I think a ban on declawing cats in America is a great idea. As for the argument that if declawing were banned here, it would increase the number of cats being abandoned because they have damaged furniture, I think that's a pretty weak reason. How hard is it to clip a cat's claws? I've had cats all my life, and we've always clipped their claws, and our furniture has come through just fine.
Declawing, as far as I'm concerned, is a form of mutilation. And just for the record, our family has taken in two declawed strays over the years that have been abandoned. The first was a neutered male about 20 years ago. We named him Jellybean, and he was the sweetest, most gentle cat I think I have ever known. We tried for weeks and weeks to find who he belonged to with no luck. Someone must have abandoned him, because as sweet as he was, you'd think that someone would have been looking for him. More recently, we took in a female, spayed stray a year ago last October. Her name is Baby. She is one of the most adorable cats that I have ever had in my life. We love her dearly, and consider ourselves so lucky to have her...She had been hanging around our house for months off and on before we finally took her in. What prompted us to make the decision to take her in was one day she showed up limping. Once we were able to really get a good look at her, we realized that she had two wounds...one on her left hindquarter, and one on her left rear paw. Both were infected, especially the one on her foot. We took her to our vet who cleaned out the wounds and put her on antibiotics for the infections. It took time, but Baby healed good as new. Our vet said that by the look of the wounds, she had been bitten by another cat. Being on her own outside without claws to help defend herself had to be a factor in her getting hurt.
We looked for months for who she might have belonged to. We ran ads in the paper, checked repeatedly with the animal shelter, the police, and all the vets in town, with no luck. We also believe that she was likely mistreated by the way she reacts sometimes when we pick up something like a coat hanger or broom, around her. So, assuming she was abandoned (because no one was looking for her), the fact that she was declawed apparently didn't make a difference to whoever dumped her.
Anyway, because of my personal experience with declawed cats and their circumstances, I am very strongly opposed to the practice of declawing.
Judy
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