Do you believe that declawing cats is cruel?

[ZooGirl02]

Hey everyone. Do you believe that declawing cats is cruel? I personally feel that it is cruel no matter how it is done or at what age it is done.I am creating a poll for the purposes of this thread. Please vote.

 

[ZooGirl02]

Also, for the purposes of the thread, here are a couple of links which argue that declawing is cruel:

Is Declawing Cruel? - CatStation

A Rational Look at Declawing

The Truth About Declawing

And here is a more objective article from Wikipedia about it:

Onychectomy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would note, however, that the article says the neutrality of the article is disputed. If anyone knows of a more objective and neutral article then please feel free to post it.

 

[savagewind]

I do not know if declawing causes pain or suffering for the animal so I cannot vote it is cruel. I believe it is an unkindness to do it.

 

[dawny0826]

I'm neutral on the issue.

I've never declawed my cats and signed a contract stating that I would not have my cats declawed as the rescue organization that I adopted them from was of the opinion that declawing was inhumane and I agreed as a condition of adoption to having their nails regularly trimmed as opposed to declawing.

I was fine with that when I adopted them and still am.

However, I have known many cat owners who opted to have their cats declawed and kitties healed just fine and lived happy lives with no problem. These were, however, households where kitties were raised as "only kitties", without other animals for which they would need to defend themselves and they were also indoor kitties, not needing their claws for the plethora of practical reasons that an outdoor "hunter" might.

Growing up with dogs and cats, we always felt it a little unfair to declaw our cats, as it deprived them of their natural ability to defend themselves via claw and by trimming their claws and providing them kitty-friendly items to scratch, we were able to curtail the unpleasantries of scratched furniture and picked carpet. But, like I said, we knew a great deal of cats who were declawed and their owners were cool in our eyes.

Overall, I'm of the opinion that loving, responsible pet owners should be able to make the decisions that they feel are right for their pets, without judgement. The people that I take issue with are those who neglect their critters and fail to act in their perceived best interest.

 

[ZooGirl02]

I have a beautiful Domestic Short Hair cat which is a female named Precious. I have pretty much always been against declawing and so I did not get her declawed and will not ever get her declawed despite the fact that her claws can cause annoyances sometimes. For example, she sometimes uses my blanket as a scratching post to wake me up in the mornings and then of course there are the accidental times when she claws me while getting off of my leg or something.

 

[Revoltingest]

I voted <not cruel>, presuming we're speaking of indoor cats who don't have to defend themselves.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I voted <not cruel>, presuming we're speaking of indoor cats who don't have to defend themselves.

This is my position, too.

 

[Quintessence]

If I'm going to call this surgery - which is preformed under anesthesia - cruel then I also have to call any and all surgeries performed on non-human animals for non-medical reasons "cruel." This would include any sterilization on any non-human animal, because rarely is there a legitimate medical reason for such surgeries. We do it because we don't want our pets reproducing. I'm not going to say "sterilizing your pet is okay" and then say "declawing your pet is not okay." Both are done for the benefit of humans more than they are for the benefit of the other creature, and both will fundamentally alter the nature of the creature for its lifetime and have the potential for bad complications.

I can already hear the objection: "but we sterilize our pets for a good reason; we don't want to increase the population of feral strays and further overburden animal shelters." Okay. How about instead we keep our pets indoors as is recommended in the first place? Or keep the cat contained to your fenced-in yard under a watchful eye? Problem solved, no surgery required. Your cat won't get run over by traffic, won't get in fights with other creatures and incur wounds that may require medical attention, and won't suffer from potential environmental overexposures. Plus, it will make those of us who love the local wildlife very happy to have one less cat killing off native bird and mammal species. This isn't a minor ecological problem, it's a serious one that could easily be prevented.

 

[crossfire]

"Declawing" is surgical removal of the entire front joint of each toe. It would be like you having all of your fingers cut off at the first joint, which is something we humans have done to each other specifically as a form of torture, so yes, I voted that declawing is cruel.

 

[Secret Chief]

YES. Yes. And yes.

 

[crossfire]

I'm not so sure about having your pet sterilized is being cruel. I know PMS and childbirth is hell, and from what I have observed from my cats, full-blown estrous has got to be total hell!

 

[Secret Chief]

Thankfully illegal in the UK, unless a medical need.

If you need to commit unnecessary amputations to have a cat, choose another pet to fit your lifestyle.

 

[Secret Chief]

Seems to be only common in the US, China and Korea. Good company there, US.

 

[ZooGirl02]

If I'm going to call this surgery - which is preformed under anesthesia - cruel then I also have to call any and all surgeries performed on non-human animals for non-medical reasons "cruel." This would include any sterilization on any non-human animal, because rarely is there a legitimate medical reason for such surgeries. We do it because we don't want our pets reproducing. I'm not going to say "sterilizing your pet is okay" and then say "declawing your pet is not okay." Both are done for the benefit of humans more than they are for the benefit of the other creature, and both will fundamentally alter the nature of the creature for its lifetime and have the potential for bad complications.

I can already hear the objection: "but we sterilize our pets for a good reason; we don't want to increase the population of feral strays and further overburden animal shelters." Okay. How about instead we keep our pets indoors as is recommended in the first place? Or keep the cat contained to your fenced-in yard under a watchful eye? Problem solved, no surgery required. Your cat won't get run over by traffic, won't get in fights with other creatures and incur wounds that may require medical attention, and won't suffer from potential environmental overexposures. Plus, it will make those of us who love the local wildlife very happy to have one less cat killing off native bird and mammal species. This isn't a minor ecological problem, it's a serious one that could easily be prevented.

I really do wish that people would keep their cats indoors. Not only would it help to prevent overpopulation of cats but it is much safer for them in general. However, a female cat in heat will do anything to get outside so she can be around males that will impregnate her. Believe me, I know. I let Precious go into heat one time so that way I knew for sure she was old enough to get spayed. She really really wanted to get outside and she is an exclusively indoor only cat.

That said, I have heard that spaying a female cats prevents certain cancers.

 

[Father Heathen]

Seems to be only common in the US, China and Korea. Good company there, US.

It is good company, as they have the right idea to regard cats as a delicacy.

I regard declawing no more cruel than spaying or neutering.

 

[ZooGirl02]

I'm not so sure about having your pet sterilized is being cruel. I know PMS and childbirth is hell, and from what I have observed from my cats, full-blown estrous has got to be total hell!

Yeah it must be. I mean they howl and go nuts! I remember when Precious was in heat. She seemed like she was miserable. Poor thing. So I would honestly think that spaying a female cat is best for them.

 

[ZooGirl02]

It is good company, as they have the right idea to regard cats as a delicacy.

I regard declawing no more cruel than spaying or neutering.

Oh man don't get me started. I abhor the fact that some people eat cats. I admit it is purely an emotional reaction which is not based upon logic and rationality but that's just the way I am.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Like Q said, any surgery performed on an animal that is not done for the animal's health is cruelty.

 

[Secret Chief]

Neutering is to try to reduce the over population.

Declawing is a barbaric act done for some human reason. What is it? Furniture?

 

[savagewind]

Neutering is to try to reduce the over population.

Declawing is a barbaric act done for some human reason. What is it? Furniture?

Rugs and furniture. My cat tries to dig it's way under the door.