Posted on Tuesday, 11/10/2009 - 11:30 a.m. PST — by CCTModerator
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Comments
Joined: Jul 2008
Current Posts: 1
It should be outlawed, it is mutilation. If people cannot accept the responsibility of training the cat, then they should not have the priviledge of owning one.
Joined: Oct 2003
Current Posts: 2
Let's see here... OK, you go to the manicurist and ask to have your nails done, but instead of clipping and polishing them, they actually rip out your nails all the way back to the knuckle and then cauterize the root so it won't grow back, but then they tell you tell you to go back to work right away because you have to type out the entire transcript on the last 100 years of the history of mankind and it is due tomorrow. Imagine the pain you'll feel! Imagine that pain now for several weeks and then throw in having to learn to type all over again because your fingers don't feel the same anymore. While we are at it, let's rip the nails off your toes too so you can learn to walk all over again... and let's take away the ability to use the bathroom as you are used to it because your parents will yell at you and punish you in some way for not keeping things as clean as they demand. Now, let's take away your only means of defense in the unlikely chance you'll ever see the light of day again and perhaps an aggressor finds you. Take away your natural instinct to climb to the top of the tower you once loved being on while you waited at home alone. Take away the ability to relieve yourself of that silly little itch that no one else knows where it is. Don't even think about the chance of infection, afterall, medical science is so advanced to allow you this procedure and you will be in a sterile environment for 24/7 until you are "healed"... But at least the precious couch will be safe, and so will the scratching posts all over the world, and that formerly beloved tower that was purchased for you to scratch on (again, another instinctual gene...).
There is absolutely no need to have cats declawed, other than the selfishness of the owners and the fact that some people convince themselves that this is a harmless and painless procedure. Those same people would probably scream from a paper cut... perhaps havng the trust and boundless love bestowed upon them by a trusting "pet" is not something they deserve, understand, or respect. Having the cat curl up on your lap after all this is only proof about the forgivingness of an animal that could very realistically cause you sever harm... Having pets is not a right, it is a priviledge that should not be abused.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 467
They just don't know their cats aren't in pain from declawing. The cat can't & won't tell them. Because, as a survival tactic, Evolution wired cats to conceal any display of pain. In the wild, predators see pain as weakness that makes them more vulnerable to getting killed (= eaten by predators). That wiring (to conceal show of pain) did not change just because indoor cats are domesticated.
Scratching, especialy to achieve a stretching gesture, is a natural desire cats have. It promotes muscle health and circulation along their back. Declawing doesn't make that desire stop. It just amputates their ability to get that relief.
Some declawed cats will associate the new pain in their feet with the litter in the litterbox - then permanently avoid using the litterbox for their elimination. A sad irony is they may urinate onto that "precious" chair the owner didn't want getting scratched.
Declaw-related litterbox avoidance is common reason cats get disowned, abandoned, given away, or brought to shelters which often wind up putting that cat to sleep.
The other poster (below) who purports a lifetime of owning cats should know that cats (especially when young, but, not limited to it) are indeed trainable to restrict their natural impulse to claw/stretch to only designated items designated for that use. There's many options of homemade or pre-built scratching posts, cardboard cat-scratcher wheels, for little or no cost - especially here in S.F. Bay Area, where elements like clean carpet scraps and wood are near-daily given away for free on craigslist. It's easy to build something simple the cat will love to use. And for those who can afford it, buying a pre-built cat-scratcher or cat-tree is still easier/cheaper than replacing a chair scratched by a cat without other options.
I agree with you pet ownership is a privilege not a right. And I wonder that folks too lazy to trim their cats's nails themselves with a nail clipper &/or provide a scratching post may also be negligent in other aspects of pet care, such feeding cheap petfoods sold at supermarkets instead of quality foods bought at pet supply stores. A lifetime of crap petfood results in a shorter less-vibrant lifespan, than with quality foods. No wonder some people have gone thru dozens of pets in the same time others maintained fewer cats each living 2-3 times as long.
Joined: Jun 2008
Current Posts: 4
Someone explain to me why over my life (I am old) I have had about 20 Cats and all were declawed and all happy including the three I have now (one is on my lap right now and TOTALLY HAPPY. ) All my cats are indoor cats also.
Joined: May 2007
Current Posts: 9
Thanks Wattshill. I couldnt agree more. I love my cats almost more than my family. They love our home and are very spoiled. They pretty much run the place and we like it that way.
If you all are truly cat lovers you know that the cat rules the house. That is just he way it is.
Joined: Nov 2008
Current Posts: 3
It truly saddens me that so many people are voting for de-clawing. The statement alone saddens me “No, it should be the owner's decision, with a veterinarian's advice.” The term “owners” I am not a believer in “ownership” of pets. They are an adopted family member not property. This is not a car you want to put different wheels on; this is not a new pair of shoes. These are living breathing, loving, bleeding animals we are supposed to be “taking care of, and loving unconditionally.” These animals are our children be it furry. Why would you think it is ok to remove a body part just because you do not know the proper way to train a cat? Is it ok to remove a child’s fingers because he can’t stop crawling out of his crib or permanently remove the last knuckle of your child’s toes because he kicks too many things? It is crewel and selfish.
To say “I’ve done this to all my cats so it must be ok” is completely naive. Doing something multiple times does not make it right, it makes it a bad habit. To say any animal is happy with having a body part removed is seriously selfish, naive, wishful, and crewel thinking. Take dogs for instance, pit-bull fighting rings. Several cases of animal cruelty to where a pit-bull was beaten, taught to hate, and taught to fight. Yet they still wag their tales, lick your hand, lien on you begging for love. Why is this? Why is it that an animal that was so badly abused can still love and trust any human, let alone the one that abused it. Why? BECAUSE THEY HAVE BIGGER HEARTS THEN YOU DO. They love unconditionally and forgive despite pain and anguish.
Joined: May 2007
Current Posts: 9
I would of agreed to this years ago when I had outdoor cats. But when I move to Antioch we lived by the fields and there are coyote. One reason to keep them indoors. I had lost one cat being hit by a car 2nd reason to keep them indoors and figured that being indoor cats would be ok. Well we left on vacation and our beloved feline tore a huge hole in the side of our couch and started in on the new leather couch. Well my husband said either its him or the cats... So I chose to keep my husband and have only their front claws done. I thought I would never do it but I had to to keep them from destroying my furniture. They are perfectly happy and still have their back claws to protect themselves. So my vote is what a stupid law.
Joined: Nov 2008
Current Posts: 3
Your husband gave you an ultimatum. I am sorry about that. But were the cats not being watched while you were gone? Did you not bother to hire or see if a friend would not take care of your beloved cats while you were gone? I guess not. Your cats would have been better off being adapting out to a family that cared enough for them NOT to remove their toes, rather then you selfishly removing them to keep them. You tell me how you chose to remove their claws so "you" could "keep" your cats is not selfish? De-clawing a cat so you can keep them does not make it less cruel.
Joined: May 2007
Current Posts: 9
That was kind of a joke between my husband and me. He was not going anywhere or where the cats.
I am fine with my decision and my cats are fine and loved and happy. They are very active and very well taken care of. They are very spoiled. I think this is a personal decision and it’s not up to you or anyone else to make a decision for my family. I am a cat person so get over it. This did not ruin my cat’s lives. They act like any other cats I have owned.
As to me being selfish. I am the most unselfish person on the planet. I do not think this defines me as a person. As you have no idea what or how I live my life stop judging me by this issue. It was a hard decision to make for me but I am good with this as it has been 11 years since their surgery and they are just fine.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 467
Cats don't fight with their rear feet. So your comment about cats protecting themselves with their back claws makes no sense to me. And it's not like your couch attacked your cats. So that has nothing to do with why they damaged it anyway.
From your own description, your cats never damaged your furniture before your vacation. So your declawing them is not what prevented repeated furniture damage by them! It was your returning home to end their abandonment, and, restore the routine they were conditioned to expect with your presence.
Although sedentary cats can easily survive indoors a week or more with little or no fresh food, it can cause unseen physical damage, especially to their liver. Depending on their age, those medical changes can cause behavior problems. Regardless, cats's emotional trauma from an abrupt neglect of regular feeding & routine can spark unexpected exactly behaviors like you described. Especially since, from their point of view (= something which too many pet owners never even bother to consider), they had no idea if you would ever come back, until you actually did.
BTW, cats's sense of smell is 15 times stronger than human's. So, leaving multiple cats no recourse but to share a same shared litterbox that's not getting cleaned up for days on end, is a recipe for causing behavior troubles too.
It saddens me when pets pay such high price for their owners's lack of knowledge about their care. I really do understand your husband's outrage and frustration at what happened. I really do! But, some quick-fix solutions, including the one you chose, can indeed cause more problems than it solves.
Joined: May 2007
Current Posts: 9
I am a cat person thats for sure. My cats are very happy and very loved. I have 2 and they play and romp and love and cuddle and are just regular cats. This did solve my problem and I am in no way feeling bad about my decision. I never thought I would have indoor cats but I do because of where we live. I think making this against the law is overboard. Just my opionion. I do know that when cats fight they use their rear feet as defense. That is a fact. I see when my cat do tussle.They are very happy well adjusted animals.
And no they damaged my couch when we went away. It was a problem and we solved it. They started in on my new leather couch after that .
Joined: Oct 2003
Current Posts: 2
You hit the nail on the head when you said it was "your problem"!!!
Indeed, the cats were brought into your home by you. You chose to bring an animal into an environment knowing that their natural and normal instincts have them scratch on things (from the biggest lion to the smallest domesticated house cat) yet the way you chose to solve it was by having them go through excruciating and life changing pain because of your couch and husbands attitude about them. Wow, did your children get their hands cut off if they wrote on the walls? Were their feet cut off when they walked with muddy shoes into the house? Is your husband finger and toeless now too for any indiscretions he have done? No, of course not... So the problem is in your needing to understand and learn that when you have any animal with absolute behaviors, you need to adapt and compromise if you expect these animals to be a part of your life, and bless you for loving them as you do now. But think about what you are doing before you make such rash and brutal decisions please. What is done is done, but it does not need to happen again and again. And next time you hold your cat and it looks in your eyes because it trusts you, you will have to wonder if that forgiving and unconditionally loving creature is looking at you and wondering why you did what you did to it too...
Joined: May 2007
Current Posts: 9
Yes my children have no hands and I took out their tongues too. Just kidding. My cats love me and are very loving and attentive to our family. They get way too much attention and we are happy to give it to them. I did have scratching posts and such and they did us them. This was my decision and it works best for my family. It is ok you dont agree. This is america and I have the freedom to make my own decisions. Thats why a law to tell me that I can not de-claw my cat is just stupid.
I know cats are smart but I dont think this ever crosses their minds about losing their claws on their front paws. They still try to scratch things and they are very happy when they do this. They pretty much think about food and getting pet and where is the best place to sleep etc. I really think you are putting too much in this.
Joined: Nov 2008
Current Posts: 3
No one thinks they are selfish, and millions of people think they are the most “unselfish” person on the planet. Most people will never admit their selfish tendencies. I can often be selfish and I admit that though not always. Every one can be selfish. You do not want to admit this was a selfish decision because you do not want to admit it to yourself. I am not saying everything you do in your life is selfish. I have read your posts before and I know that not to be true based on only that. But de-clawing is cruel the same as cropping a tail, cropping ears, teaching a dog to fight, tying up an animal outside 24/7, beating an animal, and abandoning an animal are all cruel. Just because you do not believe that does not make it any less true.
Laws have to be made to protect animals of all kinds because they cannot speak for them selves. You think this is your decision to make just the same as the person that thinks it was his decision to cut off a chickens talons and waddle to fight, just as same as it was someone’s decision to teach a pit-bull to fight, and the same as it was someone’s decision to remove a dogs tale because they believe it “looks better.” Any decision made for any reason about any animal should be made based on “health and wellbeing” not based on the caretakers personal preference or personal possessions. Just because a law does not protect a “human” does not make it stupid.
As I said earlier, Animals have bigger hearts then we do. They forgive and love unconditionally. Just because your cats seem happy, loving and I am sure they are wonderful pets does not make de-clawing any less cruel. I am not saying you think it is ok to beat an animal, or that it is ok to torture an animal. But some times people do things without thinking of their pets, not thinking it is cruel and not purposely trying to be cruel to an animal. Don’t think of me as attacking you personally or anyone else, all I am doing is trying to protect animals from cruelty whether it be intentional or not, that is what laws are supposed to do, protect the innocent and those that can not speak for them selves. Animal cruelty should never be left up to the caretakers’ decision.