Declawing Cats - Illegal in most developed countries, but not the USA.

[Melkor]

A lot of my social media has been flooded by posts regarding declawing cats.

The practice involves cutting off the top joint of a cat's paws using either surgical tools or--more recently--lasers. The procedure is akin to cutting off your finger down to the first knuckle--the joint just below the beginning of your fingernail.

Issues arise after this procedure such as litter box problems, and medical problems such as "pain in the paw, infection, tissue necrosis (tissue death), lameness, and back pain."

Spoiler: Medical diagram

According to the "Declawing practices" section on the wikipedia article,

Laws and policies governing onychectomy vary around the world. For example, many European countries prohibit or significantly restrict the practice, as do Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Turkey. It is banned in at least 22 countries. The list below gives an overview of the situation in different parts of the world.

I'm strongly against declawing cats. There are more humane options such as getting more scratching posts, training them to use them by redirecting and rewarding them. There are even claw caps to put on their claws, and the caps come with non-toxic glue to put them on.

The practice does more harm than good, in my opinion. What do you guys think?

 

[GentlemanFaggot]

It's a disgusting practice and if you can't handle a cat's claws or scratching habits, you shouldn't own one.

 

[Forever Sunrise]

Blatant animal mutilation. If you want an image of what declawing essentially entails, look at your nails, then imagine somebody snipping your fingers off to just above the quick. You're welcome.

 

[Mariposa Electrique]

Simple Solution: No, it should be outloawed end of story. If you can't deal with a cat's claws, then you should not have a cat.

 

[Golly]

It's not worth it. Not only does it complicate life for the cat, it puts them in serious danger if they ever get outside. I don't get why an owner would essentially remove their pet's final defense in an emergency situation.

 

[BadaBadaBoom]

My girlfriend wants to put pretty pink claw covers on our cat which I contest as just as unconscionable.

 

[Melkor]

My girlfriend wants to put pretty pink claw covers on our cat which I contest as just as unconscionable.

The covers aren't a bad thing. It's fine if they're swallowed and the glue used is non-toxic. Sure, it looks tacky, but I'd use those rather than declaw the cat.

 

[RJ MacReady]

I own a rescue cat who was declawed by the neglectful previous owners. Spent her entire life in an apartment gorging herself on food and had barely touched grass until we adopted her. She's down to a healthy weight now and you'd be shocked how proficient she is at hunting. I guess she got lucky because she's otherwise very healthy, but I do have to keep her inside at night because I don't want her to run into coyotes or trash pandas.

If there was a way to undo it, I would. A few scratches on your furniture is worth a cat's health and natural state of being.

 

[melty]

No. Anyone who declaws their cat is a lolcow.
Oh your precious Ikea couch is worth more than the animal you optionally adopted.. go fuck yourself.
If you don't like something the animal does and don't want to train it don't get that animal

My girlfriend wants to put pretty pink claw covers on our cat which I contest as just as unconscionable.

Our cat used to have those but it was for a different reason

Spoiler

She used to have terrible allergies and would scratch her head until it would bleed, so we put them on her to prevent that. Now she takes medicine for it (it took us a really really long time to get a proper diagnosis and find the right medicine)

Idk, asking if cats should be let outdoors is probably a better argument, I don't think very many educated non-sociopaths would argue in favor of declawing cats.

 

[AnOminous]

Fuck declawing cats. Poor kitties.

 

[Cripple]

Against it. I have plenty of horror stories from work about the day after the claws are removed (think horror movie set).

And yet my MiL just can't believe I have indoor clawed cats without my furniture being ruined. They're called scratchboards and I have two per cat. (I also trim their nails when they start catching.)

 

[pozilei]

A few scratches on your furniture is worth a cat's health and natural state of being.

Yeah, I don't get stuff like this. If someone is so worried about their couch or getting a few scratches there are about 20 different kinds of pets they could get instead of a cat. Just get a guinea pig or a hamster, they're fluffy and cute and won't bother your precious furniture.

 

[AnOminous]

I'd rather have a happy kitty with claws than some shitty chair from Hammacher Schlemmer or wherever yuppies and other vermin get shitty furniture to show off to their douchebag Patrick Bateman-like friends.

 

[XYZpdq]

I had somebody who had a baby and their cat was kind of a fighty asshole (even for cats), so I can kinda understand that case. But yeah it's not too cool.

As for letting them out, I'm in Florida so there's plenty of things that can and will kill a cat lurking around every corner, so no. Any time they've gotten out they walk around a little, quickly realize there's no air conditioning, and walk right back in.

 

[Melkor]

I'm not too fond of the idea of cats being let outside but that's a whole other argument.

My cousin got an indoor cat, and her parents demanded he have all of his paws declawed to save their furniture from his claws. He doesn't have any litter box issues but his paws are still very sensitive, even years after the fact.

 

[TwinkleSnort]

Absolutely cruel and barbaric.

 

[Anonimo]

My first cat was declawed, but that was only because we adopted him from another family and got him like that. Any cats we have had after we have always left their claws in tact. The question did come up when we adopted two new cats after our first one had died, but we decided against it and simply got them scratching posts, a cat tower with a scratching post, etc. They seem more content to bite and chew things than they do scratch ( which meant we ended up going through more than a few cat toys, shoe laces, charging cables, and pairs of headphones over the years, but that's another story)

 

[melty]

Are there people that don't buy scratching posts? Serious question, it's a necessary item if your cat isn't outdoors

 

[Cripple]

Are there people that don't buy scratching posts? Serious question, it's a necessary item if your cat isn't outdoors

You'd be surprised how ignorant people are. I have had so many people complain about "destructive" indoor cats and I'm like "do you have scratching posts, toys, access to a window for enrichment?"

"Well, no." And what do you know the cat stops tearing the place up after toys and enrichment is added!

Once a cat is no longer a kitten people seem to think they never get bored.

 

[Spawn]

So then if declawing is so shit then what is the aspca doing to stop this shit?