Is declawing a cat inhumane?

[Hera]

So, I''ve come across at least two people where I''ve explained what declawing does and they firmly come back that it''s not harmful or inhumane

. What do guys say when the topic comes up?

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 11/3/2009 4:20:37 PM
Author: heraanderson
So, I''ve come across at least two people where I''ve explained what declawing does and they firmly come back that it''s not harmful or inhumane

. What do guys say when the topic comes up?

Ugh @ them. I point out that if I removed THEIR fingernails they would consider it inhumane, painful, and unnecessary.

 

[dragonfly411]

Date: 11/3/2009 4:29:33 PM
Author: MonkeyPie

Date: 11/3/2009 4:20:37 PM

Author: heraanderson

So, I''ve come across at least two people where I''ve explained what declawing does and they firmly come back that it''s not harmful or inhumane

. What do guys say when the topic comes up?

Ugh @ them. I point out that if I removed THEIR fingernails they would consider it inhumane, painful, and unnecessary.

What she said

 

[TravelingGal]

I would totally declaw a cat, which is why I am not a cat owner.

OK, I''m kidding (don''t get your backs up!) I wouldn''t declaw one...seems mean. Thanks goodness cats and I don''t mix so I don''t have to get frustrated over the scratching thing. TGuy loves cats, and I made it clear he will never ever have a cat again (they are the only things I''m really allergic to) and he has made it clear I will never ever have a dog (he pretends to be allergic).

Thanks goodness that there are plenty of other animal lovers out there who can take our share!

 

[Pandora II]

Just out of interest, WHY are vets in the USA prepared to do declawing?

Seems very odd when you have chosen a job that is all about animal welfare that you would be prepared to mutilate an animal for the sake of someone''s sofa???

 

[Gleam]

Date: 11/3/2009 6:22:11 PM
Author: Pandora II
Just out of interest, WHY are vets in the USA prepared to do declawing?


Seems very odd when you have chosen a job that is all about animal welfare that you would be prepared to mutilate an animal for the sake of someone's sofa???

Many, many vets really don't give two hoots about animals. They are running a business. You can hire a vet to say practically anything -- and I've seen it. I volunteer at one of the nation's largest no-kill shelters and it's absolutely unbelievable what I've heard vets say... there was a vet who stood up in city hall as an "expert witness" and declared that neutering your dog or cat isn't necessary. It has been PROVEN neutering reduces aggression and overpopulation, hence why you cannot adopt from any ASCPA and most private shelters without having the animal neutered first. But an organization against neutering laws hired this vet to say a blatant lie.

Trust me. Do not blindly trust vets. I have also seen animals who have had to undergo dozens of unnecessary treatments and surgeries because the vet makes money doing it.

With my own dog, a vet told me he needed extensive dental work that would total over $1,000 and involve general anesthesia (which can be very dangerous for dogs of my dog's body type). I got a second opinion and was told that actually, he just needed a gentle cleaning and a bone to gnaw on.

Never completely trust anybody. Everyone's got an agenda including vets. Doctors, too.

By the way, a huge number of vets are also employed in animal testing facilities. And they're not exactly there to help the animals get better.

 

[HollyS]

Post deleted.

 

[MishB]

Date: 11/3/2009 11:51:59 AM
Author: Aloros
Definitely inhumane. It''s not always easy to train a cat not to scratch, but it''s worth it! I also tend to avoid buying things I know my cat would search out, scratch, and destroy (wicker is RIGHT OUT). All my couches are microfiber.

MishB, it''s definitely more difficult to train an older cat not to scratch inappropriate objects. How is your boy with having his paws touched? I keep mine''s claws regularly trimmed, which also makes it easier to avoid getting scratched up when I play with him. If he''s fine with it, you can also try the softpaws. I''d recommend one of the colored ones, so you can tell if they are still on.

Try different materials, and vertical/horizontal scratching objects. See what he likes best. If you catch him scratching something he''s not supposed to, a firm ''no'', and then redirect him to what you DO want him to scratch. Praise praise praise if he does it. Douse your scratching objects in catnip - helps make them more appealing.

You can train him out of it, but it''s going to take a lot of work and a lot of consistency.

Oh yes, we''ve tried all manner of other scratching surfaces. He''ll have a go at them, but we can not stop him also scratching the couch.

The main problem is, he likes to do it best at 4am, 4.30am, 5.00am, 5.30am, etc until you get out of bed and come and tell him to stop it. Then he''s achieved his objective, which is getting you up to feed him, play with him or let him outside even though he knows he can''t go out at night.

We''ve tried ''not giving in to him'' but that just makes him up the ante until you finally have to get up. The last resort is to lock him in the garage, but he honestly howls and bangs on the door for hours (he''s a very big cat so makes a lot of noise) until you let him out.

I''ve slept with earplugs every night since we got him.

 

[yssie]

you've got a feisty one there!

Could you try leaving a TV or radio on softly at night? Something with a lot of talking usually works when our three start yowling or pawing the bedroom door - FI has a day of CSPAN taped for just this purpose

I do think he'll calm down once he's used to you and his new home, and feels completely safe, though. This can take a while - esp. with older kitties.

 

[MishB]

Date: 11/3/2009 9:38:21 PM
Author: yssie

you''ve got a feisty one there!

Could you try leaving a TV or radio on softly at night? Something with a lot of talking usually works when our three start yowling or pawing the bedroom door - FI has a day of CSPAN taped for just this purpose

I do think he''ll calm down once he''s used to you and his new home, and feels completely safe, though. This can take a while - esp. with older kitties.

We''ve had him 3 years!!

Seriously, we took him to the vet to talk about putting him on some sort of medication (clomicalm), they took some tests to find out if he''s suitable, and the vet has just called me to say there are some anomalies in the red/white cell count test. We have to take him back for retesting in a week or two. It might be nothing, but it could be the early onset of something bad.

He''s a total PIA but we love the furry little focker.

 

[anchor31]

When I adopted my cats, they were already de-clawed and neutered. I wouldn''t do it myself, but thankfully, they didn''t develop any biting problem.

 

[Callisto]

Date: 11/3/2009 4:20:37 PM
Author: heraanderson
So, I''ve come across at least two people where I''ve explained what declawing does and they firmly come back that it''s not harmful or inhumane

. What do guys say when the topic comes up?

You might already do this but if you show them on your hand where they cut off the nail on a cat sometimes it helps(which is the first knuckle closest to your nail). Many people think you can cut just the nail off somehow, while still bad sounding doesn''t quite have the same response and realizing that they really cut off all the fingertips.

Or maybe see if you can find a video of it being done? I''ve never looked for one since I''ve seen it in person, but I almost passed out from watching it so I bet seeing a video would be pretty effective.

 

[DiamondSmitten]

This is SUCH a hard question for me. I was SUPER SUPER ANTI declaw... read ALL about it and thought it was terrible. I had two cats with the ex that we didn''t declaw.... MUCH to his mother''s dismay. He still has both cats and they are great and have ruined very few things and are generally not aggressive. I took in a feral 5 week old kitten 2.5 yrs ago from the prison I work at. I bottle fed him, cared for him.... and he is still...well... EVIL. He attacks.... unprovoked... quite frequently. Only me and a few select family members can even go near him... and even that isn''t ok ALL the time. I adopted another cat from a shelter. A total angel. And he attacked her... ALL the time... Took a chunk from her ear... made her bleed constantly just when she would walk by. I looked like I had been in a knife fight most of the time from separating them or trying to tame him. My younger brother is really the only one who can handle him at all. NO strangers can. I had to make a really tough executive decision. He would NEVER get adopted from a shelter because NO one can touch him. I couldn''t go on living like that anymore either. So it was declaw and keep him for a long healthy well cared for life. Just before the surgery he mauled the vet, the vet tech ended up with over 35 stitches.... and that was just trying to get him under anesthesia. The 3 days after I brought him home... was so hard on me. His paws looked awful. He looked like he was in pain. By one week later..... it was like NOTHING happened. In fact he was a bit more docile. He started cleaning and snuggling the other cat. Even when he swatted it didn''t hurt so they got along better. In fact... he gets more affection now than ever because people aren''t afraid of him anymore.

This was NOT a furniture scratching issue for me. I would NEVER do it for that reason. It was a carefully and painfully weighed out choice over his long term quality of life. He still "uses" his scratcher out of pure habit I''m sure. He still massages soft blankets to comfort him. He honestly acts as though absolutely nothing ever happened since 6 or 7 days post operation. I realize there is a possibility that I simply got very lucky that it went so well. I still get TERRIBLE reactions from people... but ONLY from those who never met and knew how aggressive he was.

ALL I am saying is sometimes it can be the best option. The caps for us were a joke... A) you couldn''t get them on him without drugging him and B) even if the vet put them on.... he got them off anyhow. Now he has another 13-17 years of good nutrition, good vet care and a home with the dogs and people he loves.

 

[that_someone_special]

All 4 cats have their claws.

My cat R would''ve probably gotten it, but he stopped climbing screens and became REALLY good at getting his nails trimmed.
FI cat P is a little sh!t monster that I would declaw in a heartbeat. He is too old though, so we won''t do it. He will MAUL you. He is a very big cat, with a very big mouth. He DOES NOT like his nails cut. In fact, you cant go near his paws without him screaming at you, biting, hissing, whatever. He has sliced my hand open several times from me trying to cut his nails. He also rips holes in our bedsheets. He likes to scratch the sheets at 2-5am in the morning until we yell at him and kick him out of the bedroom

BUT since he is too old to get declawed, I have HAD to think of other ways to trim his nails, and ohmigod it is hard.

I wait until he is sleepy and I barely touch his paw. I normally can only get 1 nail to maybe 1 whole paw clipped if I''m lucky. It usually takes a month to trim his nails. By the time I get the last one clipped, I need to start over. FI doesn''t even try now, because P will flip out and I''m guessing feel ganged up on. I am glad we didn''t need to resort to the declawing. But, I think sometimes it''s necessary. Just not for us though