By Ruth aka Kattaddorra
This poster and article were inspired by Marc who made a very apt comment on another article about the people who have their cats declawed because they are frightened the cat scratches them.
He wrote:
‘The people who declaw cats should also go out in the garden and remove all the spikes on their roses and brambles so they don’t get spiked. If they want to walk around and not have to make any effort for anything and have everything ‘made safe’ for this mindless lazy lifestyle where everything suits them then they should stay at home and not even go in the garden. Least of all they should have a cat. Perhaps they should eat and drink out of bendy plastic so there is no risk of anything sharp happening in their stupid lives.
But definitely cut all thorns off all roses because they are a danger and roses must be dethorned’
How I agree with him!
Cats don’t scratch for no reason, they are usually provoked and this is what people don’t like, that the cat isn’t a vulnerable bundle of fur to handle in any way they choose to.
Some people with children especially don’t like that a cat has a means of self defence, they have him declawed ‘for the kids sake’ Not a thought to teaching their offspring to treat the cat gently. A warning swipe from a cat soon teaches a child to respect him as a living creature with feelings, to learn that he is not a toy.
Life is full of objects with ‘sharp parts’ but we don’t remove them, we respect them.
Take a rose, we wouldn’t grab at it without expecting to be pricked by the thorns on its stem.
So it is with other sharp objects, they, like cats claws, are there for a reason and we don’t go around removing them all like some people have their cats claws removed.
A cat’s claws are there for many reasons, they are essential parts of the cat, not only for his protection, but for the way he walks, for exercise, for jumping, for grooming, for playing.
If anyone wants a cat but doesn’t like that he was born with claws because he needs them, there is a simple solution:
Adopt an already declawed cat!
There are many sitting in Rescue Shelters, unwanted by the very person who paid a vet to amputate their toe ends.
Don’t condemn another healthy clawed cat to painful surgery to disable him, let him go to a home with someone who truly loves and understands cats, their claws and all.
So, pro declawers who still think declawing a cat is acceptable, need at the very least to go and dethorn their roses right now!
Ruth aka Kattaddorra
P.S. from Michael. This is such a good point. There are hundreds of ways we can cut or prick ourselves and we accept them. Yet, millions of people can’t accept the same remote possibility from a cat. It is remote, too, because if you know cats you are never scratched. The problem is not about the cat but the person.
I don’t take pleasure in criticizing people who declaw. It is not about that. It is about accepting and respecting the cat. The whole cat. If people can’t do it, steer clear of cats or learn about them.
Associated: Cat Declawing Myths and Truths.
You do miss your cat very much. I can tell that. Sometimes I think you are writing about me 😉
Thanks Ruth, an excellent poster, very thought provoking to advocates of “CAT DE-CLAWING”.I personally feel that people afraid of a cats claws should keep other pets other than a cat. The beauty of owning cats is their unique wildness and individuality which includes their claws, “Miniature Big cats” as pets.This is the main reason why many people like cats as pets including myself, they totally resemble and behave like “BIG CATS’ of the jungles.
I miss him so, so much. Michael, do you remember whe I told you that you jump from the kitchen flr to the top of the fridge? Waiting for his turkey and goat’s milk cream? Do you remember? I miss pouncing on him, and he on me, especially running up and down the stairs late at night, when my others cats were trying to sleep on my bed upstairs, …I’m sure their ears kept them awake alert, waiting for us to come to bed.! Bless him!
Wonderful poster, I won’t beautiful, but it what is: absolutely amazing, that you take the time and love to create such. Thank you.
Do you remember me long time ago, bout Michael, climbing my leg? I always wore denim, cuz his claws were bigger than most, at makes me laugh so hard! I miss that little spotted-bellied mackerel ‘sphinx.’ 😀
You know how much I respect you, Ruth, but you don’t figuratively nor literally remove the thorns. Our cats ADORE them! (So do I. Rustled old respected roses for a long time–the ones with scent, remember? Just ask my good, revered friend, Mr. David Austin and the rest of us who rustle roses (sometimes, felines by our side in the old cemetaries! 😉 )
VG, I think that you are right on.. Let them spend their money on a trip to Europe–but they probably already do, whilst leaving their “beloved” felines at home, wondering what to do without any scratching post that can satisfy what THEY deserve! (somebody who knows about this subject in NA, go rescue them, while you have a chance, I mean that wholeheartedly. You cannot leave them behind while you take a luxury, thinking that you have done the right thing because you don’t want “your” cats touching anything? unless they are just purring for YOUR benefit? I hope that your best friend, for all you know -may be the one who steals your cats. Rightly so. You never ‘owned’ them in the first place. You should have been removed from YOUR “humble” domicile long ago if you think that you have a right to remove the knuckles on your “children.” Because that IS what you are doing. Think about it. They won’t even be on this site. We need to do something else, and I could really use your help, again, Ruth, Marc, all of PoC’ers everywhere.