One of my “Tuesday Tales” sparked quite a conversation with myself and a few other bloggers. The post was about my cat, Cino, and our first weeks together.

Here is the part of the post that got the conversations going:

“The next few weeks would turn out to be a pretty rough beginning for us. I had to take her to the veterinarian to catch up on some vaccinations and because she was sick. She needed to be given medication for the next 10 days (poor thing). Then I went to give the paperwork from the veterinarian to the apartment manager. She gave them back to me and said she needed to be declawed in the back. What?!”
“First of all, I worked really hard at getting a cat that fit all of the requirements. One of the requirements was declawed, to my understanding, in the front. Well, since I do not even agree with declawing in the first place, I intentionally picked out a little older cat that was already declawed (so I didn’t have to do it). And secondly, you don’t declaw a cat in the back. If they were to accidentally get outside, they would have no means of self-defense.”
“After getting a letter backing me up from a friend of mine who is a veterinarian, many phone calls to the apartment corporate office, and many tears, I was told I did not have to have her declawed in the back. (Fyi…I would have never done it, I would have moved)”

Some of the comments made regarding the above paragraphs from that post are below.

Cattie’s World
What is the meaning of “declawed in the back”?

Animals Are Feeling Beings Too
As my veterinarian friend said; declawing a cat is basically amputating their little paws. She said declawing is equivalent to us getting the first bone on our fingers amputated. So “declawed in the back” means the same as “declawing in the front.” If it is decided to declaw a cat, then it should only be in the front. Leaving claws in the back gives them some means of self-defense. I do not like the idea of declawing at all. I hope this answers your question sufficiently. Let me know.

Cattie’s World
But why to De-Claw the poor cats?
We can cut and file their nails when they get sharp. How could Vets be so cruel as to Amputate their little soft paws?!!

Animals Are Feeling Beings Too
I know, I agree. People don’t like their furniture to get scratched up is the only reason I know of. Somehow society has made this a “normal” thing for cats to have done. But to me it seems it is only so they fit into human beings “box” of what they want from an animal. It’s a requirement at my apartment building to have a cat declawed. Many apartment complexes are like that. Again, I guess it has become the “norm.”
And I don’t know why veterinarians who are supposed to “heal” animals do this. I guess, again, to satisfy humans. I think it is cruel and I personally could never do it.
You are right that their nails can be cut and filed. I think there are articles about this, that it is unnecessary to declaw. There are SO many unnecessary things humans do to animals. It is so frustrating and heartbreaking to me. That is why I have this blog, to spread the word. Us who care about animals have to speak up for them.

Cattie’s World
How can Humans say they Love their Pets, when they send them to be De-Clawed?

Animals Are Feeling Beings Too
I wonder if people don’t realize exactly what they are doing. Society has made declawing a cat “normal.” I have always been uncomfortable with it, but once my friend, who is a veterinarian explained it to me (about the amputating) I was really bothered by it.
My friend seemed uncomfortable about it too, but I think she maybe feels she has to do it as part of her job. I’m not sure if a veterinarian can refuse to do that. Then again, I don’t know why they couldn’t refuse.
I guess the bottom line is, it isn’t necessary and it certainly isn’t nice!

colinandray
Just a point of a different perspective, and having had 5 cats in my background, declawing the front paws is also not recommended. Whereas a cats back legs have much greater strength than the front (hence the main fighting “tools”), they often use their front as a deterrent. I would guess that most people who been scratched by a cat, received those scratches from the front paws. To remove those claws removes the deterrent which may possibly increase that cat’s fighting tendency. Teaching a dog NOT to bark is much the same in that if he does not bark (i.e. does not warn), then he is likely to simply bite!

Animals Are Feeling Beings Too
Great points! Thank for bringing them up. These conversations have definitely made me more confident in my feelings all along that declawing at all just doesn’t seem right. Ahhh..I tell ya, what humans do to animals. Thank God there are some folks like us that love & respect them!

colinandray
If furniture is that important to somebody, they should not consider any animal living with them!
I heard about a conversation between a woman prospective adopter, and a shelter official. The woman had been describing all the cat attributes that were important to her and the official interrupted her with “I am sorry, but the only thing I know which would meet your criteria is a potted plant. Just feed it occasionally and make sure it has regular water and it will be happy.”

These comments got me thinking this could make a good post. I spent some time looking up more information about declawing. As with everything, there are different opinions about whether this is an acceptable thing to do. My opinion is if it is done for a medical reason or to somehow help the cat, then it is acceptable. Otherwise, to me, it is unacceptable.

The following article discusses positives, negatives, and alternatives to declawing a cat. (Be sure to click through the pages to read full article)

There are many other articles out there in “Google” land, but I thought this one was the most neutral.

Let me know what your thoughts are about declawing a cat.

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If you didn’t read the “Tuesday Tale” this all came from, THE DAY WE MET (A tale about my cat & I), please check it out. Scroll down to September 13th.