Other people's views on not de-clawing

I would consider that question a great opportunity to educate! I would tell them that I would never consider declawing my cats and explain why, emphasizing that most people would NOT declaw if they knew what it really entailed.

I wish I would hear that question more often. What I hear instead is something like "My cats are all neutered and declawed" like its a GOOD thing!

This is not a thing that ever arises in the UK, it is Illegal here.

i disagree with it, i will admit the first cat i ever had was front declawed, my mother made me do. I never did see any problems with her , for the next 14 years.

now that i know better i would never do it, and i hope that some day they do make it illegal in the US. or at least make all 4 paws aganist the law.

You know what's wierd to me? My Mother, who really didn't like cats when I was a kid (but she does now ) would NEVER declaw. She said it was mean. To her it was just common sense. I imagine that if I grew up in a household where it was common to declaw cats, I could have had a different view UNTIL I found out the truth.

It amazes me when I explain declawing to someone who claims to love cats and they blow me off. It happens a lot to me too. I try to sway them with love though. Exploding on them is counter-productive.

I have only had one cat declawed!! Of course that was way back when before I knew any better. I also have a friend though that always has her cats declawed because her furniture is too nice and they love to destoy it(in her words of course)

As far as ever having people question me on it, I cant think of anything....

Patches and Beauty were declawed, but that was BEFORE my boyfriend realised what happened in declawing. He kind of had to anyways because he's diabetic and well, claws + open wounds = takes long time to heal and higher risk of infection for boyfriend.

Luna and Whitey are not declawed, I refuse to get them declawed. When people do pose the question to me, I just respond, "Well how would you feel if the doctor said you need to have your nails removed because you might scratch something????"

It is funny to hear them argue when they know they won't change my mind. Especially when I hear "but it's different with cats then it is human!"
Me: "Um...then why don't we declaw dogs?"
Them" Cause they don't scratch"
Me:

.............

I never ran across this probelm until I got older. Perhaps because I come from a lower socio-economic background or from a rural background? It just wasn't something I ever heard of until we moved to the city and the "nice" people were doing it.

I try to make people understand how awful this is by first pointing out that it is illegal in many countries, then giving them a human point of reference. It isn't just removing the nail - it removes up to the first knuckle.

Think of all the icky things we do (or our kids do) with our hands that involve our fingertips. Then think of someone saying we should have our fingertips removed because of those actions.

I cannot think of a single good reason to declaw. It is all for the human's comfort or preference. No thought is given to the animal who has to suffer their entire lives.

If you don't want the chance of being scratched, don't get a cat. How difficult is that?

In my mind, if you want a cat who doesn't scratch, then you don't really want a cat, you want a stuffed animal. Head down to Toys R Us and stock up!

Alot of people are uneducated about the effects of declawing and therefor they think it is no big deal! When I was looking for apartments no place in there right mind would accept our cats! I finally took a stand and told my landlord (where I am moving next week) that my cats are well behaved and trained to use their posts only! With maintaining a good length I don't see why claws are an issue! I do understand that there are certain medical conditions that could present infection if a cat where to scratch... Even then I say then don't have a cat if it is that much of a risk to you! I am VERY against declawing... I too at one point thought it was no big deal until my bf told me what declawing actually was! I think declawing is cruel and lazy on the owners part! If you are that anal about your furniture perhaps a cat is not a choice for you... I easily trained my kitties to use their post! Anyways people have asked me why I don't declaw and I ask them... "Would you like your fingers cut off at the first knuckle?" That usually shuts them up!

I feel exactly the same! Dogs dont scratch my a**! I've had dogs and even though there nails are more blunt damage can be done... Duh dogs dig as well! I pose that question too sometimes... "Why don't we declaw dogs?" I would never do this to either species but its a great comeback to someone who is a know it all!

Same here! My mom never had housecats as a kid & would never declaw a cat. She says it is inhumane(which it is).

I've had relatives in my home who will not pick up any cat but Twitch, the front paw declawed one. They won't pick up the "clawed" kitties because those kitties will for sure harm them. Yeah....right. I'd be more worried about Twitch screaming in you're face & slapping you upside the head than the other kitties scratching you!

I do not think I have ever been asked why I do not declaw. I have had people say they are going to get their cat declawed and then I politely tell them why I do not declaw mine.

We're really fortunate in that the majority of our friends are crazy cat people who would never declaw their cats, so this topic doesn't come up very often. However, one time I was discussing with a former coworker the fact that J and I would like to have kids; this coworker knew that we already had cats, and that one of our cats was brain-damaged. Her immediate response was "Oh, you'll have to get rid of them ... or get them declawed." My response was "No, we won't." My basic thinking on that subject -- which I shared with her, much to her intense disapproval -- was that if my kids are too stupid to figure out that they shouldn't piss off the creature with sharp claws and teeth, it's already too late for them. I don't want my kids to be afraid of my cats, of course, but I think getting scratched or bit is a good way to learn what not to do (since both my current kitties are ridiculously laidback). I intend to teach my children the proper way to behave around cats -- why should my furbabies have to suffer because I want human babies, too?

When people declaw their cats so their kids won't get scratched, I want to scream "ARE YOU TOO LAZY TO TEACH THEM HOW TO GET ALONG WITH YOUR CAT?"

Bad question! Some jerk of a vet in my area declaws rabbits and ferrets. Several of these have landed in the local shelter, that's how I know about him. It's like declawing a dog, you don't even have the excuse that the claws are retractable so they don't need them to walk (not true for cats anyway, but I hear it a lot). I wouldn't be surprised if they get a declawed dog sometime.

I've had some people question me on not declawing. I explain that they love their scratching posts, hate to be chastised and so avoid clawing the furniture, and are so used to having their nails clipped that they don't mind that much any more. I also tell them about Soft Paws, for those worried that they'll still get scratched.

Then I tell them about my parent's cat Stowaway, who was never the same after he was declawed. When I got my kittens, my mom gave me a lecture on not declawing until I convinced her that I wouldn't. She very much regrets declawing Stowaway.

[quote=Naturestee;1729293]Bad question! Some jerk of a vet in my area declaws rabbits and ferrets. Several of these have landed in the local shelter, that's how I know about him. It's like declawing a dog, you don't even have the excuse that the claws are retractable so they don't need them to walk (not true for cats anyway, but I hear it a lot). I wouldn't be surprised if they get a declawed dog sometime.[quote=Naturestee;1729293]



Chill Its not an actual question it is a verbal example! Many dog owners that dont have cats have serious issues with clawed cats, so to make them understand where I am coming from I say "how would you feel if you were asked to declaw your dog"? I have been a dog owner all of my life and just in the past year a cat owner! So my question isn't bad... Its a response to an ignorant statement! I would never declaw any animal of any kind! No question is a bad question... Makes people think! Maybe you didnt read through my full statement!

[quote=trixie23;1729305] It's not a bad question unless you mean that it just prompts people to consider declawing other animals

Most people think of cats as being uncontrollable, untrainable, independant and aloof creatures. So they think that by declawing them it avoids the whole idea of having to train the untrainable.

Oh and I just LOVE the people that declaw the front but not the back so that "...just incase s/he gets free and a dog chases them. They'll still have their back claws to climb up the tree"

Don't Declaw in the first place and you're cat won't have ANY Problems getting up the tree!

Yeah I hate when people try to justify their actions by saying oh I didnt get the back ones done... The front ones are just as important as those! Also I only asked dog owners how they would feel about a request to declaw their dog... I would never do that to a dog! It is a statement I have used on occassion to get someone to expand their mind! Kitty claws or any claws dont bother me!

Yes, I have been asked that question. My reply is always the same.

"I don't believe in amputating my cats toes"

It's illegal here in Germany, so I'm more often confronted with the question of why declawing is legal in North America. I've even been asked if Americans don't have/know about scratching posts, or consider their furniture more important than their pets. It shames me to reply that in many cases, people do value their furnishings more than their pets comfort and well-being.

Having had both dogs and cats (with all their claws), I can say that our dogs always managed to do more damage to the house and furniture with their claws and teeth than the cats ever did. Teething puppies, anyone?

Here, animals are often considered disposable and/or an accessory. People get animals to match a particular lifestyle or project a certain image. We are quite the disposable society.

Imagine the damage done to furniture, houses, cars and so forth by children. Much worse than any animal

I cannot understand why some folks do it. My SIL had her cat George done (before we ever even knew her). Now my BIL wants a cat like Bijou when George goes to the rainbow bridge. I will make it perfectly clear to my SIL that I have no intention of introducing them to Bijou's breeder if she has the tiniest thought of declawing.

Out of curiousity, would the breeder make her sign a contract not to declaw the cat?

Maybe you can help her find a nice declawed shelter cat. Well, you probably already thought of that, but she may not have. I didn't have a clue how many people get their cats declawed until I started coming here.

I think that is the heart of it. Ok I am a hard core dog person and not really a cat person so my feelings on this are not as strong as most of the members here.
I am also a landlord and frankly am sick and tired of cats-more so than dogs. I have spent many hours steam cleaning carpets to get the cat pee smell out, and replaced banisters that were clawed to the point of total ugliness. The sad fact is, a lot of renters have the attitude that if they don't own the place, why should they bother to take care of it.

But getting back to the REAL topic, there is this mystique about cats being untrainable, and I get the feeling that cat people think this is something to be PROUD of (like cats are too fine to do what humans want, while dogs are all these people-pleasing, slobbering oafs). Well IMO cats are regarded in a way similar to toy breeds of dogs. Some people think it's "cute" when a small dog yaps, jumps, and is obnoxious, while a large dog would never get away with it. So us owners of larger dogs tend to be more careful about training them (and sometimes get annoyed at owners of the smaller, yappier breeds)

I am amazed at what people will put up with from cats-peeing all over the place, jumping on tables and counters. I don't and my cat does not do this. Maybe he is a saint, I don't know. But this attitude of "cats can and should do whatever they want and that is what makes them so COOL" is IMO causing a large part of the problem.

I got a big long scratch on the back of my hand recently during a play session. I was at a store checking out and the cashier asked me what happened to my hand (it was that ugly). When I told her that my cat scratched me, she asked me why I don't declaw?

I pulled out my explanation on how it's illegal in most countries outside the U.S. and btw, it's not declawing, but actual amputation of their fingers, and pointed out on my hand where they would be removing the digits.

She went white and thanked me for educating her on the topic. She said she was going to tell all of her friends cause she had no idea.......small victory that day.

I know and met several people who thought declawing was/is just "what you do" when you get a cat. And yes, it makes them a tad uncomfortable around clawed cats at first. Ultimately, though, I find that the alternatives available today, coupled with empathy for the cat when they finally DO see the photographs and charts, chang the majority of peoples' minds.

The people who don't change are the ones who say "But Fluffy was declawed and we've had noooooo problems" Well kids, Fluffy is only 2. Who's to say problems won't arise?