Declawing: against or for?

[katie&pets]

Originally posted by moosmom
Nodgeness,

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. As you can see, the majority is against it.

You shouldn't say bushit!!

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by katie&pets
You shouldn't say ***** !!

If you look at the number of votes on the poll at the top of this page the majority of voters are against declawing.

135 (76.27%) of voters are against declawing
26 (14.69%) of voters are in favor of declawing

So Moosmom statement is an 100% accurate fact.

PS. I have blanked out your rude word in my quote as this is meant to be a child friendly site.

[Bubblehead1123]

Im against it.... I think its mean to do to the poor animals, have someone rip off all your nails... I dont think you would like it.

[carrie]

The entire issue of declawing raises far reaching questions.

The reason for man domesticating animals in the first instance was to exploit them. The dog is generally regarded as the first domesticated creature - it helped in finding food, cleaning up the camp and protecting it. The horse made man faster, stealthier and saved time and effort. The cat was domesticated for the very attributes we now feel uncomfortable with - it kills the things that seek to share our agricultural resources.

Genetically modified plants and animals are a huge issue in the modern world - and to my mind, rightly so - but we have tried to select for genetic traits in our domestic animals for thousands of years and created animals that suit our purposes rather than the original design that nature had for them. We have dairy and beef cows genetically manipulated, by us, to grow into money for us. We have cereal crops that have been hybridised to ensure the fullest crop we can attain in any given environment.
All this and much, much more before we start talking about GM.

The issue of a few hundreds of thousands cats a year getting their claws taken out may seem trivial against all the new worries and issues we have to deal with.

But to understand what we are changing with an "idea" of "certainty" now, we must understand the damage we have done already.

Countless islands have been decimated of unique fauna by the introduction of domestic cats.

For many years in the UK the domestic cat has been blamed for the most kills of birds that are seen as declining or at risk (not always the case - and research needs to focus on pesticide use, hedgerow loss, field size, public access and a host of other things!), cats are not always the main villans but they sure play their part!

Is this the cat's fault?

The only answer to that is NO.

What do us humans then do to recitfy a bad situation? In some places you can't have cats outdoors - is this fair considering we made the domestic cat the way it is?
In some places there is little restriction - is this fair on the local wildlife?
In some places people choose to have cats in their house and then find that the cat exhibits natural behaviour using furniture and wall paper that the humans value to do this. Is that fair?

The truth is that it doesn't matter what species the human considers it has domesticated - the natural urges, needs and behaviours will out. A dog will do wolf things, a cat will do cat stuff and a pig will do wild pig stuff. - are we really so far up ourselves that we can consider surgery for the animals we made as a reasonable solution to the problems we have living with them? Do we really NEED a cat to the point that we lose sight of what caring for that cat entails? Are we really so messed that we can't choose the right option between getting a cat and getting a cat that has to have surgery in oder to live with us?

I love cats, I love having them around me - but this cat will be the last. - Surgery is not an issue for me - it wouldn't happen! The amount of little dead bodies at this time of year shows me that there is a problem.

[ladywizz]

QUOTE""It's funny how most of you think your so much better than others because your againt declawing, and think other's love their cat's less because they choose to declaw. Do any of you people have kids?? Babies for that matter?? Must be nice when your kid get's all scratched up by your special cat. Well, I'll be having kids in the next couple of years, and although I'm not going to have our kid declawed, or circumcized for that matter, I can sleep at night knowing our baby wont need a new eye because a cat's claw accidentally tore it out. If you think that sounds rediculous, you should really review what some of you have said on here, rediculous doesn't even begin to describe it.""QUOTE



erm actually yes I do have children, and a cat and have always had cats while i have had childrenas I taught my children to be respectful!! Never to this day have they ever been hurt by them...and why should a cat suffer (which u already own) from having this operation done through no medical reason at all because you dont want a child to get scratched???
If a cat is going to scratch a child, 10 - 1 its because thatchild has hurt it in some way in which case it is up to the parent to teach the child how to respect the animal.....and if the child did it again and did get scratched...well the child probably would learn not to do it again.
Further more...what you have said about declawing....all you seem to be more concerned over is your precious furniture.
I do agree with it if it is strictly for medical purposes, if not then the claw can be trimmed. There are such inventions as scratch posts which most cats will preffer to use.
You will also find that alot of scratching is done through boredom which is why it is also better to have 2 kittens/cats together for play and companionship.
As for nutering a cat...it is not always done for birth control....and when it is done for birth control it is a good reason. After working in a sanctuary, you see an abundance of unwanted kittens just because an irrisponsible owner did not do something about it sooner. There is also proof that it can reduce the risk of certain cancers, and is also extremely valuable when trying to calm down an aggressive animal due to too much hormones!
As for being small minded people, a majority of us are saying that yes people are intitled to their oppinions, and here is ours.
Small minded to me, is a person who just decides to reply to a bunch of posts with his opinion on his valuable furniture.
I hate to tell u....but its not just the cats claws that would wreck your furniture....or did someone forget to mention that they can throw up, chew, and leave lovely parcels for you as well.....and no....not because they are un-trained....but possibly because they are ill.
You want kids???!!! if i were u, i would take their nails off, extract their teeth and place corks in certain places so they wont harm your beloved possesions......oh yes...and do watch out for that toast being posted into your VCR too.

[Cataholic]

I just want to comment on the thought that somehow a child will get scratched because a cat has all its claws. I have 6 declawed cats- all my uneducated choice. I have one clawed cat- my educated choice.

WAY before I got Monte (back in the calm peaceful days), I had many a scratch from many a declawed cat. I never lost an eye (where do people get this crazy stuff from? Statistically speaking, I am sure pencils, cell phone antena, forks, spoons, box tops, etc are far more 'eye poking' that a cat's front claw). If you have cats, you get scratched...if you have dogs, you get scratched. If you drive cars, you get in accidents.

Jonah has had far more bumps and bruises from his rolly-polly ways around the floor than from all the cats put together.

If you have to justify your actions, you might reflect on doing them....

[CagneyDog]

Originally posted by ANTH055
One thing's for sure, my leather couch, my home theatre, my car, my coffee table, fridge, carpet, walls, and yeah, even my future kids will all be intact, because I decided I'd be smart and make sure our cat is declawed. Do I think material things are more important than life itself?.. no, but I REALLY love my home theater and my leather couch. All of you who disagree with me can KMA!!! <you can figure that one out on your own.

Your one shallow person.

Okay, lets rip out your finger nails and see if you enjoy it.

[smokey the elder]

don't feed the troll.

[davidpizzica]

Originally posted by smokey the elder
don't feed the troll.

No troll feeding here!

[CamCamPup33]

Like i said before, Cali was declawed.

Now that we have Casey, my mom was asking me to look into declawing, how much it would be etc. I said i would absolutely not, because it's very a very painful procedure. Now that we have a choice to declaw or not, i told her that i wouldn't look into it. I told her how it can alter your cat's personality, cause back problems, etc. I also showed her www.declawing.com and showed her alternate solutions. I can now proudly say, i convinced my mom not to declaw Casey.

My mom never understood what harm it could cause your cat, and now that i showed her these different sites, she thinks it's a very horrible thing to do and i couldn't agree with her more.

[kaoK'okung]

WTG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....good job!!!!...

[lvpets2002]

I am very much against & it is cruel & cats are meant to have claws & if not then they would not have been born with them. If a person is worried about indoor cat & the furniture issue then I feel that should have been thought about before the cat was brought home. There are lots of diff. ways to avoid furniture clawing & getting a cat declawed is the Chicken Crap way out & what if the cat ever has to have another home & can not be indoors? Think of that for a while!!!

[JenBKR]

I am personally against declawing. I recently talked a good friend out of declawing cat and her boyfriend's cat also. Have any of you guys ever heard of having a cat's tendons cut? My aunt had that done to hers. I don't know much about it, but I guess that keeps the cat from being able to retract it's claws. Does anyone know anything about this?

[lvpets2002]

Sounds Ouchy & have heard some & like you dont know much about it. What does your aunt state of what & how her cat reacts.

[JenBKR]

Originally posted by lvpets2002
Sounds Ouchy & have heard some & like you dont know much about it. What does your aunt state of what & how her cat reacts.

She says her cats act the same (she actually had two of them done). I have no problems with either of my cats scratching, so I have never considered having it done. The thought of them going through all the pain of declawing would bother me too much. They have a scratching post that they like, other than that they don't bother anything. We did used to have a wicker chair, which I found out they like more than the scratching post! LOL It was old anyway so we got rid of it. I can honestly say I love my pets WAY more than any furniture!!