De-clawing cats

[S John]

Wow I had no idea this was such a divisive issue. I didn't know that it was outlawed in some places either. Interesting.

Personally, I don't really give a shit whether or not people de-claw their cats. I mean we already spay and neuter the little bastards as standard procedure.

I don't know about you guys, but I'd be pretty upset if someone did that to me. Even if it was for my own good and the good of the environment. Seems to me that if I was given a choice between castration and losing the tips of all my digits I'd be one stubby-fingered motherfucker.

So, from that perspective how can one support slicing up their genitals but completely lose their shit over a nail clipping? The fact that it is done for population control, and therefore considered acceptable, doesn't matter to the cat. We've still altered this animal to suit our environment. Thats pretty much what domestication is. I don't believe in being cruel to any animals, I'm just not sure that I'd consider de-clawing to fall under that umbrella. If I'm cool with Fluffy getting his balls chopped off I'm not going to lose any sleep over his claws.

[AquariumDrinker]

I'm against declawing but more generally I find the idea of having an 'indoor cat' a bit strange. Cats do fine being let outside and then you don't have to clean up after them and they practically feed themselves.

Cats can cause all kinds of problems with a natural ecosystem. There are many thing other than rodents that are decimated by cats, not to mention the diseases and parasites that can come home with the cat.

***ETA**

Lol, I usually read the entire thread before posting.... My post if fairly redundant :)

[slim da reaper]

:dunno:

It's a thread about cats, not about miscellaneous dangers to birdlife. Why is it surprising that only cats were mentioned?

I'm not surprised at all that some people might think it Ok to highlight an issue and then frame one problem as the scapegoat to take all the blame, not surprised one bit :)

Mercenary chef's one sided highjack of this thread that was about Declawing cats, it's not entitled "Cats: The greatest threat to wildlife", ,

I gave a far more balanced view of the issue the highjack tried to convey.

At this level of discourse, the general, it's going to be...general, this is not specialist scientific discourse here (which is seen in the larger context by scientists). Birds come in alot more sizes than hand size, dogs are the descendants of wolves, so the smell and sounds will scare larger birds away from wild areas leaving their eggs and hatchlings to die.

[Starkess]

Wow, I never even knew that anyone thought twice about it.

My parents got a kitten when I was a baby, she and I were great friends. She used to sleep with me in my baby seat. My parents had her de-clawed so that she wouldn't accidentally hurt me. She was an inside cat. Seemed like a logical thing to do, especially since cat scratches are notoriously dirty (I once went to the doctor in high school kinda freaking out about a lump that appeared in my armpit, but it turns out it was just a tiny cat scratch on my hand that made my lymph nodes go crazy).

Guess we're just terrible people.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

Wow, I never even knew that anyone thought twice about it.

My parents got a kitten when I was a baby, she and I were great friends. She used to sleep with me in my baby seat. My parents had her de-clawed so that she wouldn't accidentally hurt me. She was an inside cat. Seemed like a logical thing to do, especially since cat scratches are notoriously dirty (I once went to the doctor in high school kinda freaking out about a lump that appeared in my armpit, but it turns out it was just a tiny cat scratch on my hand that made my lymph nodes go crazy).

Guess we're just terrible people.

With a nick name of "litter box paws" there should be no mystery as to why cat scratches can be dangerous.

Bubo, I think i may have been a part of the side disscusion on outdoors/indoors, as I claimed it was also neglect to allow the cats to wonder outside. It wasn't all MC's fault, but I certainly am glad he posted.

[smegma]

The cats I had as a kid were both declawed and both of them developed paw deformities and infections as a result, mostly likely due to poor surgery performance by the vet. My mom believed all indoor cats must have their claws removed so they were put through that misery even though they never scratched anyone or anything before the operation was performed. They lived long lives but their paws did cause them problems for several years.

My two cats now are both indoor kitties but both retain their claws. Perhaps I am lucky but we've never had either one attack or scratch anyone in the house that wasn't out of play and they've never scratched any object either and neither has ever scratched my dog (who is smaller than the cats and occasionally chases them...they just avoid him when he's in that kind of mood). The kitten is still only 13 weeks old so maybe I'm still in for it later on, but thus far I see no reason to put them through that and I feel very strongly against it.

All that being said, if they became a danger to a child or other animal I would consider declawing as an option, albeit the last one. I would of course first try to clip or file their nails but if it came down to keeping the cat declawed or putting them in a shelter I would not let them die because of it - but I would definitely do my homework and make sure that I went to a reputable vet to have it done.

All my animals have been spayed/neutered because they came from the shelter that way - and although I adopted my kitten, she was too young to get it done when I got her so I will have her spayed before her six month to avoid her going into heat and being miserable and getting out and making more babies to put in a shelter :(

As far as the indoor/outdoor debate - I could NEVER have an outdoor cat just because I've seen and heard of so much pain and sorrow from cats that get killed, hurt or lost (or even stolen). I would just worry too much and my cats seem extremely happy indoors anyway. I live in a very busy part of Chicago and I just wouldn't feel comfortable not knowing that my little ones were safe - way too many dead cats in the street and missing cat posters on the poles. I will possibly walk these cats when the weather warms up, as I used to do it for my cats when I was a kid and one of them really loved it and didn't mind the leash at all - the other didn't want to be outside anyway. One day I would like to have an enclosed area in a yard where the cats can play safely and enjoy themselves, it just isn't an option right now at the apartment I'm at.

My mom now just has outdoor cats in the country and they are always going missing or dying :(

[kiko]

This is the reason, why owners of indoor cats have such a bad reputation. I really don't think this is species-appropriate

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

This is the reason, why owners of indoor cats have such a bad reputation. I really don't think this is species-appropriate

:lol: that really is cute.

It's not a bad idea to have little baskets around the house the cat knows s/he can sit in. ;)

[Adz of CCAA]

This is the reason, why owners of indoor cats have such a bad reputation. I really don't think this is species-appropriate

:lmao:

I should train my cats to sleep in such baskets. :idea:

They always sleep on the couch or the bed or in my lap or elsewhere on top of me. ;)