Is declawing a cat inhumane?

[kenny]

Cities are adopting laws against it, calling it animal cruelty.

Link

 

[princesss]

Yes.

 

[kenny]

What about caps?

If a cat with claw caps gets out of the house it cannot defend itself either.

 

[zhuzhu]

YES.

 

[Haven]

Yes, it is inhumane.

If you do a quick search on here you''ll find many past discussions on the topic. I think you''d find them interesting.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I believe de-clawing is inhumane. It robs them of their self-defense and also impedes their ability to scratch themselves if they get an itch or dig in their litter boxes. If it comes to a question of de-clawing them or putting them to sleep, de-clawing would be a necessary evil.

I never heard of caps.

 

[DianaBanana]

Yah...they actually cut off part of their bone. It''s quite disgusting. I feel the same way about the cropping/docking of dog''s ears and tails.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

not only is it inhumane, it''s often not permanent which can lead to serious issues with abscesses. One of my cats Binks had a strange extra digit on his paws between his "thumb" and first claw. It consisted of only a claw on his palm. The vet was concerned with it not touching the ground and being naturally filed and so she suggested removing them (he had one on each paw). Several years later he was in the vet''s office for an unrelated matter and we noticed he had a sore on his paw. It turns out the claw on one of his paw grew back and created an abscess where it couldn''t break the skin. The vet said that can happen when the surgery doesn''t'' remove the entire nail bed.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Declawing is inhumane. I''d never do it to my cats even though one of them is naughty and scratches us all the time.

 

[Lorelei]

In my opinion it is inhumane and it is also illegal in the UK.

 

[Laila619]

It is absolutely inhumane and wrong. Cats need their claws.

I have two cats, and neither of them scratch or destroy furniture. There is just no need to declaw a cat. If folks are too lazy to train their cat not to scratch, then they should not own one.

 

[ladypirate]

Absolutely.

The caps don''t bother me on indoor-only cats, but we don''t use them with ours.

 

[kenny]

What about caps?

I''ve seen pics her of cats with claw caps.

 

[absolut_blonde]

Yes.

Scratching is a natural instinct and NEED for cats. It is how they stretch and strengthen.

It seems to me that when an owner has an issue with cats scratching - the problem lies with the owner, not the cat. For example, not providing appropriate scratching surface(s). Lots of people buy a small foot-high carpet post and think that the cat should be thrilled. That's not to say cats need a zillion items, but a variety of 2-3 is nice (some, like my kitty, prefer more coarse, tightly woven surfaces to the traditional pile carpet type of post).

We were going to use SoftPaws (SoftClaws?) rather than declaw but so far we've not even had to do that. Kitty sticks to his post and other toys. I was really worried b/c we have brand new leather furniture but leather doesn't interest him in the slightest!

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/2/2009 5:04:12 PM
Author: Laila619
It is absolutely inhumane and wrong. Cats need their claws.

I have two cats, and neither of them scratch or destroy furniture. There is just no need to declaw a cat. If folks are too lazy to train their cat not to scratch, then they should not own one.

I completely agree. We have three little boys and they all have all of their claws. The only things they scratch in the house are their scratching posts and cat trees. We don''t have any problems with scratching at all.

 

[dragonfly411]

100% inhumane. Cats need their claws. How would you feel if someone removed your fingernails?

 

[Lauren8211]

My cats are declawed. They were adopted that way, we did not declaw them, nor would we declaw a kitten if we adopted one.

Both cats still have good temperaments, although I've heard rumors that they "aren't the same" after the fact. I didn't know them before, but they've always been sweet kitties.

My older cat, it almost seems like he got a botched declaw. The toes look funny, and when he jumps from higher places (such as out of your arms) he gets pain in his feet. He shakes them out, and sometimes limps.

I love my declawed kitties, but I would never declaw my cat. It's inhumane. With proper training, cats can use their claws responsibly!

ETA: My cats have literally never bitten me, so I think the declaw/biting relationship may not be causal. This does not change the fact that I would never declaw.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Declawing - YES. It is inhumane and cruel.

Caps - I don't think it's inhumane. We've used them with our kittens (ours have almost no chance of getting loose outdoors however, and the caps come off fairly easily with ours - one reason why I'm actually giving up on them and just clipping their nails).

ETA: I actually have a friend who declawed his cat, and who strongly urged that I declaw mine

He told me his didn't seem to have much of a personality change when she was declawed ... I said, "Well I heard they bite more, since they're deprived of their primary means to defend themselves." To which he admitted, "Well she does bite a lot more..."

Mine are happy boys who do get a little overenthusiastic when they're playing or hungry (and I end up with scratches), and I couldn't bear to even think about risking changing their personalities and deforming them just so I can be a little more comfortable.

 

[HopeDream]

Yes.

So is cutting the fingers off of a human being at the first knuckel.

Would our hands still mostly work? Yes. Is it fair? No.

Cats need their claws for traction to be able to stretch their backs properly.

If you're realy worried about furniture being scratched Caps are certainly more humane, but so is getting a dog.

If you realy want a cat - you gotta be okay with the whole package (kind of like when getting a spouse).

 

[Gleam]

Definitely inhumane. Every shelter in Chicago requires you sign a form agreeing not to declaw an adopted cat.

And for heaven''s sake, so much of the time things go wrong for the OWNER. Often, there''s terrible nerve damage when a cat is declawed because essentially part of its toe is amputated. There may be extreme sensitivity, so the cat will no longer go in its litter box because it can''t stand the feeling of the litter underneath its feet. I mean, that really sucks for the owner and the cat.

I''m glad so many here agree.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 11/2/2009 5:04:12 PM
Author: Laila619
It is absolutely inhumane and wrong. Cats need their claws.

I have two cats, and neither of them scratch or destroy furniture. There is just no need to declaw a cat. If folks are too lazy to train their cat not to scratch, then they should not own one.

Ditto.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 11/2/2009 5:05:19 PM
Author: kenny
What about caps?

I''ve seen pics her of cats with claw caps.

Declawing - inhumane. I have a friend that declawed her first cat because they were having a baby and she didn''t want it to scratch him. Well guess what? He became mean and eventually started biting, HARD. He bit me several times when visiting. And surprise surprise - they got rid of him. I was pissed.

And caps, or SoftPaws, are NOT inhumane. They are also easy for the kitties to take off if they really want to - one bite and they are gone. Not to mention that just because a cat gets out of the house, does not mean they will promptly have to be able to defend themselves, and owners should be paying enough attention to their kitties that they don''t escape anyway.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 11/2/2009 5:56:45 PM
Author: MonkeyPie

Date: 11/2/2009 5:05:19 PM

Author: kenny

What about caps?


I''ve seen pics her of cats with claw caps.

Declawing - inhumane. I have a friend that declawed her first cat because they were having a baby and she didn''t want it to scratch him. Well guess what? He became mean and eventually started biting, HARD. He bit me several times when visiting. And surprise surprise - they got rid of him. I was pissed.


And caps, or SoftPaws, are NOT inhumane. They are also easy for the kitties to take off if they really want to - one bite and they are gone. Not to mention that just because a cat gets out of the house, does not mean they will promptly have to be able to defend themselves, and owners should be paying enough attention to their kitties that they don''t escape anyway.

That last line is so not true - I had a cat once who would push screens out of windows to get outside, he loved being outside and he would NOT stay inside no matter how diligent we were. My cats right now don''t even look outside even though one of them was a stray for years on our property. Fully love being inside - but a cat that really wants out - it really isn''t about paying enough attention.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 11/2/2009 6:01:26 PM
Author: Cehrabehra

Date: 11/2/2009 5:56:45 PM

Author: MonkeyPie

Date: 11/2/2009 5:05:19 PM


Author: kenny


What about caps?



I''ve seen pics her of cats with claw caps.

Declawing - inhumane. I have a friend that declawed her first cat because they were having a baby and she didn''t want it to scratch him. Well guess what? He became mean and eventually started biting, HARD. He bit me several times when visiting. And surprise surprise - they got rid of him. I was pissed.

And caps, or SoftPaws, are NOT inhumane. They are also easy for the kitties to take off if they really want to - one bite and they are gone. Not to mention that just because a cat gets out of the house, does not mean they will promptly have to be able to defend themselves, and owners should be paying enough attention to their kitties that they don''t escape anyway.

That last line is so not true - I had a cat once who would push screens out of windows to get outside, he loved being outside and he would NOT stay inside no matter how diligent we were. My cats right now don''t even look outside even though one of them was a stray for years on our property. Fully love being inside - but a cat that really wants out - it really isn''t about paying enough attention.

LOL you had an overachiever! I was thinking about kitties that dart out the door when you open it.

 

[lulu]

It''s inhumane. My guys all have their claws. They can be trained to use a scratching post, but you have to accept that there''s a tradeoff with pets. And I think it''s well worth it.

 

[zhuzhu]

Why would ANYONE ever want to brutally cut the claws off these beautiful creatures??

 

[yssie]

Unless there''s medical reason, it could be a definition of inhumane: it''s cruel, it''s unnecessary, and it''s usually a casual choice made by someone too lazy to research the procedure, too selfish of his or her material possessions to pursue alternatives, or simply too thoughtless to care.

If someone tried to do exactly the same thing to his or her children people would scream bloody murder - and with very good reason.


Softpaws are very different: they''re removable and they don''t permanently affect claw and paw development - it''s not surgery! If a cat with softpaws got outside, though, it could definitely be a problem, and the onus is on the owner to make sure this doesn''t happen. All the kitty owners I know, fortunately, take their responsibilities toward their furbabies very seriously

 

[radiantquest]

Pete and Kitty both have all their claws. Pete loves outside. We let him out regularly, like everyday, several times a day. Sometimes he chooses to stay out all night. I find that since he goes outside he scratches trees and such so there really isn''t a problem in the house. Kitty has different nails than Pete. I don''t know what it is, but it seems like they come out farther than Petes do when she puts them out. She is also a kneader. Constantly. She even does it on my bare skin not knowing any better. We try to keep hers cut since she doesn''t have bark outside like Pete does, but she sometimes gets stuck on the rugs. It is quite funny. She never rips her nails out she just has to put them away and she is loose, but since she kneads so much they are nearly always out and it takes her a minute to remember.

I would never declaw. Ever. When Pete was a teenager he would attack my ankles. He would curl around them and dig his nails in and bite as hard as he could. I don''t know what it was all about, but he eventually stopped. Although I have permanent scars from his teenage years I never even entertained the idea of declawing him.

I read somewhere that when they do it they have to remove part of the bone and as someone posted earlier it is like cutting off the end of a humans fingers at the first knuckle.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 11/2/2009 7:55:09 PM
Author: radiantquest
Kitty has different nails than Pete. I don''t know what it is, but it seems like they come out farther than Petes do when she puts them out. She is also a kneader. Constantly. She even does it on my bare skin not knowing any better. We try to keep hers cut since she doesn''t have bark outside like Pete does, but she sometimes gets stuck on the rugs. It is quite funny. She never rips her nails out she just has to put them away and she is loose, but since she kneads so much they are nearly always out and it takes her a minute to remember.

LOL I had a kitten that did this - she would get stuck on the carpet while walking and just faceplant. And I felt so bad, but her claws WERE trimmed, it was just something about how she flexed them out when she walked. She outgrew it, but the first few weeks after she learned to walk were just so funny.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I would never do it to my cats