Declawing And The Cost Of It To Cats

For almost 2 years you and your sister Barbara have been our anchors and our rocks.
I don’t think many realise quite how much you both do.
I do think more UK troops would have given up were it not for your example of staying power.
New folk come along but will they last?
We shall see.
I think a lot more appreciation should be given to those like you who have put a lot of hours and hard work into trying to help stop the abuse of cats in another country.
Along with Michael and Susan you are my four most favourite writers.

Thank you Babz and Finn. It’s good to know you feel the same way as sometimes it gets very disheartening working on an article and seeking out graphics, wondering if people are fed up of me on the same subject and worrying if they will comment yet again.
You’ve given me new heart to keep on writing in the hopes that when new articles pop up on google alerts, new people will read them and more cats claws will be saved.
To tell the truth I can well understand how the declawing battle can lead to people having depression and the feeling of hopelesness that no matter what we do, it isn’t enough.
I’ve been doing this two years now but it feels like two hundred years. So I admire very much the unsung heroines like Susan and other stalwarts over there who have been battling for many years but never given up.
Any small encouragement from the kind people who always read my articles and comment keeps me going and I certainly will never give up on trying to help save cats from this abuse.

Hi Ruth. I like the comments too, because we all seem to have our favourite angles to comment from. I often feel like repeating, but then I remind myself that somebody finding the article through a search will not read all the earlier articles, so in effect it will be new.
Every cat caretaker won over means more claws saved, so keep on writing everybody. 🙂

Man thats another good write up.Those pictures make me cry,I hadnt seen the one in the neck collar before and that litle face looks so sad.
I dont know how people can do this cruel thing and sleep at night.One things for sure they dont love cats or they wouldnt do it
Ed

Every one of your articles is worth it’s weight in gold, as are all the declawing articles on POC. If education isn’t available it cannot be read, who knows how many people Google declawing and find their way to these pages.
Keep it up everyone, we might not think so at times but we ARE helping even by commenting.

Thank you everyone.
I worry you will get fed up of my articles about the cruelty of declawing but you are all always so very kind and I do appreciate your back up very much.
I always think articles with no comments are very unikely to convince anyone much that they are worth reading.

I just so appreciate the work that you are doing for cats from so far away. Your country is humane, but we here in the USA still battle to protect our beloved cats from this travesty.

When will the folks in the USA get it that there is never necessary to declaw a cat. In fact, it causes a host of other behavioral issues and medical conditions which would not have occured if the owner did not have this surgery performed.

And vets that don’t thoroughly educate clients about the potential risks invoved are the ones most at blame.

So thanks for all the educating you are doing. It is an awesome task and one that cat LOVERS in the United States are eternally grateful.

Jo

This is a vile vile circle of cruelness that sickens me as it sickens everyone I know even people who aren’t keen on cats (but I don’t know many of them) however even they say ‘thats awful; why would anyone do that?’ They just cant believe it when I tell them its because the lazy keepers can’t be bothered to teach them to use a scratching post and its because these same people don’t actually want a cat they want a living breathing stuffed animal that they and their brats can maul to their hearts content.

I despise these declawers with all my heart and I don’t care if you didn’t know what it entailed, its no excuse; you should have done your research. I had to have a procedure done on my cat recently that would ultimately be for his benefit but because of the nature of the procedure and the pain he would have to endure in the short term for long term comfort I worried myself sick, but you see in the end I did my research and got it done.

You see thats the difference between true animal lovers and declawers. True animal lovers suffer anguish then guilt that a neccessary procedure has caused their cat pain however declawers happily hand their cat to a butcher for an uneccessary procedure that is horrifically painful and disables them for life! They don’t even think their cat is in pain! For Gods sake what planet are you on!

No you do not love your cats and for as long as you declaw you never will. The UK and other countries view your ethics as barbaric and we cannot wait until its banned.

So ruth I agree with everything you say; brilliant article. You are a truly compassionate person who along with Barbabra, Michael and many others have saved the toes of many cats. I have nothing but admiration for you.

Ruth is so right and it can’t be said often enough: Declawing solves nothing, it just creates new problems. The crippled cat may turn to biting instead of scratching when threatened. Or it may start fouling the furniture because the cat litter hurts it’s sore paws. Not to mention that having constant phantom pains from an amputation must cause any creature to go crazy!
The good news is that those problems can be avoided at the cost of a few bucks. Get a decent scratch board (or two) and most likely your cat will prefer that to the furniture. And best of all, you won’t be a cat molester with a bad conscience.
In the article ‘More cat scratching advice’ you can learn more – and also see pictures of a big happy cat with her claws intact. 😉

I hope those who still think declawing is fine read this and see the truth.
I wish we had some way of knowing how many pro declaws read these pages and if they feel guilt at what they had done to their cats.
I only hope it stops them doing it ever again.

The thing is cats have one life and it is too short anyway, but it can be ruined forever by some jumped up selfish person coming along and assuming ownership of a cat, deciding what sort of lifestyle that cat will lead, deciding if it will be neutered or not, vaccinated or not, indoor or outdoor and worst of all if it will be allowed to keep it’s toe-ends or not. Now is it just me or is the whole idea of man having dominion over all being wildly abused, especially in the US where so many people take it upon themselves to legally maltreat their cat by paying someone to surgically cripple it?
Another great article Ruth, you are a voice for cats everywhere.

It’s amazing isn’t it. The fact that a person can’t handle an animal’s claws, and so disable and destroy the animal’s life. It’s beyond me, I don’t why people do it, when the costs that the cats have to pay are so obvious. In fact, their predictable! There’s no excuse for declawing… It’s cruel. It’s heart braking.

This is a wonderful article, Ruth! One that everyone associated with or considering declawing should read!

It’s amazing isn’t it. The fact that a person can’t handle an animal’s claws, and so disable and destroy the animal’s life. It’s beyond me, I don’t why people do it, when the costs that the cats have to pay are so obvious. In fact, their predictable! There’s no excuse for declawing… It’s cruel. It’s heart braking.

This is a wonderful article, Ruth! One that everyone associated with or considering declawing should read!