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I am adamantly against declawing despite what I also knew when I grew up. I can't guarantee that your furniture (or even if you buy new furniture) won't show a little bit of wear, but it is an inhumane procedure. IMO, you're getting a pet to be part of your family, not a convenient accessory, however long they live with us. As part of a rescue organization, it drives me nuts when people return pets who inconvenience them. Attacking people is a different problem.

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I've had de-clawed cats in the past. They seemed just fine & dandy to me. I don't see the problem with it, particularly if they are indoor cats.

No way I'd let a cat in my house that wasn't declawed. I like my couches too much and I get super pissed when I'm at somebody's house and I get scratched by their cat. I went to my roommate's parents' place recently and I got scratched by multiple cats and my dog got scratched by one of those [expletive]. All he did was walk up to it to see what it is (he grew up with kittens, so he has no problem with cats). My mom had her cats declawed with lasers. No pain, no stitches. If you want your cat to roam outside though, it would be cruel to declaw them.

So yea, people I know with cats, if I know the cats aren't declawed, I'm probably not going to go over to their place.


edit***, I do have a friend with two kittens, however, and they have their claws, but his gf files their claws every few days, so when they swing their paws at me, it doesn't scratch. I'd recommend doing this.

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I'm with planet 100%.

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“You can judge a man's true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.”
― Paul McCartney

I've heard the arguments about it but never really saw the big deal . It doesn't seem to be any more inhumane that spaying or neutering. My family has always had cats and they've always been declawed. And they've all seemed to go on to lead extremely happy, full, and long lives. Maybe they were secretly nursing some kind of internal identity crisis. It's possible that they spent their nights staring at the drapes and agonizing over their inability to climb them. But, it seems like an issue that people make a big deal over, but the cats take to pretty well.

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I have no idea whether it is good or bad. People get really worked up over it though.

We had both of our cats declawed and it doesn't seem to bother them. We did it before I researched it though. After reading some things, I probably wouldn't do it.

In one sense, it might be a terrible thing for the animal...I don't know. On the other hand, our next door neighbor's dog got hit by a car and lost one front leg. Runs around still like nothing ever happened. Animals and humans can adapt to things. But like I said, I'd probably not make the same decision again.

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Catch my drift? Or am I being obtuse?

We did the same with our three cats, Leroy. And they were all indoor cats. We've only got one left, and her sister escaped from the house a couple of years ago, so I feel bad not knowing what happened to her but also knowing that she was out in the world without a key defense component.

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"I love to play this game of baseball - I love putting on this uniform."

Not to be an insensitive jerk, but what are cats defending themselves from outside? I think most outdoor cats probably die from starvation or getting hit by cars. Claws probably dont' come into play in those cases.


Edit: Let me just add that I'm a guy that really likes cats. I have 2 of them.

Your not being insensitive.

We had an indoor outdoor cat when I was a kid, and I can guarantee you that he would have never lived as long as he did without his claws. He was never fed in the house, so he killed his own food until he was so old that we would shoot sparrows with our bb guns and feed them to him. His ears were half ripped off from the fights he had gotten in, but he lived so I guess he won most of them. I'm sure he had tangles with dogs and such. I think that cat lived to be close to 20 years old, I can be sure at least 15.

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Catch my drift? Or am I being obtuse?

I've had many cats and never declawed them. But most were indoor/outdoor cats. Sidney and Erik are totally indoor cats, but I've never thought about declawing them. Even if someone offered me declawing for free, I don't think I would do it. Sidney loves his scratching post and Erik loves his scratching pad shaped like a piece of Swiss cheese. Sidney likes to knead and I like him to do that. I do get scratched once in a while, and they have done a job on my computer chair, but I love them just the way they are.

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"Loving a cat is like loving baseball. 'It breaks your heart. It’s designed to break your heart.' That’s what late baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti said about the game, and it also applies to cats. Like baseball, loving a cat is unpredictable. Occasionally it’s glorious, but sometimes it’s terrifying and really sad. You live and die with it, think of it as a friend, and then it’s gone. Yet we keep going back." - Keith Bowers, A Love Letter to My Cat