Cat Websites Should Fight Declawing

Cat websites should fight declawing for these reasons:

Debt of Gratitude

Without the domestic cat there would be no funny cat pictures, no funny cat videos, no websites built on the back of all that the domestic cat offers to society. Millions of dollars are made out of writing about the domestic cat and presenting images of the domestic cat on the internet. At the very least, owners of cat sites should pay a little back and consider cat welfare at a most profound level because declawing is about cat welfare at the most basic of levels. It is done at the behest of, and for the convenience of, the cat’s owner and is a brutal mutilation of a significant part of the beautiful anatomy of the domestic cat. So the first reason why cat websites should fight declawing is as a thank you for allowing them to make money out of the cat.

Cat Welfare

A central feature of cat websites is cat welfare and how to improve it. Declawing a cat is the antithesis of cat welfare. It is cat mutilation for no therapeutic reason. To fight against it, is to fight for cat welfare. To ignore it is a failure to discharge a cat website’s obligation to address all issues of cat welfare. The second reason is that declawing is an important topic within the subject of cat welfare.

Sitting on the Fence.

The reason why cat websites don’t fight cat declawing is because the owners of these websites are concerned that they will lose visitors because a large percentage of the people who are part of the biggest domestic cat market, North America, declaw their cat or cats.

A lot of cat websites, such as Catster.com and CatChannel.com sit on the fence. They’ll write about cat declawing but they won’t decry it with conviction. They won’t fight against it. They just report it as if it’s a news story. That is not good enough as far as I’m concerned. I don’t believe you can present a “balanced discussion” on the topic of declawing. It is bad, very bad and should be stopped and that is all that needs to be said.

Doing the Opposite

Some sites actively promote or encourage cat declawing. These are usually veterinarian websites. The owners of these sites should know better.  A good example is the website: LocalVets.com. They have a page where they proudly declare (in complete ignorance of the vet’s oath):

LocalVets.com has the most complete directory of declawing across the country. Enter your zip code to find declawing in your area.

Idiots. They have a map where you can pin point a vet who declaws. Don’t bother. 99% of all American vets declaw cats (as at date of post). You don’t need a map. Just ring your nearest vet.

Need to Improve Cat Welfare

There is an obvious need to improve cat welfare. The most pressing issues concerning cat welfare are:

• Declawing
• The production of unwanted domestic cats and their legalised killing.

All cat websites have a duty to address these difficult subjects without fear or favour.

Selection of pages on PoC about Declawing. Each one is a fight against it. My thanks to Ruth aka Kattaddorra for pointing out the LocalVets site to me.