by Ruth
(England)
Poster by RuthI was astonished to be informed that a new Facebook group had started with the title ’Declawing is not Cruel’. Their info page contains these words:
‘This is a group for all of those who understand the REAL truth about declawing, and not all the propaganda spouting from the mouths of fanatics and their ignorant followers.’
I’m afraid that they are the ones who don’t know the REAL truth about the cruelty of declawing or understand that far from being fanatics, we are simply cat lovers who have done much research on declawing and that they who condone the suffering of many cats are the ignorant ones, not us.
It says it all that the group only has 81 members, a far cry from the thousands of members of the facebook anti declaw groups.
Of those 81 members I think quite a few will be anti declaw people who have had to join to express their views.
The pro declaws dismiss on that group all the evidence that shows how painful and disabling declawing is and how many cats suffer dreadful consequences from it.
They dismiss the fact that Rescue Shelters have thousands of declawed cats relinquished to them for behavioural problems, that declawing does not save cats homes, that in fact it does just the opposite. They obviously have done no research so don’t know that thousands more declawed cats are killed at kill shelters or caged for life at no kill shelters, that because of problems from declawing many cats are unrehomable
They talk about their very important expensive furniture cats ‘shred’ yet I saw no mention of providing the cats with the scratching posts or pads they need !
They talk about cats being untrainable. Strange that seeing as many of us find our cats easily trainable to scratching posts. All it takes is time and patience.
There is no such creature as an untrainable cat.
There is no such creature as a bad cat, but there are bad cat caretakers who know very little about cats needs !
A comment on the page says that cats are happier without their claws, that they can and do scratch anywhere they want to. This person ignores the fact that the poor creatures are desperately trying to do what comes natural to them, that they need to scratch to stay healthy. That one day the chances are the cat will develop calluses from trying to scratch for the much exercise of digging in their claws to stretch their muscles to keep them strong and healthy!
They have either ignored or dismiss the X Ray proof given by eminent vets that declawing often causes painful arthritis and deformity in cats as they age.
I can’t see anywhere on that group that mentions how declawing is banned in many countries and some Californian Cities, as animal abuse.
I can’t see anywhere either that mentions declawing is supposed to be a last resort and that vets who encourage the declawing of kittens not only ignore the AVMA policy but break their oath to cause no animal to suffer.
I must admit though I haven’t looked too closely as reading the biased reasoning on there from supposed cat lovers is enough to make any TRUE cat lover’s blood run cold !
Go to the Facebook group Declawing is Not Cruel – this link is broken at 2012! Maybe they gave in.
Every “declawing is ONLY cruel” comment here has given me a great laugh. You all assume from your own opinion based on what you’ve see that declawing is “cruel” yet you fail to acknowledge any benefits whatsoever even if they are minor. The sheer negativity on this subject makes me sick to the stomach. EVERYTHING has pros and cons. Saying that there are no pros to declawing is a huge lie. It only proves that said bias people write comments to share their “wisdom” (stupidity) on the subject even if they know little to nothing whatsoever.
You obviously completely missed the point that declawing for non-therapeutic purposes has no pros for the cat. It is all cons. It is the mutilation of a cat at the convenience of the cat’s owner, no more and no less. That must be immoral and there’s no way you can argue against that point. Your mind is clearly completely closed to the possibility that declawing can be immoral and unethical. But as stated it must be when it is done for the convenience of the cat’s owner. It is not a question of being biased but a question of being open-minded and enlightened. It is not a question of wisdom but of common sense. To say that people who are against declawing know nothing whatsoever is obviously completely idiotic. The truth is that if you believe that declawing is alright to simply stop a cat scratching furniture then I have to say with complete honesty and candour that you are behaving in an immoral way.
Xander, are you aware that apart from in the U.S., Canada and some Middle Eastern states, vets in almost all other countries refuse to declaw because they do consider the procedure cruel and unnecessary?
In fact, it was their refusal to even offer the procedure to clients which was the basis for most governments worldwide banning the procedure.
The simple truth is that declawing is very financially lucrative for vets and that’s a strong incentive for them to continue offering a surgery which benefits only the owner (in terms of convenience) and the vet’s bank account.
I swore I would never declaw another cat having declawed two. But when my Son died and I brought his two cats home I was not prepared. Three leather couches later I decided Barney had to be declawed. Keep in mind people this cat would have been dead..I did not choose him…I saved him
Thanks Kris for sharing your thoughts. I can understand. Did you try trimming the claws or as a last resort claw caps? Could you have protected the furniture? Do you know that in Utah over 300,000 declawed cats are in pain because of declawing.
https://pictures-of-cats.org/urgent-cat-owners-in-utah-usa-must-read-this.html
It’s sad you made it declaw or death, poor Barney, he was deliberately crippled for being a cat and doing what cats do.
I hope you will watch him carefully for the physical and/or mental consequences of having his toe ends amputated.
No point in saying any more because it’s too late but my heart aches for him, bereaved then mutilated for the sake of inanimate, replaceable furniture.
You may have saved his life but at what great cost to him.
what you have done!
You swore never to declaw another cat, so you obviously know the devastating truth of declawing, but then under a bit of pressure from your couches you forgot your principles and had Barney’s toe ends amputated, so much for your oath. I’m extremely sorry for your bereavement but I am also extremely sorry for Barney who lost his home and now as a condition of living in your home has lost his toe ends, you could have better saved him by finding him a safe loving home where he wouldn’t have been subject to horrific surgery, that would have been kinder.
You did the right thing, even though people here will blast you for it. A cat values it’s life more than it’s claws. My cats are declawed, and absolutely nothing ill has come of it. You saved Barney’s life, just as I saved the lives of my cats. I’d make the same decision all over again, and I don’t feel the least bit bad.
Thanks for commenting even though I disagree with you. Declawing is obviously immoral. If you don’t realise that I feel sorry for you and the cats you had declawed.
My cats are the very last critters you should feel sorry for. They’re happy and content, comfortable and pampered, and are expected to live long, healthy lives. If you ever met them, you wouldn’t have the faintest clue that they were declawed, unless you asked, or actually looked for yourself. The ‘horrors’ of declawing are terribly, even laughably, exaggerated.
One can often tell just by looking, that a cat has been declawed. Their toes lack “plumpness” due to the loss of bone….not dissimilar to how people look without teeth and their lips lose their natural shape.