Declawing is illegal or considered extremely inhumane in many countries of our world now:
Austria, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales and Yugoslavia.
Despite extensive research I’ve been unable to find much information about all the other countries and their stance on declawing. I think maybe in some, the subject of declawing hasn’t been discussed because it has never even been considered to be an option.
I did find one interesting report, that in Singapore declawing is discouraged, so maybe there are more countries where it is discouraged too or where declawing is so rarely asked for that there needs to be no law banning it.
Our Animal Welfare Act 2006 here in the UK makes declawing illegal but I don’t know of any UK vet who would ever consider let alone perform this cruel major surgery on a cat anyway, or any cat caretaker who would ask for it.
It seems to be the USA, mainly North America, also Canada, where declawing is most popular and where some vets are still advertising declawing with discount or along with neutering.
They are of the opinion that it’s kinder to declaw a kitten than an adult cat, they will not admit that this violates the AVMA guidelines that declawing should be a last resort and they will not admit that it violates their sworn oath to cause no animal to suffer.
New petitions keep springing up on the internet from individuals who want declawing banned, it seems that on-line petitions don’t carry much weight, but they do show the strength of feeling of the many people who hate declawing and want to try to stop it.
Slow progress is being made, but some cities in California have already banned declawing: Berkeley, Beverley Hills, Burbank, Culver City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica and West Hollywood.
Hopefully more might follow suite. Also, it is now illegal for landlords in these states of America to force a tenant to have a cat declawed: California and Rhode Island. The same legislation is pending in: New York and Massachusetts.
The Paw Project and many more individual vets who do not declaw are trying to educate cat caretakers by holding screenings of the Paw Project film. This means that growing number of cat lovers are finding out the truth about how serious declawing is and the many physical and/or mental problems it often causes cats.
One day declawing WILL be banned worldwide but not soon enough for the countless cats doomed to suffer until it is!
Update March 2022: Since this post was published, New York State has banned declawing. Maryland is considering it as has Florida. Denver has banned it. There may be others but these come to mind immediately. There is a gradual change in opinion and the veterinarians are in retreat. They are getting to the stage where they can no longer find excuses for doing it. There are no excuses. The vets find cynical and pathetic reasons.
Ruth aka Kattaddorra
Articles on PoC about declawing cats.
i think id have to catch a plane to get where michael is as its Quite a distance lol. Plus very expenisve:)
I think we arranged to live in our Cat Village before you joined us here Kylee, so now hoping you will move there too one day:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/Would-You-Like-To-Live-In-A-Cat-Village.html
Ruth that’s another brilliant article notched up on your anti de-clawing bed post! Must have took you ages with the maps and research and its great to use this as a reference point when we comment on other websites. I have saved it to my favourites.
My cats claws give me nothing but pleasure and I rarely get scratched.
Jo I will sign up and comment on your Blog and I won’t be rude I promise 🙂
Thanks Leah, yes it was hard work this one, I must be some sort of self masochist lol
But I still can’t come to terms with why anyone would want their cats declawed, the very thought just makes me feel violent towards them and their vets.
You do more than your share of educating, your article is brilliant!
Thank you. I think thats the thing with me as well I really struggle to appear remotely sane when I hear someone say ‘I give him all the love he needs if he hadn’t of been de-clawed I wouldn’t have been able to keep him so getting this done has kept him in a loving home’ I feel like saying ‘what?? are you mad??’ Its unbelievable what people tell themselves 🙁
It makes me wonder what they will do when declawing is banned and how they think we manage with cats with claws! It’s as if claws are dangerous weapons the way some go on about them tearing the house up and scratching people to bits, I just can’t fathom out the mentality of those people!
yea lol
I just wish we had a like button on here
Babz, I’ll look at that. It will require a “plugin” — some new software and that may slow down the way the site works which is why I am a little reluctant to use it.
I can understand that Michael, it was just a comment really, you know what it’s like when you see something you agree with and start fumbling round to give it the thumbs up, it’s a reflex action after you’ve been on Facebook for a while, a bit like when you’re a passenger in a car and keep trying to use the brakes (air braking I believe it’s called LOL)
yea well maybe cause some people may share poc on facebook on a particular article it gets people talking which is great
I notice a lot of likes on PoC links by people who never comment here but they must surely come and read the articles or how would they know to like them.
they sure are, Ruth is so amazing with your pictures. Was horrible to see that pictures very disheartening. :.( Noone on earth should be allowed to do this at all!!!
Thanks Kylee, someone commented on the map on facebook and said he wished the whole world was red for no declawing.
Even if people don’t comment here they seem to be following our links to PoC, which is good!
I know you laboured hard over these posters and the article Ruth, well done it’s so good to actually see, rather than read, the places where declawing is so rightly banned and I agree that some of the small countries probably never in their wildest dreams would even think that someone would amputate part of their cat to make it more acceptable to them. But oh dear me look at the size of Canada and the USA and in all that huge expanse, thousands and thousands of miles only 8 cities have been brave enough to outlaw declawing and what an outcry it caused too with people threatening to pop to the next city if necessary just to get rid of those beastly claws. I’m not a traveller but after seeing this is I were I’d be looking at the countries with the red dots for my next excursion, maybe if the rest of the world boycotted those places for holidays, and told them why, it would make an impression on them.
Thanks Babz. Yes travellers boycotting those places would be good but most people are too selfish to consider doing that ‘just’ for the sake of cats.
The human race is the only selfish species on this earth.
I admire her massively for labouring as she does over these posters. I know how time consuming this sort of thing can be. It takes a lot of committment.
Thanks Michael, the serious ones are emotionally hard but they need to be seen and I’m glad you allow me to share them on PoC.
I enjoy doing the ‘fun’ ones though 🙂
Those posters are awesome!
Thanks Jo 🙂 I just want them to do some good
I admit to being a bit biased but in my opinion my sister is awesome 🙂
Aw thanks 🙂
WOW!
So much work went into this. Great job.
I wish we could see the worldwide ban in our lifetime.
How would you celebrate, R?
Yes it was hard this one Dee and took a good while.
How would I celebrate? Hmmmm I think this question might call for another poster and article do you?
You are my main muse Dee lol x
Funny.
But, if it doesn’t happen pretty soon, we’ll have to get help getting our geriatric chairs in order to waddle down to watch the NOISELESS fireworks in our “tidy didies”.
If I fall off my twig before it’s banned I’ll haunt the declawing vets without mercy and make their lives a misery 😉
BTW what is a tidy didie lol
tidy didie is a diaper
lol that’s a new one for me, we call it a nappy
“Come on, Ruth AKA, move it with that walker!” “Babz, rev up that wheelchair!
“DW, pull your diaper up!”
“Dee, where did you leave your teeth?”
“Jo, you’re blind as a bat; please find your glasses!”
“Kylee, hold Michael’s hand when we cross the road!”
“Marc, are you slithering on the ground?”
“Ruth, your hands aren’t steady; Monty is not a milkshake!”
“Dan, this is earth!”
“Rudolph, don’t wander off again!”
lol I’m so glad you are here to cheer us up Dee, you are a star turn xx
Problem is Dee, that since I am blind as a bat I cannot find my glasses.. Silly girl.. Laughing so hard.
lol good one Jo and Kylee holding Michael’s hand to cross the road isn’t a good idea, if he tries to stop the traffic again for a cat to cross and a boy racer comes along they’d both be road kill lol
Haha had a good laugh here Dee, I can see all of us toothless old hags and geezers tottering towards the bus and going on a POC club day trip to the seaside
We’re going to a celebration when declawing becomes illegal worldwide.
We all hope to see it happen in our lifetime, even if we are old cronies by then. We’ll all be coming out of the nursing home to celebrate together.
I have a HUGE favor to ask of you all. I am a volunteer on Pet360 on the message boards. I started a topic about declawing, and there are several folks who think it is not a big deal and their cats are NOT in pain. They say that if it weren’t for declawing they would have given up their cats due to the damage and not able to train them to use scratching posts or to trim their nails.
It just requires signing up for the site- which is a really good one, actually. It is slowly growing in popularity.
I beg you to comment- and help me educate folks about how unneccesary it is, and how WRONG it is. Please do not make them wrong- they know little- I want folks educated and to learn to think differently.
http://community.pet360.com/t5/Cat-Petiquette-Behavior-Training/Declawing-Cats-A-Highly-Controversial-Topic/m-p/51705#M737
Thanks so much,
Jo
Jo can you put posters on there? Use this one showing the severed toe ends if you can.
I will go to that page sometime, a bit snowed under right now, meeting myself coming back.
Ruth, you can upload jpgs- photos- so you can try uploading it. I can’t post another comment right now- I have been answering some of these folks, but since I am the moderator I don’t want to overload MY information.
Just remember to “smile from the wrists down” LOL. We can catch more flies with honey, honey! Thanks.
Now that is hard for me Jo, I’ll TRY, but if nice doesn’t work then nasty rears her ugly head because she can forgive ignorance but she can not forgive downright cruelty. lol in which case you will probably end up banning me lol lol
only joking my friend, I am the mistress of tact really 😉
Oh heck, I was going to have a look at the site until I saw the request to “smile from the wrists down” I’m afraid once I begin to read the posts from people who approve of declawing and the red mist starts to come down over me I will be more likely to punch from the wrists down, any flies I catch wouldn’t be with honey but with a thick wad of rolled up newspaper with which I would splat them flat.
Oh God I’ve only read one and I’m seething, I can’t do it Jo, I can’t smile I just want to kill!
Well I’ve posted some stark staring truthful posters for the pro declaws on there, we’ll see if any of them can justify their cruelty now 😉
We MUST smile from the wrists down.. we must educate- educate- educate, much in the same way as Dr. Jean Hofve and Jackson Galaxy do I am sure they want to smack declawers upside the head..I do for sure- but if we get our message out without attacking those that have done it- we will definitely get out crucial information to reach some folks who are considering it- and prevent paws from being mutilated. :::off soapbox again::::
How I love you Babz! x
I love you too sister mine 🙂
Ok, I’ve sort of grimaced from the wrists down, that’s the best I can do.
Thanks Ruth- Darned Decent Post!
I am so trying to educate, educate, educate- there are several folks on the board that hate declawing! In fact I just answered Nightawl’s post-explaining that it is , in my humble opinion, the veterinarians are responsible for continuing this outrage. Dr. Dowd gave me a lot of info about the incredible profit vets make from this surgery. The cost of the necessary instrument and the lack of decent pain management gives them a hefty fortune, in fact. It IS the vets- and their refusal to fully inform their clients- HA! It’s no big deal.One poster on the board wrote that her vet suggested 4 paw declaw- and she did it. I very tactfully blew his a** out of the water.
Just about sick of animal abusers lately Jo, lots going on here, heartbreaking stuff lately and it’s bad enough, but legalised abuse by the people who are supposed to care for animals is just too outrageous for words.
I sometimes think my head will explode with anger at the simpletons who fill those vets bank accounts, I mean 4 paw declaw!!! Poor poor cat.
That got me SOOOOOOO angry Ruth.. I wanted to amputate another part of that vet’s anatomy along with his fingertips- without pain management either. GRRRR..
It’s so good to have a place to truly vent what I am feeling. Thanks guys! And THANKS for the folks who joined the site and posted the truth!!
hi there have done that. I just cant believe people would declaw their precious animal.
Jo I’ve politely replied to some of the comments but my replies have appeared as stand alone comments 🙁
Hi Jo I’ve replied to most of the comments however my replies have appeared as stand alone random comments 🙁
Leah, did you click the “reply” button? If you do that your comment is nested with the main comment, the one you are replying to.
Hi Michael yes I did click reply however it didn’t nest with the comment I was replying to.
BRILLIANT is about all I have to say!
How people who profess to love cats can mutilate them, robbing them of their precious claws is beyond cruelty. These folks don’t love their cats! They love their furniture and possessions above and beyond their feelings for their remarkable felines. It sickens me- just to think that this surgery still continues to flourish here in this country- the good ole USA where we live in an “add water and stir” society.
We promote laziness and celebrate shortcuts. Anyone, that after knowing all the facts about declawing and still has this surgery done should be banned from ever being owned by a cat! ::::off soapbox:::- leaving room for the next person to step onto it.
Yes cat caretakers who have their cat declawed should be given a lifetime ban from keeping cats and the vets who declaw those cats should be imprisoned for life, just as they deny cats their rightful life so should they be deprived of theirs.
I expect quite a lot of work went into this. These things can take time to produce. Well done Ruth. You are a great champion of anti-declawing.
I am going to do a serious article today about it.
Thanks Michael, yes this article especially the posters, took a lot of doing, researching the countries and finding them on the map, Geography not being my strong point lol was a bit tedious. But I wanted to show where in the world cats claws are respected.
I’ll look forward to your article………
Ruth, my geography has improved no end writing for PoC!
Me too. Geography today, with all those countries broken into pieces, is nothing like I studied in school.
I’ll third that!
Ruth – I agree – I think that the countries where you could find no information on it are countries where the thought hasn’t even crossed their mind. It’s too cruel. Most countries haven’t even thought of such a cruel and expensive thing to do to cats. People in 3rd world countries have never even heard of declawing and would be shocked that rich white people pay what they earn in a month to mutilate cruelly their cats.
You are right Marc, declawing probably has never been thought of in poor countries and it seems obscene that some people pay money out to have their cats crippled for convenience sake, while some people are struggling to survive, some even starving to death.
A great map poster canvassing a extremely important aspect of cat welfare. Thanks Ruth aka Kattaddorra , i am also refreshing my geographical education through your map as many “NEW COUNTRY’s” have been born since i last studied geography in school. Brilliant idea on a sad topic of “CAT DE-CLAWING”. Why do cat owners opt for cats as pets if they don’t want their pet to live the normal life that nature destined them ?
Thanks Rudolph, you hit the nail on the head there, why do people get cats and if they don’t want them to live naturally!
Declawing should not be available then those people who only want an adapted cat wouldn’t have them and ruin their cats lives.
yah great to see its illegal in New Zealand i thought it might but was sure. Yes it should be illegal anywhere on this place called earth its totally wrong. I believe its cruety as well.
Yes it’s totally wrong Kylee, I’m glad the vets in your country are not so cruel as to declaw cats.