first joint. Then the doctor who performed your surgery said, "oh well we left your toes whole, it was just your fingers." It always sounds worse when we transfer the surgery to humans, does it not?

Tonkinese and Siamese luv · 11-04-2007

My kitten, Beans, died, but memories of when she was little are still here. Let me tell you some.....
One time I was playing with Beans and she scratched my couch up, so Im like, "Declaw?" and she stopped. It worked wonders for me. She saw my other cat, Nickson, get declawed and I don't think she wants that to hapen to her.

debsiamese · 11-04-2007

Hi there, I am from the UK and it is illegal here to declaw and rightly so. The cats claw is part of their foot and I feel that it is inhumane to rip them out, cats need their claws for a reason, or they would be born without them. Please do not declaw your cat, I have 6 cats and I have 7 Activity centres, all different sizes, thanks to this my cats have never clawed my furniture.
I see a few people have mentioned the claw covers, you can get them in fancy colors too and they look groovy. Give them a go and please do not mame your precious cat for life.

debsiamese · 11-04-2007

WELL SAID, I agree totaly with every single thing you have said here, in the UK declawing is not available and rightly so. I am totaly against it. If cats were not meant to have claws they would be born without them

sandybrewer · 11-11-2007

Hi, I have had cats for the past 20 yrs. I have only declawed one kitty in all that time and would never do it again.
My cats have special shelves built in the living room for viewing the front yard with all the birds. They have a cat tree in my bedroom. They have an elaborate outside cat enclosure. All three of these offer ways to sharpen their claws. Yet, occasionally, I'll catch someone sharpening their claws on my sectional furniture !!!!!
After a small scolding, whoever was doing the sharpening on the furniture, bolts thru the pet door and into the cat enclosure!!!

DaGoZi · 12-28-2007

declawing is important to protect the children around the house. Nobody wants their kids to be scratched by their cats

Pamie · 12-29-2007

Irritated cats are not like irritated dogs. If a cat does not like a child it will not attack the child out of the blue. If a child is taught not to tease the cat the biggest problem you will have is that the cat will ignore the child and run and hide from it.

ThreeDaisy · 05-17-2008

I have never wanted to declaw a cat but this year I did. It was the only way to save my furniture, and my kids arms and legs. My kids friends were getting scratched. I have a cat I've had for several years and she has destroyed furniture the entire time. I have a 7 month old male kitten who has put permanent scars on my kids arms, legs etc. He also climbed the door jams, speakers, and the poster bed. Yes, we know he's a kitten but, It was either declaw or get rid of the cats.
We tried soft paws ( the plastic nail caps ) They didnt work for us because the furniture clawer learned how to bite them off. They might work for someone else.
My cats are very happy cats. My kittens paws were healed within 4 days. The older cat within 8 days. They try to claw the couch and they really think they are doing it. I think that declawing is a circumstantial - personal thing. You can't be down on people who make decisions that are best for them and their families. We have very spoiled happy indoor cats.