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Is it true that in America some cats are de-clawed?
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How come you guys are against it. I was raised where the cats got de-clawed and so I've de-clawed my cats, but I never really thought more of it. All my cats we inside cats and after a week they were fine and didn't seem to notice anything was missing. Maybe someone can explain to me why it is so bad. Thank you.
See www.declawing.com for a veterinarian's explanations of a range of problems that can occur after a declaw. Whether or not a cat will experience any of these cannot be predicted ahead of time, so it is unfair to the cat to subject it to ten amputations. There are multiple posts on the previous pages with reasons why it is inhumane as well.
Also, see www.avar.org and click the link about cosmetic surgical procedures or procedures to correct behavior. This is the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights.
I think there are probably a lot of owners like you, Foosa, and I think it is the vet's duty to disclose what any procedure entails. They should also be more forthcoming about potential risks. But that doesn't seem to happen with declaw surgeries, which as the website says has a "relatively high" rate of post-op complications. You made the decision you thought was appropriate at the time, and you likely would have made a different decision if your vet had explained declawing a little more thoroughly. And I do remember 10 or so years ago that declawing was quite common in my area, and there was very little criticism toward it. We never had it done to any of the family cats because my mother had been a vet tech some time before she had children. I did have friends and family members who had their cats declawed, who would have never done anything to intentionally hurt their animals.
As is so often the case, pet owners need to educate themselves on the details of major surgeries, especially non-health-related surgeries like declawing (or tail docking/ear clipping in dogs), so that they can make the best decision for the pet.
It's wonderful that Foosa hasn't experienced any complications. And in the future, if you really want a declawed cat, or you have a lease that requires it, you can adopt an already-declawed kitty at a shelter like so many other posters in this thread have done!
And as a previous poster said, if you feel this is an inhumane practice and would like to see it outlawed, then spread the word and write your legislator!
One of the other main reasons I'd never declaw is safety's sake...one of my indoor only cats can be an escape artist at times.
And I did hear a first-hand account of a man whose indoor-only declawed cat got outside right at the same time some dogs were loose outside. The man had to just stand there watching these two dogs kill his cat right near a tree that the cat could have climbed, had she had her claws.
It's not natural. We spay and neuter for their health and for birth control. But declawing is purely a selfish human move with no benefit to the cat.
We have LOTS of cats that are in our shelter that have been declawed. It never fails to make us angry. We try to explain what it is to people who mention interest in it, and we outright refuse to adopt to them KNOWING that they are going to do it if the cat is over a year old. WAAAAAAY too hard on them.
Foosa was only 4 months when we had is done, so she bounced back really quickly. I probably wouldn't have done it but I had to or else I couldn't have kept her. I'm lucky to have her, even though I call her bi-polor/pms kitty she is still very loving twards me.
Where I live, it's not safe to be de-clawed (not that it's legal here [UK] nor would my owner dare think it an option!).
In many cases, it's simply a lazy option. Their owners could, as mentioned, use claw covers or simply clip and file them.
And im my case, I've been trained to use my very own scratching spots (I get treats sometimes if I use them!), plus I like to go into the gardens often, which the concrete files them nicely and the fence has a nice texture to dig into
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