by Barbara
(England)
I’m sure every right thinking visitor to PoC will want to comment on these words of wisdom, which are on a site called “Tips on Cats”, the site claims to tell us how to take care of our cats and this is what it has to say about declawing:
Firstly after saying that there is more than a small dispute around whether we should or shouldn’t be declawing cats it then says that the benefits of declawing cats are obvious “although the drawbacks are especially related to your pet” (I‘d have said ENTIRELY!) it then lists what the author sees as the advantages of amputating your cat’s fingers which are of course, sickeningly, the same old chestnuts wheeled out again:
1) Saving on reupholstering or buying furniture (and it even says due to a cat’s necessity to scratch so it’s not as though the author doesn’t realise that a cat NEEDS to scratch)
2) (If you think this is bad wait till advantage number 3) declawing pet cats makes them less dangerous around kids other pets and so forth.
3) Here is the one that has made steam come out of my ears!
MOST PET CATS WILL TURN OUT TO BE MUCH MORE DOCILE EVENTUALLY AFTER THEY HAVE HAD THEIR CLAWS EXTRACTED. THE VALID REASON FOR THIS IS NOT EVIDENT, BUT IT’S A PLEASANT BENEFIT A LOT OF CAT OWNERS HAVE DISCOVERED OVER THE YEARS.
This is horrifying! To think that this information is out there on the Internet for anyone to come across who is thinking of declawing. It is pie for them, HERE is all the justification they need to get their cat down the roads to the surgery and get those fingers off quick smart!
Here are the disadvantages that this blinkered author has come up with:
1) The cats will continually need to be a home cat, since they will be virtually defenceless without their front claws around other felines and animals (their front claws are how they keep predators away from them).
2) Certain breeds are known for being well behaved and will keep their claws retracted, unless they need to guard themselves.
3) Your cat will have to learn to readjust their equilibrium with the elimination of the claws. All claws are a means of stability for felines, since they walk on their toes — instead of their paws as other four-legged animals do.
Again horrifying because this person actually KNOWS that declawed cats are defenceless, and that they need to re-learn how to walk on their shortened paws
In summarising this person has the nerve to add
“What must you do?
When you ponder the pros and cons; declawing felines comes down to need. In case your feline claws at your furnishings and won’t take to a scratching post, then it will be inevitable they need to be declawed. The same goes for felines that don’t learn how to maintain their claws retracted while having fun with you, your other pets and your children. On the same note, you don’t need to unwittingly decide to declaw them simply because it looks like the thing to do, or a friend says it has to be done.”
NEED to be declawed? And for goodness sake, the kids can maul, the dog can maul, but OH NO the cat can’t fight back.
Please folks get on this website and put this person right!
http://tipsoncats.com/declawing-pet-cats-is-it-necessary/
