Declawing Cats

Jackie Mason | August 29, 2009
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Tony Peters | August 30, 2009
my cats use the scratchpads that we provide, sometimes quite aggressively after we add a bit of catnip, I couldn't imagine torturing either of them by declawing them......

Jackie Mason | August 30, 2009
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Aaron Shurtleff | August 30, 2009
I'm on the other side. I've always used the scratching posts, and the sticky pads on the corners of the couches, and the water squirting, and I've never really had a major problem with the cats scratching everything up. A friend of mine from Maine had two cats, and after they were declawed, they stopped using the litterbox, and just peed all over the house whereever they wanted to (which I am sure is one of the horror stories that you've already read about, that post-declawing sometimes the cat doesn't feel comfortable using the litter box because of lingering pain in their declawed paws), and they ended up getting rid of their cats.

But, I don't think it's my place to tell you what you should do for your cat, and I have seen people who have great success with declawed cats. I don't know.

Jackie Mason | August 30, 2009
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Scott Hardie | August 30, 2009
I'm pro-declawing for the same reasons, Jackie. Yes, you're altering a living creature so it can fit into your nice neat home like an object, but it's still better off in your home than having a brutal, short life in the wild. (I'm a white male. We've been deciding for other living creatures what's best for them for centuries.)

Most of the anti-declawing arguments that I've read have made a lot of guesses about what the animal goes through, and based their conclusion on those guesses. Physical pain right after the surgery? Probably. Physical pain for the rest of their lives? Maybe, but we don't know. Emotional pain? How can you even begin to know what emotions a cat feels without projecting your own onto it? One cat owner who regretted his own pets' declawing argued that his cats felt "shame" or "inadequacy" at not feeling "complete" like other cats. Clearly this is not his own guilt projecting itself in any way.

The last time we bought a cat, years ago, we lied to the shelter and said that we were anti-declawing in order to seal the deal. The shelter asked a battery of probing questions about how well we take care of our cats, do we buy them junk food or nutritious diets, how many minutes of attention do we give them daily, et cetera. I've had cats all my life and know what care they need, but I was still treated like an inhumane monster until I proved myself worthy by agreeing with them. Talk about shame and inadequacy.

Aaron Shurtleff | August 30, 2009
If that shelter was in the Sarasota/Bradenton area, I might know the person who grilled you. One of my co-workers at my job also volunteers down at one of the shelters down there...

End of comment. :)

Scott Hardie | August 30, 2009
Nah, it was in Tampa. The same woman called us the next day after we brought the cat home, and again a few weeks later, to make sure the cat was adjusting well and we were taking care of it. I applaud her dedication to the cats. I don't feel good about lying to her, but I don't think she allowed us an acceptable alternative.

Kris Weberg | August 31, 2009
Anatomically, it's rather hard to defend declawing -- the bundle of nerves and muscle makes the claw less an analogue for a fingernail and more like the top joint of a finger.

Unlike neutering/spaying, it also doesn't extend the animal's life or provide, really, any benefits. In effect, declawing is saying that upholstery is more important than a fairly significant anatomical structure.

Tony Peters | August 31, 2009
Sorry should have stayed out of this argument after my First post

Jackie Mason | August 31, 2009
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Jackie Mason | September 1, 2009
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Steve Dunn | September 1, 2009
Jackie, I see nothing at all wrong with declawing cats. I see it exactly like spaying or neutering - you're altering a "fairly significant anatomical structure" in order to enhance the animal's compatibility with humans. A housecat doesn't need claws for survival, and it's a lot better off in your home than in the wild.