The special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States is strained by the fact that a substantial section of society in America support the declawing of cats. Clearly, this only affects people who (a) are aware of the fact that some people do declaw their cats in America and (b) love or like cats and animals. That said, a very large part of society in both countries like animals and are sensitive towards the needs of animals. Therefore, the declawing of domestic cats in America is a substantial irritation and barrier to a successful relationship between British and American people.
I like America and in general I like American people. But as stated, when I think of the millions of cats that are put through the terrible process of declawing, by sensible and law-abiding American people, I become irritated and upset and ask myself why do they do this. To a European who is sensitive towards animals and animal rights it seems to me that a person who declaws their cat is unsophisticated and uncivilised. It is an uncivilised act. It is an unrefined form of behaviour. I hate to say that but I can’t avoid the conclusion.
The special relationship between the UK and the USA is probably based upon the simple fact that we are essentially the same people and we speak the same language (almost). The American people came from Europe over 400 years ago. We have the same DNA and the same background and therefore we should understand each other more easily.
But British people who are aware that cats are declawed in America don’t understand the mentality of Americans who do it. It makes me want to dislike the individual American people who request their veterinarian to declaw their cat. I have to dislike these people because it is so contrary to my fundamental way of thinking in respect of our relationship with animals and particularly the domestic cat. It seems brutally uncivilised to me and crude behaviour.
So what is civilised behaviour? What is sophisticated behaviour? I’m sure people have different points of view about that. For me, one aspect of civilised behaviour is to behave in a way which creates harmony in a community of people or a society of people and in the world at large. If there is harmony life is better and life is easier.
Living in harmony with others should, in a civilised society, include living in harmony with all creatures that inhabit the planet. This includes the domestic cat. If a person is to live in harmony with the domestic cat the person must respect the cat. People cannot live in harmony with either the human animal or the animal without respect for others. That must be a fundamental starting point.
When a cat owner has her cat declawed it is disrespectful of their cat. It is modifying, in a rather brutal way, a cat’s anatomy for the convenience of the owner. It is one-way traffic, the cat’s owner is doing exactly what he or she wishes with her cat at her convenience. I conclude, therefore, that this is uncivilised behaviour and it puts a strain as far as I’m concerned on my relationship with the American people because it goes to a fundamental cultural belief.
When you read articles or comments by people who support declawing you understand that there is no way you can present an argument to them that will change their mind. And vice versa, by the way. A pro-declaw person, no matter how hard they try, will never be able to convince an anti-declaw person that it is acceptable. We think completely differently. This strains our relationship because we both like cats, which should be a good starting point in a successful relationship.
If I am right that the act of declawing a cat is uncivilised behaviour, then how did this come about? I can only conclude that when the first Europeans landed in America they had to restart their lives afresh and in doing so they turned the clock back several hundred years and had to rebuild a fresh society. That was a knock back in terms of a developmental process towards civilised behaviour. Today, America is a very advanced society in very many areas such as technology but in some areas they are less advanced than Europeans. The evolution of the American people over the preceding 400 years has not been even. There is still an element of the wild West about the way some American people relate to wildlife. It is almost as if for a part of American society their relationship with animals is about 100 years behind their relationship with technology.
I’ll leave it there. I write this with respect for the American people. I hope the article is not disrespectful. I don’t believe it is because it is honest and I’m sure other Europeans and British people have similar feelings concerning other aspects of European and American life.
Note: I have not generalised. I refer to “some” Americans not “Americans”.
This is a weekend article I missed because I’m taking weekends for my cats and Gigi particularly.
I think you can dislike and even hate – and even be angry, all the while without necessarily losing respect.
You have said how you and all of us feel – clearly and in a balanced straight forward way.
I mean – there is not a way to say it and make the truth of it any nicer. It’s bad. You can say you think it’s bad without being rude and you can not like people without being rude to them as well.
Often the guilt associated with assumed expressio blame comes from from the fact that you know that telling the truth is going to subvert somebody’s reality and demand a reaction. People are over careful. Truth is truth. We are all entitled to express our own truths. Sometimes the truth is hard to take but one should feel good for pointing at a problem, not bad or guilty.
And as we kow alot of this declawing is permitted by ignorance or lakc of knowledge on the subject. For the caretaker. The vet who makes it sound ok though, in my opinion, makes the world a much worse place and should be thrown in jail. This should be a prison sentence for knowingly torturing an animal. If it was necessary it wouldn’t be torture obviously.
Those vets who do that – by god I’d love to see them all thrown in a pen together and see them squirm like the disgusting money hungry people they are. PEople need money, but many of us try not to hurt anyone obtaining it. It’s the people who cash in on the suffering of others that deserve the hell the have unleashed on countless innocent lives.
AND to think that of all people to be willing to hurt an animal for a bit of cash, that vets would be the LAST ones willing to do it. Makes me think they becamse vets because they wanted the prestige and power but weren’t good enough to become huma doctors. Or something like that. Like lawyers and notaries. The vet is lesser. But still a doctor. Well why else did they become vets then? Not because they love animals. Anybody?
‘Well why else did they become vets then? Not because they love animals. Anybody?’
There is no answer to that Marc, vets who declaw cats certainly don’t love animals, they know full well that declawing causes suffering and I wonder if they don’t care about that because cats come below dogs in their estimation.
I’ve seen comments about vets being shocked if anyone asks for their dog to be declawed, it’s a rare vet who would agree (although there are some declawed small dogs, the type carried around) If they are shocked and horrified at the thought of declawing dogs then why not cats? Dogs claws can cause a lot of damage.
Cats suffering can be hidden away of course, a limping declawed dog out on a walk would be very noticeable and people full of sympathy for the dog and outrage at the owner. Who sees an indoor cat suffering? Only those who paid a vet to cause that suffering!
Wow – so well and exactly put Ruth. I totally agree. And the dog thing. I didn’t think about that before. I wonder how many vets are against debarking but not against declawing cats. Quite a few I suspect, which shows how deeply engrained the ‘cats are second class’ attitude is in people.
thanks michael. Yea im a person whos truthful and honest and prob too nice as well. often it gets me into trouble. Yea sometimes you’ve got to put those views out no matter how much it may offend. the cats here are all getting along now. Ozzie and jasmin are best friends now. They play and chase around the house together which is just so great.