Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We got seedless watermelons. So why can't science give us a genetically modified clawless cat?
That'd be terrible for those cats. Cats escape all the time, or equally often, are simply abandoned. Without claws, they'd be absolutely defenseless, and probably terrified since they'd know it.
Thankfully this practice is frowned upon by most animal experts, but in this country, it is not illegal. In fact, over 20% of cats in the USA have been declawed.
That source details all kinds of drawbacks and dangers of the practice. Spoiler alert: cats are prescribed FENTANYL to cope with the recovery.
And there are absolutely 0 benefits to the cat.
In several countries, declawing is outright banned.
What's your take?
Yes, there are some towns and cities that have passed laws about declawing. We never had nor would we have a cat declawed but I do understand people who do this. If by declawing you can find a home for a kitty that otherwise would not have one, the few weeks of pain the kitty goes through is better than ending his or her life and many people are hesitant to get an kitty because of the damage they can do to furniture and carpets for starters.
I had cats , a few of them.. they didn't scratch anything.. they were outside cats.. and were in the house a lot. Never had a scratching post, they didn't walk on my counters.. they knew what was acceptable. They were good cats.
But if we could genetically engineer domestic cats to be born lacking claws (while not upsetting any other gene expression), would that be more acceptable? Kind of a twist on the "if we could grow meat in a vat so that no animal had to suffer would it still be immoral to have meat now and then?" question.
A cat has about zero chance of defending itself even against a large rat without it's claws much less a dog it's own size. To genetically take away it's only natural defense is not only inhumane, but crazy if you care about your cat.
The U.S. is still practicing some barbaric things when it comes to pets including docking tails and ears of dogs which has been banned in other countries. Yet some people still think it's perfectly fine to do because the cat or dog is their property as if it's a piece of furniture and doesn't feel pain. I'd like to see everyone who wants to declaw a cat have about 1/2 inch removed from a few of their own fingers and then decide.
I suspect most of those who are ok with it just don't know what it really entails, and think it's simply like giving cats a mani-pedi, rather than being aware that it's highly invasive bodily mutilation with no benefit for the cat.
I'm a cat lover and am opposed to declawing but I voted yes.
IMO it's far better to continue to educate the public than to make it a government/legal issue.
In the community where I formerly lived, people put pressure on the few local vets who were still performing the procedure. They wrote letters and phoned, and the last I heard none were still offering the surgery.
A cat has about zero chance of defending itself even against a large rat without it's claws much less a dog it's own size. To genetically take away its only natural defense is not only inhumane, but crazy if you care about your cat.
Thanks for answering. I don't disagree, was just asking the question.
I think we've done some pretty torturous things genetically to dogs. It was just through selective breeding rather than CRISPR.
Anyone who has a cat de-clawed should have bamboo shoots stuck under their fingernails. Better yet, if you're worried about your furniture getting damaged don't get a cat. Personally I've kept cats around for most of my life and never had a problem with them scratching up the furniture. Always keep scratching posts and kitty condos in the home.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
