We have adopted a declawed cat, but we would never have done that to our own. Not only this can be a painful procedure, but it has serious side effects. Declawed cats are clumsy (they don’t balance that well), they are defenseless and can’t climb trees. If, accidentally, the cat runs a way, there is little chance to see it back alive. I have a constant fear: I fear to forget closing the door.
Paulsays:
Yeah, well. Better fingerless invaders than genocide on naturally occurring species.
Andrea clips our cats’ claws. We would never declaw a cat.
I once inherited a declawed cat. The poor thing was unable to use a litter box properly.
Reasonsays:
It’s a bit overdramatic to say declawing=amputating your cats fingers. Their claws are not fingers. Your fingers seem much more vital than an in door cats nails no? And that’s not “b/c we’re more important”. There are no cat cups, keys, door knobs, etc. Sure… Don’t get a cat if you’re going to remove it’s nails/claws to protect your furniture, but there are mountains between reasonable declawing and cat-“finger”-amputation.
Saying that you remove their claws is misleading. You have to cut the bones off (phalanges) entirely.
Declawed cats do not walk like normal cats… they do not balance well. A normal cat is able to walk on a narrow ledge without effort… a declawed cat typically cannot: he falls off.
The cat’s ability to climb or jump will be greatly impaired. A normal cat should be able to jump at least 4 feet. Declawed cats are lucky to jump half this height.
Effectively, the declawed cat is handicapped. In most physical activities that a cat can do, the declawed cat is subpar, diminished.
It is not just the claws… you can just take off the claws with regular trimming, this leaves the cat in mostly good physical shape with respect to jump or walking… But onychectomy diminishes your cat.
We have adopted a declawed cat, but we would never have done that to our own. Not only this can be a painful procedure, but it has serious side effects. Declawed cats are clumsy (they don’t balance that well), they are defenseless and can’t climb trees. If, accidentally, the cat runs a way, there is little chance to see it back alive. I have a constant fear: I fear to forget closing the door.
Yeah, well. Better fingerless invaders than genocide on naturally occurring species.
@Paul
Declawed cats can still hunt effectively. You probably want to keep your cat indoor if you want to prevent hunting.
Andrea clips our cats’ claws. We would never declaw a cat.
I once inherited a declawed cat. The poor thing was unable to use a litter box properly.
It’s a bit overdramatic to say declawing=amputating your cats fingers. Their claws are not fingers. Your fingers seem much more vital than an in door cats nails no? And that’s not “b/c we’re more important”. There are no cat cups, keys, door knobs, etc. Sure… Don’t get a cat if you’re going to remove it’s nails/claws to protect your furniture, but there are mountains between reasonable declawing and cat-“finger”-amputation.
@Reason
Saying that you remove their claws is misleading. You have to cut the bones off (phalanges) entirely.
Declawed cats do not walk like normal cats… they do not balance well. A normal cat is able to walk on a narrow ledge without effort… a declawed cat typically cannot: he falls off.
The cat’s ability to climb or jump will be greatly impaired. A normal cat should be able to jump at least 4 feet. Declawed cats are lucky to jump half this height.
Effectively, the declawed cat is handicapped. In most physical activities that a cat can do, the declawed cat is subpar, diminished.
It is not just the claws… you can just take off the claws with regular trimming, this leaves the cat in mostly good physical shape with respect to jump or walking… But onychectomy diminishes your cat.