Are you for declawing the cat or not

Yes.. every cat my parents got declawed had litterbox issues afterwards. This is because when they step in the litterbox, the litter hurts their newly declawed paws. It upsets me just thinking about it..

 

I was going to start a new thread about this, but a quick search led me here. Instead of creating a duplicate, I'm just going to bump this up so we can get the new people's opinions on declawing.

Any of the new people have something to say about declawing? Have you done it before?

 

My first cat came to me declawed and I can't deny that it was nice not having to worry about my furniture being destroyed. He sadly was a victim of the food recall a few years back that had taken the lives of so many pets. A couple of weeks after, my mother-n-law showed up with a rescue cat that still had claws. He also came with a file about an inch thick documenting every medical procedure and surgery he had to go through after he was rescued.

I never took him in to have him declawed mainly for the fact that I just couldn't put him through anymore medical procedures. Later I picked up my 2nd cat which I didn't declaw either since I knew they would both play and I didn't want one cat to have claws and not the other. I just didn't think it was fair. I do struggle with clawing though for the most part I can just say their names and they stop.

Seeing how easy it is to get my cats to stop clawing by simply calling out their names has changed my view on declawing. If the time ever comes that I end up with another cat, I won't declaw him either. I have come to see declawing as a an unnecessary procedure that is done more for convenience than need.

 

I think it's time to have a law against declawing cats. And give that law enough muscle to enforce it. While we are about it, put cropping tails and ears of dogs on the list, too.

 

I use to think it was alright, but now I have second thoughts. i know someone who got cat scratch fever from being scratched. She declawed her new cat because she thought it was the best thing. I'll show her this post, and I think she'll wish she wouldn't have. Most cat owners don't understand the drawbacks to having them declawed. Thank you for posting this information about having cats declawed. Cat owners should be aware of the reasons why not to have them declawed.

 

No, if you don't want a cat that scratches, don't get a cat. We had an outdoor cat, so it was never a question. We knew she needed to keep her claws for safety, defense, hunting, etc.

 

I'm typically against declawing a cat. The cat I had for fourteen years had all of his claws (I regularly trimmed them with clippers) and didn't cause any damage. However, I have a friend who recently asked advice about declawing b/c her cat was destroying her house (she showed pics, and it was bad!) - she'd tried everything to no avail. In that case, told her I'd declaw a cat before getting rid of him. I would rather see the cat keep his home if it comes down to that.

 

A cat that doesn't scratch. That's just a bit less rare than a wife who doesn't nag. And I agree with you on that part. No like scratchy-scratchy, no get kitty-kitty.

 

I think if a cat is going to be an outside cat, then yes they need claws. Our cat is declawed because she's an indoor cat and we have two small children. My parents have 3 cats, and they have only declawed their front claws.

 

That's good advice. While I don't think any of us actually -like- them scratching and I've lost more than one piece of furniture to their destruction, it's expected. That's just how cats are and if you didn't know that before, you really shouldn't have taken on a cat in the first place.

 

I am against declawing a cat, that's just cruel. Also I believe that a cat should be able to defend herself when out in nature. Think about what if your cat would get missing, maybe run out the door, nobody saw it, but the cat is curious and want to explore things outside, all the interesting smells and would not want to come back for a while. Outside she would have to deal with other cats or other animals that would hurt her, she may have to climb up a tree etc. that's why they have claws. I think for people that can't stand their cat scratching furniture in their home, they should not have a cat, just like people that can't stand barking dogs, should not have a dog.