When I watch this video (and I have seen it and written about it before) I think of cat declawing. You can guess why but I’ll tell you why. The cat is vigorously kneading his owner’s face. If the claws where not trimmed and probably filed so they were smooth, her face would be scratched quite badly after a while. It would be painful and bloody. But here we see the woman entirely accepting it. It might even be enjoyable as a form of massage because the claws have been filed down. They are smooth not sharp.
A cat’s forepaws particularly are very sharp. Pin sharp. It is important for a domestic cat that they are keep sharp by sloughing off the outer layer from time to time as claws are weapons. They harm aggressors and defend the cat. They grab prey animals and pierce them so they can’t free themselves. Cat claws as weapons is what frightens a lot of cat owners in America where in most jurisdictions in that country it is still legal to declaw cats despite it being criminally illegal in 36 countries 😢🙀.
Now I know that filing and clipping a cat’s forepaws is tricky but it is doable. The key is to start when the kitten is adopted so they get used to it. They accept it. And then there is no need to declaw your cat. Think about the enormous benefits a cat owner can bring to their cat if they take the time and trouble (not much) to trim their cat’s claws.
Declawing is unnecessary. It is a product of sloppy human behaviour and anxiety. Even if the claws are not trimmed and are exceptionally sharp, through good cat caregiving a person can avoid being scratched. It just takes some thought and awareness of feline behaviour and knowing when you cat might like to use their claws on you in play. It is all about reading cat behaviour and body language and learning to interact in a safe way.
And of course, the video below was made for the cameras. It was made to attract attention. To get those precious hits because you wouldn’t normally do this. Only a crazy person would allow this if the claws were untrimmed. But this smart woman knows about the benefits of trimming claws.
RELATED: Cats Claws Are No Big Deal in the UK
Note: the video is embedded here from TikTok. If the video is deleted on TikTok it will stop working and if that has happened, sorry.
