Declawing ban

[Anne]

Welcom to the site Evelyn.

Thank you for sharing your view of the issue with us. While on the surface the two procedures may look similar - there is a world of difference here.

In my opinion, whether we call them pets or children is not the issue. Either way we are committed to the welfare of our cats. Welfare meaning giving them the best quality of life possible. What is best for a cat is something we need to learn a lot about in order to make a decision. The same is true for our human childrem btw.

It's not simply a question of inflicting pain. It's a question of inflicting unecessary pain. Vaccination shots are also painful, as are many other medical procedures (treating an abcess for example). We still do that to our cats because there is a significant long term benefit - one that outweighs the pain.

The same is true of neutering and spaying. Your kitty will be much better off neutered. An un-neutered male needs to roam to great distances. If you plan to keep him indoors only, he will be stressed out and in much more anguish then whatever pain will be caused by the casrtation (and will almost certainly spray nasty smelling urine by the way). If you plan to let him outdoors, he will roam and will very likely die within a year or two - cars, other cats (with whom he will fight, get injured and infected with deadly diseases), dogs, people - you name it. Roaming whole cats have a short and not very happy lives.

You can read more about why neutering is best for him here:
Spaying and Neutering your Cat. The bottom line is we're doing this for the cat's sake - to improve his welfare. This cannot be said about declawing. That is why most of us here are very pro spaying & neutering and very much against declawing.

Thank you for bringing up that angle though. I'm glad it gave me the chance to explain.

I'm glad Coulomb found such a loving home! Kudos to you for not declawing him in spite of all the pressures. I do hope you will do more research on the issue of neutering so you can give him the best home possible. He must have been so sad caged up in the shop for so long

I would stay away from that place in the future - sounds like they don't care much about animal welfare there.

 

[frisky feline]

I only wish that Vet did not EVEN INVENT to declaw cat's "cute fingers". Too bad Vet didn't think of other ways to solve this.

Well, I must admit that i have a lack of old furnitures at home. :ugh: So, I ll buy new furnitures with lots of woodens and it's my problem, not furry boys'.

Since I donot believe in declawing and consider declawing is so cruel like a slave to me. No way..

 

[jeanie g.]

Evelynln, That's a well written essay, and you would have proved your point (philosophically) if you had not started with a false assumption. That assumption is that cats are either equal to our children or that they are just animals we own and treat as we please, whatever our motives. A pet is neither of these.

I would die for my children, and I would risk quite a bit for my pets, but I wouldn't offer my life-unless it was an automatic reaction, such as running in front of a car when my cat was about to be hit. That could happen. However, given time to think about choices, most of us would not choose our cats over our children's lives or our own. However, they mean more to us than "just any animal." Yes, we have dominion over them, but according to most moral and legal codes we can not do with them as we please. Pets mean much more to us than food animals, and, in my opinion, less than human beings, but they are definitely loved. We might be grateful for the life of the steer or pig that provides food for our use, but we (usually) don't love them as we love our house pets.

Intact tom cats allowed outside have an average life span of two years-a result of fights with other cats. They are also more susceptible to urinary tract problems. A neutered tom has a much longer life span, even if allowed outside. I learned that the hard way, after paying a fortune to have the vet perform surgery on a much loved cat for abcesses, a tail amputation, and numerous other injuries from fighting other cats. I made the choice to allow my tom cat to live a normal life span. My neutered toms lived 16 years and more, and died of natural causes. A female cat allowed to have litter after litter of kittens until her life span is over is doing what she would do in nature. Not only is her health at risk, but her kittens are in danger of being abandoned by those who get tired of their free kittens, and take them to shelters.

I don't consider spaying and neutering unkind acts in those cases, and I am a former breeder of collies and Siamese cats. I do not agree, however, with breeders who change the conformation of a breed at the expense of the animal's health. I believe that to be abusive. There should be strict standards for all breeders, and one of the stipulations should be that the health and well being of the animal should take precedence over appearance.

Finally, I agree that we keep pets for both selfish and altruistic reasons. I used to raise angel fish. Angel fish lay hundreds of eggs, both in nature and captivity. As few as two of those hundreds will survive to maturity, and often all of the eggs are destroyed by fungus. I was able to raise approximately eighty percent of those angelfish to maturity. If we treat our pets with kindness and give them quality care, they are better off with us than in nature, even if, as with a fish, we didn't actually love them. Fortunately, we do love them. They become much loved family members, not chattel, and not children.

Although we don't agree, welcome to the catsite! Your heart must be in the right place. You adopted the cat no one else wanted. I'm glad he now has a good home with you!

 

[hissy]

AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION has revised its statement on
Declawing of Domestic Cats as follows:

Declawing of domestic cats should be considered only after attempts have
been made to prevent the cat from using its claws destructively or when its
clawing presents a zoonotic risk for its owner(s).

The AVMA believes it is the obligation of veterinarians to provide cat
owners with complete education with regard to feline onychectomy. The
following points are the foundation for full understanding and disclosure
regarding declawing:

Scratching is a normal feline behavior, is a means for cats to mark their
territory both visually and with scent, and is used for claw conditioning
("husk" removal) and stretching activity.

Owners must provide suitable implements for normal scratching behavior.
Examples are scratching posts, cardboard boxes, lumber or logs, and carpet
or fabric remnants affixed to stationary objects. Implements should be tall
or long enough to allow full stretching, and be firmly anchored to provide
necessary resistance to scratching. Cats should be positively reinforced in
the use of these implements.

Appropriate claw care (consisting of trimming the claws every 1 to 2 weeks)
should be provided to prevent injury or damage to household items.

Surgical declawing is not a medically necessary procedure for the cat in
most cases. While rare in occurrence, there are inherent risks and
complications with any surgical procedure including, but not limited to,
anesthetic complications, hemorrhage, infection, and pain. If onychectomy
is performed, appropriate use of safe and effective anesthetic agents and
the use of safe peri-operative analgesics for an appropriate length of time
are imperative. The surgical alternative of tendonectomy is not
recommended.

Declawed cats should be housed indoors.

Scientific data do indicate that cats that have destructive clawing
behavior are more likely to be euthanatized, or more readily relinquished,
released, or abandoned, thereby contributing to the homeless cat
population. Where scratching behavior is an issue as to whether or not a
particular cat can remain as an acceptable household pet in a particular
home, surgical onychectomy may be considered.