How Do You Feel About Having Cats Declawed?

I’m not exactly a fan of it because I consider it a form of mutilation. Not only is it really painful for them, it’s the equivalent of amputating a human’s toes at the first joint.

I do not believe in declawing. I had a declawed cat (it was done before I adopted him). He had adapted very well and could even climb trees.

However, claws are integral to cats and the cat experience of life and declawing seems horribly cruel.

I would rather have my indoor cat declawed than have it run over outside by the fast traffic on our road. It is the least of the two evils.

If you can’t handle taking proper care of your cat’s paws, you shouldn’t have a cat to begin with. De-clawing a cat is torture.

If you type “declaw” into the search bar on the upper right hand side of the home page, you’ll find quite a few discussions on the subject.

I disagree with it.

It’s animal cruelty, and despicable to say the least. Absolutely unacceptable. Get my drift? :)

It’s cruel; my vet will not do it. It is equivalent to having a finger amputated at the first joint.

I had declawed cats before and after seeing how it was done and the pain they probably went through, I wouldn’t do it again. My cats now have their claws.

I would suggest perhaps cutting their nails, and buying things for them to scratch on. My cats love those cardboard scratching things, and their cheap.

I also use the sprays, the one that stops them from scratching I spray on areas where they like to claw – one cat doesn’t get the idea too well.

I also have catnip spray to encourage them to claw in certain areas. It’s not easy, but so far so good for me, just have to keep at it.

It’s animal abuse. If keeping your sofa nice is more important to you than being kind to your pet, don’t get a cat.

Something that those not familiar with declawed cats may not realize is that typically only the front paws are declawed. So, if someone thinks that adopting a declawed cat means no claws whatsoever, they are mistaken… especially if they think it will eliminate possible scratches (on furniture or skin).

For the record, I concur with the anti-declaw sentiment. I’ve lived with two cats who were declawed BEFORE they were adopted. It was not a condition for adoption, but since I planned on keeping them indoors, I figure it was better that they lived with me as opposed to living with someone who would let them venture outside (one actually liked being walked on a leash, so that was cool).

I will say, however, that it’s interesting to live with two cats with different claw situations (one with claws, one without). They are pretty good at settling any disputes on their own, but one of the reasons I make sure to clip claws is so one doesn’t go too far when they play.

Back to the original point, if the “deed” has already been done by a previous “owner”, there’s not much you can do, but I would be concerned about driving up the “value” of a cat by only adopting it if it were declawed.

Clarification: I’m not saying declawed cats should be considered more or less “valuable”... I’m just saying I wouldn’t want declawed cats to become popular to the point where shelters consider declawing them to increase their likelihood of being adopted. If anything, the trauma of being declawed demands some extra compassion from their human companion. My Tiki (who passed on in April, after almost 16 years) was never comfortable having his paws touched or petted.

How would you feel if the first segment of all your fingers were removed simply because it made it more convenient to have you around?

I also don’t like the idea of taking away the animal’s primary defense mechanism in the case where the animal gets outside.

At the same time, as I become more of a farmer, I realize that sometimes we must inflict pain or discomfort for the long term benefit of the animal. With sheep, it is imperative to dock their tails (often done by putting on a super tight elastic band, leaving a small but functional tail), otherwise the long tail allows moisture to accumulate around their butts which encourages flies to lay their eggs in the animal’s butt – this is called flystrike, it’s so deadly to the animal in such a short time and they die a miserable death.

So does a cat benefit from having their claws taken off? I would argue no, there is no imminent threat of death if the cat remains with claws. One could argue that in a household of leather furniture and newborn babies, there is more of a threat posed by a clawed cat than a declawed cat, but the threat is not to the animal itself. Thus I conclude that declawing a cat for the owner’s comfort is not a humane thing to do.

I don’t like it.We have 2 cats that are indoor pets with their claws.They have never caused any damage.

I feel it’s abuse. My kitty gets to keep everything but his nuts

@Likeradar – hear hear! I’ve resigned to never owning that luxury set of couches…at least not in perfect condition, am i OK with that! :)

I am very much against de-clawing cats. I didn’t know it was painful for them until now but even before that, I’ve always despised the thought of taking away an animal’s natural defense weapon. I feel quite the same way about removing a skunk’s sprayer in order to have one as a pet.

@KatawaGrey People do that to skunks?!?
I’ve heard of people having a dog’s voice box removed so they don’t bark and annoy neighbors in apartments…

@Likeradar: Yes, yes they do. I am against any kind of altering an animal’s physical nature aside from spaying and neutering including what some people do to dogs’s ears and tails,

@KatawaGrey Me too, 100%. Why have an animal if you’re going to remove parts of it to suit your lifestyle? On one hand, I partially think it’s better than an animal wasting away in a shelter (or being euthanized), but mutilating an animal to make your life easier is sickening to me.

@Likeradar “Why have an animal if you’re going to remove parts of it to suit your lifestyle?” – this is why I’m a vegan.

I don’t agree with it. I feel that if you are going to get a cat you should accept that they are born with claws. I have also heard that it can be very painful for the cat and so I think it is a cruel thing to do. I agree with what @Likeradar has said.

I imagine it would be painful too like when we have a female’s uterus removed. With one dog, the stitches itched so she chewed on them and part of her intestines fell out of the hole.

I have had all my cats declawed. They have all been happy and well adjusted. Our most recent cat spent a great deal of time outdoors and caught lots of critters without problem. I suffered no scratches and my furniture has been intact. Pets are not people…and personally I will not risk waiting till my new kitten is too old to declaw. My elderly mother has been clawed more than once by her cats and you run the risk of wound infection if that occurs, she regrets not declawing them. They have torn up her furniture. So all u pet huggers get a grip!!! They are pets. ..not people