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is declawing a cat cruel?

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Ya know what's cruel? Seeing your $2,000 leather couch get ripped to shreds by some psychotic feline terror!

I let my cat keep his claws, though. As long as he doesn't attack any of my good furniture, he'll get to keep them 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Kwaipie
I can't even believe people think this is debatable. Of course it is morbidly cruel. It may just be a pet but you have some responsibility here. Educate yourself, talk to an actual veterinarian instead of the morons of ATOT. If you want to have nice things that won't get scratched, get a goldfish. For those that say it isn't so bad for an indoor cat, ask the local humane society how many of their cats are indoor cats.
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People have been doing it for a long time and the cats have been fine for a long time. It's only when people got pansy enough to cry about trivial things like this did it become a problem.
 
The thing I find amusing is that animal rights hippies think that declawing a cat is the cruelest thing in the world, but they're all for spaying and neutering them!

Think about that for a minute... Which one of two is more cruel? Losing your fingernails, or losing your gonads?
 
Originally posted by: Anubis
in my life i have owned 6 different cats, all have been indoor/outdoor cats, as ive always lives in rural areas, none of them were ever declawed and the thought never even came up, get a scratching post and train the cat to not scratch yoru stuff when its a kitten, its really not that hard,

people train dogs which is infinitly harder then teaching a cat not not kill funiture
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Training dogs is infinitely harder than teaching a cat not not kill furniture?

It's easy to train a dog. Cats are harder to teach.

I haven't seen too many seeing eye cats, work cats, cats trained to help police, cats trained to help old people, cats trained to locate avalanche victims, etc.

It's easier to train dogs than to train cats.
 
Yes it's cruel.

Buy a scratching post and either get some of those tips to put on a cats claws to keep them from scratching them up, or buy some cat-nail clippers and trim them reguarly.
 
We clip our cats nails, she has no issue with it either. Then again she is the most trusting cat I have ever know, I could hang her upside down in one hand and she wouldnt do a thing.
 
It is not that cruel.

But since cat fanatics are typically more emotional than your average person, you know they're going to be against it.

Do what's right for you. This isn't some experimental surgery that's going to kill the cat, this is a tried and true operation that's been done for a long time. And the cat will still be happy. Your cats shouldn't be roaming the neighborhood anyway, so that is not a consideration.

The next thing people will say is that neutering your pets is cruel. You think a cat is going to be emotionally scarred because you cut its claws off? Cut its nuts off and see how it feels.
 
It's cruel. Just imagine someone cutting your fingers off at the first knuckle. Not to mention that it will make your cat feel defenseless and therefore paranoid.

 
Front claws are offensive, used in hunting andattacking. Back claws are defensive, used when defendint attacks. A front declawed cat can still defend itself.
 
Yes. it is cruel.

None of my cats have been declawed, I would never, ever do such a thing and have the destroyed furniture to prove it.

However, I think that if it is a choice between declawing a cat or putting it down, I would choose having it declawed. I know a lot of ppl that have taken cats from the shelter who were going to be put down... only with the premise that it be declawed.
 
Declawing a cat is like amputating the ends of your fingers. I'm sure no one would like that done to themselves. It causes extreme pain and risks infection. Any bona fide breeder will only sell you a cat on the condiiton that you will not declaw it. If you have a problem cat there are plenty of ways to correct this behavior. An effective way is to start as a kitten with a water pistol or spray bottle. Just squirt them when they scratch and they will quickly associate scratching your furniture with getting wet and stop. Also provide them with a good scratching post or pad so they can scratch away.
 
People wouldn't expect it of me, but I don't think it's cruel, just like cropping a dog's tail (though I think that's tacky).

All 3 of my cats are declawed in the front. No amount or combination of (positive) punishment, alternative scratching surfaces and trimming the claws would save the furniture....and it was real bad. Our couch was destroyed all the way through the stuffing to the frame, while we tried to train it out of them. Also, trimming the claws was a horribly traumatic experience for one of them everytime. She just fuh-reaked out, and it became a dangerous situation for everyone. Ever had a septic hand because of a cat bite? I have.

So we had it done after much delibaration, and honestly, they're no worse off for it. Obviously they're inside only, but if they escape, they still possess their back claws for traction, defense and climbing. They play, climb, run and love on us as much as they ever did....they just don't destroy our furniture now....but they try..ooh boy do they try.
 
Originally posted by: QueBert
Cats love to scratch, I don't exactly think people who do it are intentially trying to be cruel, most of them are just too lazy to try to train the cats not to scratch sh!t like furniture. A scratching post will save your stuff you don't want shreaded and the cat stays happy, everyone wins.
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I guess you never had a cat. (or have been lucky to have all reincarnated dogs poor guys)

Ours isn't declawed but i wish it were.
 
Not that I would ever have a cat, but IF I did, I would have it declawed to protect my precious leather, as well as other furnishings. My things are more important than freaking cats.
 
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Not that I would ever have a cat, but IF I did, I would have it declawed to protect my precious leather, as well as other furnishings. My things are more important than freaking cats.
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So don't ever get a cat.

- M4H
 
Originally posted by: dullard
Option 1) Cat destroys yourself, your guests, your household items and is put to sleep.
Option 2) Declaw the front paws and the cat is in pain for a couple of weeks.
Option 3) Usually, there is no viable option 3.
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Option 3) Don't be a lazy dumbass and actually take the couple days to train the cat so it won't claw anything.

All it takes is a couple designated scratching posts and some double-sided tape on the edges of furniture for a couple weeks and the cat learns perfectly well not to claw on anything. I've never had a cat that couldn't be trained not to scratch things.

ZV
 
Originally posted by: Skiddex
so i was looking on google trying to figure out how much it might cost to declaw my cat and came across tons of sites about how cruel it is. i never knew that there were people so passionate about this kind of thing...thought it was widely accepted for domestic cats.

your thoughts?
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There are idiots who are passionate about anything.
If it ever comes down to a mano-a-gato situation at your place you want every advantage you can get.
 
Yes. I'm going with the same train of thought as the other people saying it's akin to ripping out your finger nails.

Overall, I just think that the whole class of declawing, nutering, detailing stuff is 'cruel'. So you want an animal, but you don't really want an 'animal'. All you want are cute and cuddely aspects, and when a piece gets in the way, rip it off. No one is forcing anyone to get a pet, least you could do it keep it with every part it had when it was born... Whether they get used to it or appear to care is beside the point.
 
Originally posted by: KarenMarie
Yes. it is cruel.

None of my cats have been declawed, I would never, ever do such a thing and have the destroyed furniture to prove it.

However, I think that if it is a choice between declawing a cat or putting it down, I would choose having it declawed. I know a lot of ppl that have taken cats from the shelter who were going to be put down... only with the premise that it be declawed.
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Pretty much how I view it as well. We have 10 cats and only a couple of them insist on trying to use the furniture instead of the alternatives we provide.
 
Even if you teach your cat not to purposefully scratch your furniture, its claws will still scratch your furniture over time just by running around and being a cat.

I went through all this when I was deciding to get my cats. Basically, most animal lovers told me I was going to hell if I got my cats declawed, so I went and talked to my vet. My vet recommended it so I went for it. I have not seen any signs of psychological damage that anti-declawing crowd is spewing about. Cats don't have opposable thumbs in the first place so it's not as if all of a sudden they can't pick up their coffee mug.

Also, even with just back claws, your furniture will still get a little scratched, but I would never have the back claws removed as then they would have 0 traction on some surfaces and just in case they ever get outside.
 
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