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My cats are 100% indoors, but I am very glad they have their claws...it may sound like a longshot, but what if someone broke into my home and they got out? How would they defend themselves with no claws? A microchip does no good if it is only being read so the owner can be informed that their pet has been mauled to death by some larger creature or tortured by mischievous kids...! One time a cat-sitter of mine did not lock the door, (it is a tricky one, and she forgot to lift up and push in while turning the key, so it did not lock even though it looked like it did)...luckily there was no wind so it stayed closed, but if this had happened during the windy season, that door would have blown wide open and I know my female would have gone to explore a bit, being as curious and mischievous as she is...there are enough dangers out there for a cat who is not street-wise (like cars and haters) without the added worry of it being without the very important defensive weapons it would (& SHOULD) naturally have in-tact. I wholeheartedly disagree with de-clawing cats, and no amount of rationalization, especially if it pertains to expensive furnishings, will change that for me.
If a cat's claws are that problematic to some people, maybe they should consider not getting a cat. I can't imagine ever wanting my cat to go through that type of pain and she clearly needs those claws for scratching herself and climbing up her cat furniture. I think if you train your cat from the beginnning to use scratching posts it will for the most of the time use that. My cat has actually NEVER scratched up any of my furniture. She tried to scratch my couch the first two days, but I showed her the scratching post everytime she tried to do it and she got it.
I used to have another cat before and he used to sometimes get nervous and scratch me (I wasn't the first owner and I suspect that his previous owners were mean to him since he was a very nervous cat), even then I'd never consider declawing him! You just have to take precautions when you have a cat that does such things, not declaw them.
declawing has afforded me the joy of these animals. i probably would not have been able to have them had i not had them declawed. we have lived in apartments for several years. many of our furnishings are family antiques. much of the apartment has expensive textiles throughout.
Cats are supposed to have claws.
If people have such luxuriant homes, and are unwilling to simply buy a scratch post and put some effort into training, I would say refrain from having cats as pets. Why does the cat have to be physically altered to suit your environment? You wouldn't buy fish if you didn't have the proper tank and equipment. So why bring cats into a home that you think isn't suitable for their anatomical features?
If people have such luxuriant homes, and are unwilling to simply buy a scratch post and put some effort into training, I would say refrain from having cats as pets. Why does the cat have to be physically altered to suit your environment? You wouldn't buy fish if you didn't have the proper tank and equipment. So why bring cats into a home that you think isn't suitable for their anatomical features?
What a shame. That's all I have to say.
I couldn't agree more!
I am so provoked by people who make it sound like their materials are more important than their pets. I would shape my home to fit my pet, and not the other way around. Sometimes I get the feeling that some people consider them to be objects, but they are living creatures and their value should not be compared to any actual object with a high price tag.
some of these last posts are really sort of silly. you advance an argument that one should adopt cats as they exist in nature. you point out how you think the cat feels pain from declawing, etc. the "essence" of the cat is his claws? is it not, then, painful for the cat to be spayed and/or neutered? by doing these surgical procedures are you taking away the "essence" of the cat? i think not! you do realize that the average feline is born with either male or female anatomy. laser surgery has proven to cut down on extended hospitalizations, and laser surgery has practically eliminated the need for extended pain relief medication. in fact, after declawing, the cat is not given pain medication, as a rule. i'm glad that we now have these procedures for the animals; and i'm extremely pleased that we have professional animal care availabe to those who desire it.
some of these last posts are really sort of silly. you advance an argument that one should adopt cats as they exist in nature. you point out how you think the cat feels pain from declawing, etc. the "essence" of the cat is his claws? is it not, then, painful for the cat to be spayed and/or neutered? by doing these surgical procedures are you taking away the "essence" of the cat? i think not! you do realize that the average feline is born with either male or female anatomy. laser surgery has proven to cut down on extended hospitalizations, and laser surgery has practically eliminated the need for extended pain relief medication. in fact, after declawing, the cat is not given pain medication, as a rule. i'm glad that we now have these procedures for the animals; and i'm extremely pleased that we have professional animal care availabe to those who desire it.
I'll repeat....if it is all so "wonderful" why is it illegal in many countries? Why do many reputable vets refuse to do a "de-claw"? Why? Because it is inhumane to maim an animal for the "comfort" of your furniture.
So cut off the knuckle of your fingers and tell me it is "ok".
Silly is touting unnecessary surgeries that fit your needs.
I'll repeat....if it is all so "wonderful" why is it illegal in many countries? Why do many reputable vets refuse to do a "de-claw"? Why? Because it is inhumane to maim an animal for the "comfort" of your furniture.
So cut off the knuckle of your fingers and tell me it is "ok".
Silly is touting unnecessary surgeries that fit your needs.
Yes! To even compare de-clawing with spaying/neutering ones cats is so far off. When you spay and neuter cats you prevent unwanted cats and save the cat for a lot of stress. You don't see cats suffer from this procedure, but you'll see cats suffer from de-clawing as they will try to scratch themselves in frustration and no, the owners are not around all the time to help them out.
When you de-claw a cat you just take away their claws for selfish reasons. I can imagine it will actually cause the animal more stress. Cats like to climb and scratch, not only themselves, but also for the sake of marking. If one will argue here that it's better to de-claw a cat than making it homeless, then I think that those people who will say so are too lazy to even qualify having a cat in the first place. It's not that hard to teach them where the scratching posts are.
Even so, even if my cat did scratch up some of my expensive furniture, I would still consider my cat to be a pure source of joy in my life. But seriously, if you take some time and effort to train them, this should not be a problem at all.
It's actually illegal to de-claw cats in my country and with good reason.
I'll repeat....if it is all so "wonderful" why is it illegal in many countries? Why do many reputable vets refuse to do a "de-claw"? Why? Because it is inhumane to maim an animal for the "comfort" of your furniture.
So cut off the knuckle of your fingers and tell me it is "ok".
Silly is touting unnecessary surgeries that fit your needs.
I'll repeat....if it is all so "wonderful" why is it illegal in many countries? Why do many reputable vets refuse to do a "de-claw"? Why? Because it is inhumane to maim an animal for the "comfort" of your furniture.
So cut off the knuckle of your fingers and tell me it is "ok".
Silly is touting unnecessary surgeries that fit your needs.
Right on, Shelbygirl1! Some of these people just want to justify their own wrongdoing, and this is why they try to compare s/n procedures which calms them down, reduces the risk of certain potential health risks, and prevents them from unwanted litters to a procedure that is both unnecessary and detrimental to both their physical & emotional state.
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spay-neuter...that's the question???
