Is it OK to Declaw a Cat?

[Papagayo]

I have a cat that's been de-clawed. I got it from SPCA. He's a great cat, but I don' t think I can do that to a cat.

If you want a declawed cat, please rescue one from the pound.

 

[nageov3t]

Well sure. If you locked humans inside a safe place it would probably emerge as a statistical fact that they live longer as well. Cats aren't kids. They are subject to risks like any other living thing, but they can largely take care of themselves.

obviously, that's why the life expectancy of an outdoor cat isn't 0, but they have undoubtable shorter lifespans than indoor cats and a much more noticeable environmental impact.

 

[SP33Demon]

Examples please?

What does a cat need claws for to sit around and eat and shit all day?

Declawed cats will sometimes shit outside their litterbox since they can't mark anymore.

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

Im not usually one to stand for animal rights or any of that nonsense but as a cat owner the thought of declawing my cat makes me sick, its something I would never even consider

I dont care if she scratched the couch or whatever, she is worth more than the stupid furniture

 

[alkemyst]

I don't understand this point. What is it about the outdoors that is supposed to kill cats? Ours is 13 years old and has roamed at will that entire time. She's fat as a basketball but still catches mice and the occasional bird. Cars are a danger, as they are to all small animals, but cats are pretty good at avoiding them.

First are you truly clueless to the potential dangers?!? Cars, dogs, poisons and people.

A true outdoor only cat has an average lifespan of one year, mixed indoor/outdoor can push that to 3-6 years, and indoor only cats average out to about 15 years.

Your cat is one of the 'lucky' ones or you are living in a very rural/sparcely populated area.

 

[alkemyst]

Im not usually one to stand for animal rights or any of that nonsense but as a cat owner the thought of declawing my cat makes me sick, its something I would never even consider

I dont care if she scratched the couch or whatever, she is worth more than the stupid furniture

Assuming you couldn't take care of them, would you choose to declaw or end their life?

 

[Genx87]

If the cat is older I wouldn't put it through the trauma of de-clawing. But if it were 6-9 months I would do it. Is it traumatizing? Sure, just like any surgery. If mutilation is the argument against. What do people think spaying and neutering is but mutilating?

Every cat I have ever owned has been de-clawed. Every cat I have owned has been loving. And the lack of claws doesn't seem to affect their behaviors. They still climb trees. Still run around. Will occasionally get into it with other cats. Ect

 

[Eric1987]

Super fucked to declaw an outside cat. Inside it's still fucked, but at least they won't get torn apart.

My cats destroyed my furniture at my condo. Ripped up some of the carpet. Curtains, whatever they could scratch. Tried all the tricks, had numerous scratching toys, chewed off their soft paws, and wouldn't stop scratching shit.

I moved, bought a new house, new furniture. Wife wanted them declawed but I refused.

Got a couple of these:
http://www.amazon.com/SmartCat-3832-...cratching+post

Ever since first picking the cats up and letting them grasp this thing, this is all they scratch. They freakin love them. Set one right next to the couch. My new couches don't even have a mark after 6 months.

Nice job using a bandaid for being a shitty owner.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Assuming you couldn't take care of them, would you choose to declaw or end their life?

I can't imagine a situation where de-clawing a cat would magically give me the ability to take care of it. If I can't take care of it, the cat is fucked with or without claws.

 

[nageov3t]

I can't imagine a situation where de-clawing a cat would magically give me the ability to take care of it. If I can't take care of it, the cat is fucked with or without claws.

no, but what if you're looking at a shelter cat where the owner is balking at adopting the cat because they don't want their furniture damaged?

would it be better for the cat to be left in the shelter to wait for a new owner or being put to sleep, or to be declawed and adopted by the guy who's overprotective of their furniture?

training isn't exactly a foolproof solution... half the damage my cats have caused wasn't even intentional, but every wood surface in my house has scratch marks from them chasing after eachother with their claws out.

 

[Markbnj]

A true outdoor only cat has an average lifespan of one year, mixed indoor/outdoor can push that to 3-6 years, and indoor only cats average out to about 15 years.

We live in a subdivision that has a fairly high amount of traffic, but overall I would consider it right on the edge of suburban and rural. The woods are full of foxes and racoons, and we have a lot of birds of prey around, as well as the occasional coyote and lynx.

I think those lifespan stats came from bird lovers, personally. Just googling around you find a lot of variation in the numbers, and I have known way too many feral and barn cats in my life to buy that stat without further examination.

 

[Linflas]

First are you truly clueless to the potential dangers?!? Cars, dogs, poisons and people.

A true outdoor only cat has an average lifespan of one year, mixed indoor/outdoor can push that to 3-6 years, and indoor only cats average out to about 15 years.

Your cat is one of the 'lucky' ones or you are living in a very rural/sparcely populated area.

That is the worst one. People use them for bait animals, kids torture them, some speed up to hit them if they see them crossing the street, the stories are endless. We have rescued numerous cats that lived outside and none of them have ever had any issues adjusting to living indoors.

 

[SlitheryDee]

no, but what if you're looking at a shelter cat where the owner is balking at adopting the cat because they don't want their furniture damaged?

would it be better for the cat to be left in the shelter to wait for a new owner or being put to sleep, or to be declawed and adopted by the guy who's overprotective of their furniture?

training isn't exactly a foolproof solution... half the damage my cats have caused wasn't even intentional, but every wood surface in my house has scratch marks from them chasing after eachother with their claws out.

I'd definitely go for the declawing in that situation. I'm not completely opposed to it if the cat ends up better off.

We live in a subdivision that has a fairly high amount of traffic, but overall I would consider it right on the edge of suburban and rural. The woods are full of foxes and racoons, and we have a lot of birds of prey around, as well as the occasional coyote and lynx.

I think those lifespan stats came from bird lovers, personally. Just googling around you find a lot of variation in the numbers, and I have known way too many feral and barn cats in my life to buy that stat without further examination.

I dunno. I mentioned my mom's cat earlier. What I didn't mention is that it's their second cat that was adopted to replace a cat that lived outdoors for the first 1.5 years of it's life before getting killed by a car. Early on this newest cat was going to be an outdoor pet as well, but it turned up one day with an injury on it's head that later got infected and necessitated a visit to the vet. The vet guessed that the injury was caused by another animal of some kind.

So that's a sample of two cats, one of which didn't make it to two years while the other apparently had a close call followed by an infection that could have been fatal before it's first year was up. This is in an extremely rural area. I'm talking the-only-internet-available-is-satellite kind of rural. Even there the outdoors seems to be quite perilous for cats. It makes the statistics seem a bit more credible to me.

 

[schmuckley]

No.IMO

 

[RockinZ28]

Nice job using a bandaid for being a shitty owner.

A shitty owner works with their cats to find a solution other than declawing?

 

[DrPizza]

We live in a subdivision that has a fairly high amount of traffic, but overall I would consider it right on the edge of suburban and rural. The woods are full of foxes and racoons, and we have a lot of birds of prey around, as well as the occasional coyote and lynx.

I think those lifespan stats came from bird lovers, personally. Just googling around you find a lot of variation in the numbers, and I have known way too many feral and barn cats in my life to buy that stat without further examination.

I'm fairly skeptical of that stat as well. I would guess closer to a 2-3 year average for strictly outdoor cats in environments where there are predators. But, suburbs without foxes and coyotes? Or cities? I'd think they'd last more than 2-3 years, unless maybe you're including cats that are trapped and sent to a kill-shelter. In fact, I think Alky mentioned that he had most of the cats in his feral colony spayed and neutered. If 1 year is the average, then he shouldn't have had many of the original cats after a year, making euthanasia a cheaper alternative with a similar outcome. Indoor/outdoor? Only based on personal experience, I'd expect a much longer lifespan.

 

[DrPizza]

Oh, and declawing?

Yeah, having your scrotum sliced wide open, and your testicles plucked out - or your abdomen sliced open and your ovaries chopped out - no one's against those procedures on humane grounds, but declawing is, of course, cruel.

I'd never have an older cat declawed. But, I couldn't care less if someone wants a kitten declawed.

 

[mmntech]

If you get a cat or a dog, there's the risk that stuff is going to get chewed, clawed, or ruined with some sort of bodily fluid. It's part and parcel of bringing an animal into your house. It doesn't understand that what it's doing is wrong. That's why you have to train them and establish boundaries. Our family has never let any of our pets have complete run of the house. Never had problems with them clawing at the furniture.

A lot of folks assume cats can't be trained, and that's just not true.

 

[nageov3t]

If you get a cat or a dog, there's the risk that stuff is going to get chewed, clawed, or ruined with some sort of bodily fluid. It's part and parcel of bringing an animal into your house. It doesn't understand that what it's doing is wrong. That's why you have to train them and establish boundaries. Our family has never let any of our pets have complete run of the house. Never had problems with them clawing at the furniture.

A lot of folks assume cats can't be trained, and that's just not true.

how exactly do I train my cat to stop running around with its claws out?

 

[Sheep]

I adopted two declawed cats when they were 7 years old. I'm guessing they were declawed as kittens but I don't know for sure. Regardless, all the horror stories about behavioral problems from declawed cats have been completely nonexistent--these two are the most laidback, friendly cats you'll ever meet. Aside from a few peeing protests that were a direct result of my failing to keep their litterboxes clean, ZERO behavioral problems.

I don't think I could ever bring myself to declaw a kitten, but to all the people who say declawing is bad, would you rather they simply be put to sleep rather than have a chance at being adopted by an individual or family that wants a declawed cat? Regardless of whether you like it or not, I have to think a declawed cat has a higher chance of being adopted.

 

[norseamd]

If you get a cat or a dog, there's the risk that stuff is going to get chewed, clawed, or ruined with some sort of bodily fluid. It's part and parcel of bringing an animal into your house. It doesn't understand that what it's doing is wrong. That's why you have to train them and establish boundaries. Our family has never let any of our pets have complete run of the house. Never had problems with them clawing at the furniture.

A lot of folks assume cats can't be trained, and that's just not true.

Also wrong is subjective. What you believe is wrong and what your cat believes is wrong may not be the same. Even if the cat knows what you think is wrong they may not agree with you. That couch may be nothing more than wood and cushions to the cats so you have to work with them instead of just thinking they will do everything you try to force them to according to what may seem like some abstract scolding.

 

[tynopik]

A true outdoor only cat has an average lifespan of one year, mixed indoor/outdoor can push that to 3-6 years, and indoor only cats average out to about 15 years.

[citation needed]

 

[Imp]

Oh, and declawing?

Yeah, having your scrotum sliced wide open, and your testicles plucked out - or your abdomen sliced open and your ovaries chopped out - no one's against those procedures on humane grounds, but declawing is, of course, cruel.

I'd never have an older cat declawed. But, I couldn't care less if someone wants a kitten declawed.

Ya... Also not really getting that one.

 

[nageov3t]

[citation needed]

I can't find any good #'s, but it seems safe to assume that your average outdoor cat is going to have a shorter life expectancy than your average indoor cat.

 

[momeNt]

amputating arms and legs might also give a higher life expectancy, but some lives aren't worth living.