Would you be okay with declawing if...

The owner was elderly and whose skin didn't heal properly from the scratches? Softclaws didn't work.

The owner has AIDS or is in other ways immunocompromised and loves the cat but cannot keep it with claws due to risk of infection.

The cat is attacking small children

The cat is very aggressive and feliway and other methods have not helped

the owner wants to euthanize due to scratching behavioral problems

That's a tough one. I'll have to think about it personally.

I would not, instead I would use other simple remedies instead before that.

For skin healing problems, even though as a person ages, the skin becomes thinner, that is normal age related changes. Has the person tried wearing long sleeve shirts to protect as much skin areas as possible. Even though some diesease processes can affect the healin of the skin, ie diabetes, possibly AIDS (as mentioned in the next line), those are issues easily corrected by changing the types of clothing being worn, and will help protect.

The AIDS issue is a bit more comlicated, because of the potential to transfer the disease. I have not heard of a cat being a carrier for AIDS in the past, but that does not mean to say they cant. Maybe others on the forums can supply a better answer to this one than I.

As for the cat attacking small children, there could be a lot of reasons for this. Overstimulation for the cat, heridity, an abusive past? Also look at how the children are interacting with the cat, and if the cat feels threatened. Does the cat have scratching posts? Is there play time for the cat only? Are the kids pulling on the cats tail? Or patting or rubbing the cat inappropriately? Does the cat get enough stimulation? Lots of reasons for this, so it might be advantagous to look at the reasons the cat is attacking young small children. The cat might feel that they are not the centre of attention and is looking for attn too. Who knows. this also kinda addresses the fourth issue as well.

Behavioural issues for the most part be corrected with positive stimulation for the cat over a period of time. USe of treats for good behaviour is a good way to help reinforce the proper behaviour. I was taking my first cat out for walks, and she did not like the harness, and for the first while I put it on her, she would just lay on the ground, but after awhile (when she got used to it) she would go for a little walk outside, then when we got home, I would give her a treat for going outside and enjoying the day. This same cat attacked a dog I look after as well, and when I saw her do this, I put her in the bedroom with her food and water dishes, and closed the door and left her there for a period of time. After a while I would let her out, and if she did it again, I would do the same thing. After a few days, she got the message and accepted the dog. She did not interact much with the dog, but she was not attacking it either. Cats can be trained, you just need patience and time. Best of luck. There is my 2 cents on what you asked. If anything, do not put hte cat down, that is not the best option. Maybe try finding a different home for hte cat woudl be a better option. Just my opinion.

As it's illegal here, it wouldn't make any difference whether I was for or against, in none of those situations would it be an option anyway!

We seem to get by ok without declawing at all, in any situation.

NO, NO I would try to re-home the kitty.............

what if you've had this cat for 10 years and love it so much? Re-homing seems drastic if the person loves their cat and wants to be able to keep him/her despite being immunocompromised. A lot of elderly people are lonely and the cat can provide a lot of companionship for them.

I am not pro-declawing but I do think it is a viable option in some situations.

here is something I read that made me think about it.

In numerous studies to date, declawing has been shown to cause no increase in behavior problems. Declawed cats were no more likely to bite, than clawed cats9 and no more likely to show any other behavior problems including housesoiling10,11,12 In a study of 276 cat owners, declawing successfully met or surpassed the owner’s expectations in all cases.4 There was 96% owner satisfaction and over 70% of cat owners indicated that there was an improvement in the cat-owner relationship.4 This is consistent with studies that showed that behavior problems (including scratching) were a major reason for surrender13, while being declawed decreased the risk of relinquishment.1

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In a study in Germany (where declawing is illegal) of 1177 cats, the second most common owner behavioral complaint, second only to states of anxiety was scratching (15.2% of cats). For 125 cats the owners had attempted to correct the problem, 60% had partial success with environmental management or aversion conditioning, but only 10% were able to completely resolve the problem.2 Similarly, in a study of U.S. veterinarians it has been estimated that in about one of every 20 office visits, owners of both kittens and adult cats indicate problems with destructive behavior.3

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Also, neither of my cats are declawed and I wouldn't declaw them unless there was an extreme circumstance (such as those listed in my post). So please don't come down on me for being a pro declawer! I just want to give information about why some vets do it and some owners get it done.

As always I go away and an answer immediately comes

I agree with the owner finding a new home for the cat, and because it's being violent toward children, it would have to be one without kids.

I don't agree with the declawing for the obvious reasons, but also because if the owner did do it, she'd be trading in one behavior for another. Once the cat is declawed it loses it's natural defense, and could quite possibly resort to biting. If her scratching is a problem with the owner's health problems, biting wouldn't be any better. The cat may also get more violent because of the pain, discomfort and negative effects declawing can have on a cat.

Euthanizing is never ok just for behavioral issues like this IMO.

EDIT - Just saw your response - Then she can get another cat that hopefully has a better temperment.

Hmm, that's difficult to answer and not include my personal opinions. Our one rescue boy Fatty had been declawed in all four paws (prior to us taking him in) because he "scratched the furniture" Because of this, he constantly has sores on his paws, has pain when walking, and can't jump up without sliding down onto the floor. When questioning our vet as to why would a vet do this? Especially in all four paws? He said the only way he would ever declaw all four paws wold be if the cats was owned by an elderly or handicapped individual who was easily scratched when the cat jumped in their lap. I still think that's no excuse to declaw. Could you put a blanket on her lap? And long sleeves like someone had suggested above? As much as it may break the owners heart to part with the cat, I would try to rehome him, and maybe keep my eyes open at shelters for a cat that comes in previously declawed.

Please do nto get me wrong, I am not saying to not think about declawing the cat, but I would not jump at that as the solution either. Possibly try different things to correct this, and if not successful then think about declawing, or even re homing the cat. Those are last ditch solutions though in my book.

As for cats giving elderly company, that is very true. I have seen it on many occassions with the elderly nad with different animals too, but mainly dogs. My experience with pet therapy is more in nursing home settings than residential, but in either location, the fundamental principle is the same. It is the same for anyone at any age. One reason why I am looking at getting maggie now, cause suzie gave me a lot of pleasure, and was agreat companion for me.

It all has to do with the person's outlook and what they have tried in the past to correct this scenerio. But hopefully declawing is a last ditch effort (or one of the last ditch efforts). More of my 2 cents worth i guess. I am learning too. Just my opinion.

I think too many people declaw as a convenience thing. Oh hey, no claws, wow, this is such a great deal. They declaw before they even know their cats temperment and without trying alternatives such as scratching posts. My oldest cat is as gentle as they come and she has NEVER used her claws in an inappropriate way (meaning, she has never used them to attack me or anyone else. She scratches on furniture occasionally but it's not a big deal).

Declaw is a hot issue and even vets sit on both sides of the fence. I feel that most vets are good people and go into the practice not for money but because they love animals. A starting salary for a vet is about 40-50 thousand and some have upwards of 200k in loans. I just can't grasp why vets would declaw if they felt that it was inhumane. You could make the argument that the increase in revenue is worth it but I'm not convinced. There are probably some vets out there that declaw for increased $$ but I can't see that with all vets. It just seems that cat owners take a more extreme stance on declawing than vets themselves and that just doesn't really make sense to me.

I would never declaw a cat, and would suggest they try to find a new home for the kitty. I can understand how its a problem for them, but declawing is so terrible for the cat. I wish it would be made illegal for the US.

Iti s a hot issue, and will always be one I suppose. Just thought of a question though for you. How long has this been going on for? If it is a recent thing, then what changes to the cats environment has been made to cause this, if it has been a long time on-going issue then might be something else there. Just a potential thought.

also, in the UK and other areas where declawing is prohibited most cats are indoor/outdoor cats as opposed to strictly indoor cats.

Again, not PRO! just playing devil's advocate.

I wouldn't support declawing in any circumstance where it was purely for the owner's benefit. Besides, an older cat with trimmed claws is unilikely to be shredding his/her owner to bits every day so I don't see the need. Cats have claws, it's the way they're made.

also some points to consider:
*older cats are more difficult to re-home. Even in a no-kill shelter some cats have to be put down because they cannot be placed.

*in the case of the elderly woman, imagine replacing your current cats. you can't replace them! If there is an alternative to leaving the cat at a shelter I bet a lot of people would take it in a heartbeat.

If the cat is 10 like you are suggesting and their behavior has recently changed to where it is attacking children or other people I think there may be another problem. Some one suggested the cat being over stimulated. Perhaps the cat isn't feeling well. A vet visit is in order if this is a recent behavioral change.

If a recent behavior issues VET CHECK ASAP is in order ...

Originally Posted by buffyfan

also, in the UK and other areas where declawing is prohibited most cats are indoor/outdoor cats as opposed to strictly indoor cats.

Again, not PRO! just playing devil's advocate.

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It's got nothing to do with where the cat mainly is, it's illegal here because it's cruel and causes needless suffering to the animal.

Nope. Those are all issue where humans are trying to make the cat more convenient for the human. The only way I'd declaw is if the claws were causing persistent pain and/or infection and there was no other way.

The above people a) TAKE THE CAT TO THE VET or b) should figure out how to socialize an aggressive cat with a method the cat understands (Feliway and SoftPaws are also human-convenience methods, but since they don't hurt the cat I'll go along with them), or c) not have a cat!. As far as the people who want to euthanize due to scratching issues, let me just suggest that the cat isn't the one who should be euthanized It's seriously not that hard to train a cat how to properly scratch. My cats and furniture have been coexisting peacefully as long as I've had cats.

As far as older cats no getting adopted, I've had a 10 year old, a 12 year old and 2 16 year olds go home this season.

I also would personally choose not to declaw in any of those circumstances. I have grown up with cats all my life, and one of my family's cats was declawed (when I was a child/teenager before I had any really say in the matter or knowledge about it). I have no proof but all members of my family saw personality changes in her after she was declawed. I obviously cannot link it to the declawing for certain, but I personally feel that the procedure was a major factor. This cat, Binks, still has trouble trusting anyone. I live with my own cats now and would never, ever declaw, even under the above circumstances.