is declawing a cat cruel?

[ViviTheMage]

It's not cruel imo.

 

[f4phantom2500]

 

[Aikouka]

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.

Me mum bought a scratch post and the cat never used it. I guess he liked the new couch better. That puta got de-clawed quick. Now it's funny to watch the cat try to jump up onto things and fall down :laugh:.

 

[f4phantom2500]

we have 3 cats; one of them came to us declawed, but the other two still have theirs. it is cruel; it's basically as if someone removed your fingernails, but on cats they're more deeply rooted because they need them for climbing and slashing and such (well, in the wild).

 

[alkemyst]

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.

Hardly cruel. However, most that comment as such have no idea anyway and are just animal collectors which in and of itself is often cruel.

Damage from front claws as I said before does not only come from scratching. Cats climb, run and leap with them...

 

[cubby1223]

The only issue is whether declawing the cat is going to be too stressful for the owner who makes the decision. Overwhelmingly, cats make a full recovery. I'm giving the cat a home, feeding it, keeping it safe, warm in the winter. It's far more cruel letting the cat fend for itself out on the streets than it is having the cat declawed.

 

[Josh123]

I ended up getting my cat declawed once he got old enough to do damage with his claws. He would come flying in the room and launch off the bed, climb up my computer chair and hang out up on my shelve. It has been about a year since he was declawed and he is still his playful self. He climbs up trees and attacks our daschund without any hesitation. I would never think of him having any psychological problems from the declawing, he acts like any other playful cat.

Edit:
Also, after being declawed he can still use his paws to grab stuff VERY well. He loves to grab my GF's pony-tail things out of the bins and carry them around and lose them.

 

[Chryso]

Originally posted by: jamine
I went and talked to my vet. My vet recommended it so I went for it.

You asked an expert? Now that is just crazy talk.
You will never overcome your "crazy girlfriend" status with this kind of behavior.

 

[thomsbrain]

i think it should be avoided, but if you have to choose between declawing, and giving up the cat, i think you should declaw. It is more cruel to send it away from a loving, safe home to the pound (a likely death sentence) than it is to declaw. i've seen some cats that never even noticed that they were missing their claws. others were clearly traumatized by it. but at least the ones that were traumatized had a loving home in which to recuperate and live out the rest of their days.

edit: keep in mind that some cats scratch furniture for no other reason than because they want to piss you off. for those cats, you cannot train them to use a scratching post or pad, because their goal is to destroy something you care about, not get that good scratchy feeling. for those cats, declawing may be the only option if you want to keep the cat. my childhood cat fell into this category. even after she was declawed, she would attempt to scratch up the furniture when she was on "The Rampage." she would glare at you while she did it, then run away. my current cat has his claws, and responds well to a scratching pad. he only scratches because it feels good, so there was no need to declaw.

 

[sourceninja]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

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.

Me mum bought a scratch post and the cat never used it. I guess he liked the new couch better. That puta got de-clawed quick. Now it's funny to watch the cat try to jump up onto things and fall down :laugh:.

Cat's just don't magically use scratching posts, you have to train them.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: jamine
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.

Ever seen a dog run on hard wood floors? :laugh: I was at my cousin's house and his dog kept having his feet fly out from under him when cornering... hilarious! Of course I didn't actually laugh in the presence of others... I must keep my stoic, nerdy appearance at all times.

Originally posted by: sourceninja
Cat's just don't magically use scratching posts, you have to train them.

Who said it wasn't "introduced" to the scratching post? Also, we don't train a cat to scratch the couch, why does it need to be trained to scratch the post? It needs to be trained not to scratch the couch . Also, if you think cats really need to be trained in everything... how come some cats can be "dumped" into a litter box and use it immediately after having no formal "training" in it?

 

[Canai]

Chopping off the tips of their toes is extremely cruel. Why are so many people too lazy to just trim their claws when they get shart?

 

[mitaiwan82]

NO cats FTW...also dogs > cats

/slightly allergic to cats

 

[sourceninja]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: jamine
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.

Ever seen a dog run on hard wood floors? :laugh: I was at my cousin's house and his dog kept having his feet fly out from under him when cornering... hilarious! Of course I didn't actually laugh in the presence of others... I must keep my stoic, nerdy appearance at all times.

Originally posted by: sourceninja
Cat's just don't magically use scratching posts, you have to train them.

Who said it wasn't "introduced" to the scratching post? Also, we don't train a cat to scratch the couch, why does it need to be trained to scratch the post? It needs to be trained not to scratch the couch . Also, if you think cats really need to be trained in everything... how come some cats can be "dumped" into a litter box and use it immediately after having no formal "training" in it?

Hmm lets think about this. A cat is an animal. Animals have instincts. one instinct of a cat is to bury its crap. So you show it a box of sand and it burys its crap there. Without training it might also bury it in potted plants, etc. But another instinct is to crap in the relative same area. This means once it goes in the box, it usually stays going in the box. Thus there is training, you might just be lucky it decided to poop there first.

The cat post is not the same as crapping. Cats instinct is to mark its territory by clawing, its instinct is to find things to claw to help it shed claws and keep them sharp. This means you need to spend a very good deal of time teaching it what is right and what is wrong with positive reinforcement from a kitten age. Or find the substance it likes to scratch the most and make it the scratching post.

Cats are very picky, they require a lot of work, even more work if you have more then one cat as the cats interactions with his cat buddy can screw it up even more. For example, maybe the other cats territory is where the scratch post is, so the first cat won't use it. If it was as simple as dropping in a scratch post and showing the cat to it, we wouldn't even have this discussion.

The worst part about declawing is this. No one is making you get a cat. You choose to have a cat, then you choose to not pay attention to its behavior (which everyone is well aware cats scratch stuff). Then you decide the cat needs to be injured to satisfy your desires. In reality, you should of just not gotten a cat.

Its like people who build near highways and airports then sue about noise.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: alkemystDamage from front claws as I said before does not only come from scratching. Cats climb, run and leap with them...

Irrelevant, because trimmed front claws do not damage furniture when cats run/climb/jump, nor do softclaws/paws.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: alkemystDamage from front claws as I said before does not only come from scratching. Cats climb, run and leap with them...

Irrelevant, because trimmed front claws do not damage furniture when cats run/climb/jump, nor do softclaws/paws.

The hell they don't.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: alkemystDamage from front claws as I said before does not only come from scratching. Cats climb, run and leap with them...

Irrelevant, because trimmed front claws do not damage furniture when cats run/climb/jump, nor do softclaws/paws.

The hell they don't.

Try trimming properly.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: alkemystDamage from front claws as I said before does not only come from scratching. Cats climb, run and leap with them...

Irrelevant, because trimmed front claws do not damage furniture when cats run/climb/jump, nor do softclaws/paws.

The hell they don't.

Try trimming properly.

Been there, done that. Do you file your cat's claws too? I'm not saying your cats didn't scratch when properly trimmed. But ours sure did, no matter how well you clipped 'em.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: patentman
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.

Myths and it's not the same as a human finger.

People always say talk to a veternarian and they will agree, but in reality they will usually concur that it's totally fine for the pet.

Also a domestic cat doesn't use it's front claws for attacking as much as holding prey and climbing. Both of which don't happen in a home.

Pets are bred to be domesticated and to get along well with humans. There has been a ton of things many would think was barbaric to get them to this stage of the game.

A domestic cat is no safer than a child when left outdoors. They do not have the background to survive in the wild and many do not last more than 2 years.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Been there, done that. Do you file your cat's claws too? I'm not saying your cats didn't scratch when properly trimmed. But ours sure did, no matter how well you clipped 'em.

I cut them so that they are blunt on the tip. I suppose if you have a certain type of furniture it could cause damage when blunt still, but I don't have any such furniture. Maybe knitted blankets or similar... I'm having a hard time picturing it.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: alkemystDamage from front claws as I said before does not only come from scratching. Cats climb, run and leap with them...

Irrelevant, because trimmed front claws do not damage furniture when cats run/climb/jump, nor do softclaws/paws.

It is relevant. Even trimmed claws can damage and many cats even with training (and dogs) do not like their toes clipped. I clip my cat's rear toes about once a month and they are fine with it...many do not have my experience nor willing to spend the time with the animal.

Making the cat or any pet compatible with one's house is alot better than them getting put to sleep.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: alkemystAlso a domestic cat doesn't use it's front claws for attacking as much as holding prey and climbing. Both of which don't happen in a home.

They do if you buy cat toys or cat furniture.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: torpid
I'm having a hard time picturing it.

exactly.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: sourceninja
Hmm lets think about this. A cat is an animal. Animals have instincts. one instinct of a cat is to bury its crap. So you show it a box of sand and it burys its crap there. Without training it might also bury it in potted plants, etc. But another instinct is to crap in the relative same area. This means once it goes in the box, it usually stays going in the box. Thus there is training, you might just be lucky it decided to poop there first.

Actually the mother teaches the cat this. Cats taken too early often learn to use the box, but never to cover it. The instinct is to not crap where they eat and sleep....not necessarily to bury it as they usually have no predators in a home.

Originally posted by: sourceninja
The cat post is not the same as crapping. Cats instinct is to mark its territory by clawing, its instinct is to find things to claw to help it shed claws and keep them sharp. This means you need to spend a very good deal of time teaching it what is right and what is wrong with positive reinforcement from a kitten age. Or find the substance it likes to scratch the most and make it the scratching post.

Again just as you are talking instincts and all that. Cat's use their face, paws and urine to mark territory. Fixing a cat usually curbs the urine problem, but it's not the claws that they are using to mark the territory with, it's glands in their paws. Cats will still claw/paw at things even with the scratching post. All cats are different though and most peoples homes are as well...

Originally posted by: sourceninja
Cats are very picky, they require a lot of work, even more work if you have more then one cat as the cats interactions with his cat buddy can screw it up even more. For example, maybe the other cats territory is where the scratch post is, so the first cat won't use it. If it was as simple as dropping in a scratch post and showing the cat to it, we wouldn't even have this discussion.

Cats are some of the least need for working with animals out there. They don't have to have attention, but they do learn to like it if you spend enough time with them.

Originally posted by: sourceninja
The worst part about declawing is this. No one is making you get a cat. You choose to have a cat, then you choose to not pay attention to its behavior (which everyone is well aware cats scratch stuff). Then you decide the cat needs to be injured to satisfy your desires. In reality, you should of just not gotten a cat.

Its like people who build near highways and airports then sue about noise.

Total invalid argument. While no one is forcing anyone to adopt, it's in the best interest of the cat to at least find a home as more than likely it will be put to sleep.

I really think you know nothing about cats other than things you have picked up here and there. Much like someone that watched St. Elsewhere or any of the other hospital shows and think they know medicine now.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: alkemystIt is relevant. Even trimmed claws can damage and many cats even with training (and dogs) do not like their toes clipped. I clip my cat's rear toes about once a month and they are fine with it...many do not have my experience nor willing to spend the time with the animal.

I'd like to see how properly trimmed claws can cause damage, it doesn't make any sense to me. They are blunt at that point. If you use nail clippers or something that causes the nails to crack, then they could theoretically pierce things. I use nail scissors and they cut pretty cleanly.