On one of my Yahoo groups I belong to, the subject was bought up about cat declawing. The person lives in the USA, as do the majority of the members. I will also say I have many American online friends, as I do not want this to come across as American bashing, it's declawing bashing! Declawing is just so bloody cruel. And it is selfish on the owners part to have the cat declawed just to save the furnishings.............as I said on the group, you wouldn't consider removing dogs teeth if they chewed everything huh? And, what I don't get is, why don't the animal humane societies in the countries that practice this, get it banned? And one of the worse things, and I have come across this subject in various groups over the years..........the people that have it done, can not see what they have done to the cat. Ok, we all have our own views on things and I am entitled to mine, but I really do find this offensive, and it's not just that I am an animal lover. Thankfully, alot of others on the group also thought it was cruel. I do not know how wide spread this cruelty is or whether it is a minority act. I have really researched into this and not just shouting my mouth off.
Sorry for the rant but I just had to say something even though it was here in my blog as the group in question is a cross stitch forum and what I had to say was not really appropriate there.
I have looked indepth into this and found several websites, the one with the most hits is this one.
(You need to go to the link to read in full).
It actually says:
Removing the claws of domestic cats is a procedure banned or considered inhumane in many countries around the world including the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and Poland. It is widely available in the United States and other countries where the degree of public information about the procedure is limited.
Unlike humans, cats walk on their toes. Whereas our weight is spread across the soles of our feet for balance, a cat's weight is exerted upon a very small area. They use their claws to help them keep their balance by stopping their paws sliding and also to exercise and tone the muscles in their back and shoulders. They do this by gripping hold of a solid object and pulling. The entire physiology of the cat has developed to incorporate claws. Removing the claws means the paws meet the ground at an unnatural angle, creating stresses in the muscles and tendons and leading to long-term disability.
A cat's claws form part of the last digit of each toe. It is not possible to remove the claw without amputating the bone, ligaments and tendons. The declawing process thus involves 18 separate amputations. Each amputation is a complex process and the chances of complications are high. Some of the complications include, but are not limited to:
* Excruciating pain
* Postoperative haemorrhage
* Necrosis of the second phalanx
* Abcesses
* Accidental shattering of adjacent bones
* Abnormal re-growth of nerve endings
* Damage to the radial nerve
* Painful regrowth of deformed claws
* Chronic back and joint pain
The website has more to say and then finishes with:
Cats have claws. If you don't want the claws, you probably shouldn't even consider having a cat.
tlc318
We never had any of our cats declawed when we were growing up. Never even considered it. I bought a cat from the humane society and it was declawed up front but not in the back. He was my big furry bruiser and my all time favorite cat. You never would have known he had been declawed because he compensated by using the back claws. Many a scar I have from trying to bathe him. LOL I thought it was cruel to do something like that unless it was medically necessary. I feel the same way about clipping ears and tails too. Leave them be, other than spay/neuter there really isn't a reason to have things like that done. 'Course clipping the nails or filing them always made me ill because I was afraid they were hurting. LOL