First of all what exactly is declawing?
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language has two definitions:
1. To remove the claws from
2. and this one I found vastly entertaining:
To strip of power, potency or strength; make harmless or less threatening
Why do I find this entertaining?
Back when I was--I was going to say young and stupid--but lets change that to much younger and less educated. I had my cat declawed. It wasn't the choice I preferred but I rented and Bruce was a tiger among cats. He actually clawed chunks out of the wall. So I really felt like I had no other choice. But declawing Bruce didn't slow him down one bit. Where the stupid comes in, he was an indoor-outdoor cat. A declawed cat outdoors, you gasp, and rightly so. Now why I find the 'strip of power' definition entertaining. He may not have had claws or, ahem, balls, but he acted as if he had both. If any dogs wondered into the yard, he would jump on their backs and ride them out.
Another little side story. A big dog wandered into our yard and I was afraid for Bruce so I scooped him up and put him inside then when I tried to open the door to get in myself the dog jumped on my back. I was positioned in such a way the door was opened a crack but I couldn't get it open the rest of the way. I really don't think the dog would have hurt me, but I was scared and both animals sensed it. Bruce shot out of the house and ran the dog off.
Another time, my daughter wondered out into a cornfield when she was quite young and wouldn't answer when my husband called for her. The only way he found her was because Bruce stayed right beside her and whenever my husband called, the cat would meow and eventually that's how she was found. Bruce may have been stripped of claws but never power.
But back to declawing.
Declawing is a surgical procedure where the last joint in the front 'toes' are removed. Laser declawing is also available. Laser declawing causes less bleeding and automatically seals the nerves and vessels. Is it better? I honestly don't know. I've only seen one cat that had laser surgery, and that was several years ago, and there were complications.
Is declawing something I would do today? No. My personal reasons are because its not safe if a cat gets out of the house. I've found that using the cardboard scratching pads works like a charm for our cats. I also keep cat clippers on hand and trim down their claws.
Would I adopt a cat out to a family that was going to declaw? If I thought that cat would end up in a loving forever home, yes. Millions of wonderful felines end up in gas chambers each year because there aren't enough homes to go around, because all pets owners aren't as responsible as you are when it comes to spaying and neutering your pet.
I've given you my thoughts on declawing. What are yours?
And by the way, in spite of our lapse in judgment in letting him out, Bruce lived to the ripe old age of seventeen.
~*~
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6 comments:
When I had my first cat declawed, I was nineteen and at college, and L.E. was a totally indoor cat. When she came home from declawing I cried. She couldn't stand touching her feet to the floor. She was the only cat I had declawed. In the twenty-one years of her life she taught me a lot.
As I look around at the shredded door jams (my cats ignore the scratch posts), I sometimes doubt my sanity, but these guys are all in-out cats. What's a replaceable plank of wood compared to their safety and happiness?
Well said, Rhobin. I've got shredded carpets and door frames but it turned out to be my lack of training not the cats. Once I started putting the cardboard scratchers by where they normally scratched they shifted to the scratchers.
And good job of giving L.E. 21 years of happiness.
I won't have my cats declawed. Too dangerous for them, but then, my cats are indoor/outdoor. Once they grew out of the kitten stage, they don't claw my furniture. But then, I also keep the most clawed up chair strictly for their sakes in case the urge hits. They do tend to go straight for their favorite chair!
Good idea to let them have their own chair to claw at, Lovely Julia.
I declawed four cats in the 1980s. Never again. My original reason was my two cats had destroyed my sofas while we were at work (running a restaurant--long hours). You could see the frame, that's how bad. My next two cats were declawed because of what I'd been through. However whenever I stepped by their paws for the rest of their lives (they lived into their late teens), one would scream as if I'd stepped on her paw, and the other would jump. I still have one of those declawed cats. He's now 20. And he's the last declawed I'll ever have. I now have five others running around and I do not have problems with clawing. I have a cat apartment with several cat trees. I also have them trained to stop if one of them puts paw to sofa and I yell no! I feel declawing is a lesser-informed cat person's lazy way of preventing a problem.
Hi Kimberley, Thanks for your input. It sounds like your kitties are very lucky to be part of your family.
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