Declawing Kittens
by Michael
(London, UK)
No, please, I beg you, don’t do it… Here’s why. First, though, please let me explain why I am building a page about declawing kittens when I have already built a page on declawing cats. The answer can be found in market research using keywords – phrases and words that people use to search for information on the Internet. A lot of people search for “declawing kittens”. I am guessing, but they are probably people like you, people who are looking for information about the procedure and where it can be carried out.
You may not realise that the declawing process is not trimming a cat’s claws or even removing them. Oh no….no, no – it is far, far worse. There is a pile of pain and a bag full of blood….The veterinarian, in breach of his sworn oath and in the most unethical manner, cuts off the last phalanx of the toes of the cat.
What does this mean? Please look at your hand. Please hold it up in front of you. See the top of your fingers, the bit that goes from the tip of the finger to the first joint just below the fingernail. That is the bit that is sliced off! It is better described as an amputation and it is for your convenience – yes you just fancy the idea of “owning” a cat that has no claws. You love cats but hate those claws. Let’s have it both ways. It’s only a cat.
The term “declawing” is deliberately devised by the veterinarians to mask the true horror of the operation. No that is incorrect. It is a mutilation not an operation.
The following page covers the major issues and it has some great links: Declawing Alternatives. Please read this. It contains links to articles by people who know, people who are kind and people who care.
Now think of your kitten. How beautiful! How delicate. How vulnerable. He or she is looking up at you, relying on you for her care, her protection, for love and safety. She is looking to you for nourishment and emotional warmth. She needs all the things that we need. And you’re thinking about mutilating her because you have a nice sofa, a nice chair. You may have bought one recently and…yes, I’d love a kitten too. STOP.
You think that I am some sort of crazy animal rights activist, an “AR”. One of those mad types. Well I am not and neither are the people who care for animals. They are neither mad nor bad. They are normal and concerned, that’s all. I am one of the normal and concerned. Here are the words of a veterinarian who thinks straight and who thinks great: Ethical Veterinarian. She sees the bigger picture.
The key to declawing is this. It is immoral for a cat caretaker to have it done, if it’s for their convenience and it invariably is. And it is unethical and immoral for the vet to agree to do it. Now, that is ignoring all the bloody pain. Please don’t think that everything will be OK a week after the operation (mutilation). Your kitten will accept it – what else can he or she do. But she will have suffered enormous pain and discomfort and heavy duty pain killers will be needed. Your cat may undergo behaviour changes. Wouldn’t you if you lost the tips of all your fingers? Please think about it. You would very likely become withdrawn and you would almost certainly lose confidence and suffer a catalogue of spin off psychological problems. But there is much more than that…see declawing cats visitors submissions.
If you declaw your kitten you will be hurting yourself. You will have done the wrong thing. The morally incorrect thing. It is not wise to behave immorally even if it is convenient. It degrades the person. If you are a thinking person, you will regret it.
“I regret that I declawed my other cat. I did not know better and no one explained what declawing actually meant….” – the words of a nice person on Flickr (Rebekah Pavlovic) –see her photo. It is about raw cat food but in passing she mentions declawing.
Please see a list of visitor’s articles. You really won’t get better on the Internet, I promise you.
Best
