New Law Will Make Cat De-clawing Illegal

MaryGJ
Sun, 21 May 2017 07:09:53 +0000

I have no issues declawing cats. Have had several of my cats declawed, and a couple that I haven’t. I do think it’s much more humane to have it done as young kittens. Kittens recover very rapidly and don’t seem to suffer much distress or deficit. They simply adapt. Older cats, however, seem much more uncomfortable, particularly overweight older cats. It takes them longer to remember they don’t have claws, affects balance, etc. Older cats suffer some stress adapting. Kittens don’t miss a beat.

I think the law is stupid and will likely not pass. Very few vets support the idea that declaws are cruel or negatively impact a cat’s life. Veterinarians DO hate declawing cats…but not because it’s horrible and traumatic. They hate it because it’s a pain in the butt, it’s time consuming… and they probably lose money. I’m remembering my mother in law swearing…having glued herself to a declawed cat for the hundredth time trying to apply the surgical glue to the toes. With declaws, you typically put on pressure bandages for a while after surgery and have to remove them before sending the cats home…yet another reason vets hate it. Cats with sore feet are not in a great mood about having bandages pulled off their furry arms.

All of the nursing home cats we’ve known over the years have been four foot declawed to protect the fragile skin of the elder patients. There are hemophiliac patients who can’t risk a clawed cat launching off a lap. Nursing home cats provide a lot of companionship and comfort for residents who enjoy pets…it would be sad to see them removed because their claws pose a hazard.

There are a lot of people with medical conditions who would probably not be able to keep a cat if they couldn’t have it declawed…for safety reasons.

Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? In many cases…yes, they do.

I understand the enthusiasm to protect a cat from unnecessary stress and pain…but the choice to declaw isn’t overly inhumane and in many cased means adopting a cat rather than letting an unadopted cats go up the chimney. That whole benefits-vs-drawbacks thing.

My personal preference is that human beings don’t pierce their baby’s ears. It horrifies me, I’m bothered by the baby’s pain and spit-up that will invariable run down the face of a reclining baby to that piercing site and cause an infection. But I can’t make a law to stop it, can I? I also can’t control the religious removal of foreskins on babies who are not consenting. Do cats really have more rights than children?

And what about the rights of an older person or an immune suppressed person to have their pets feet be safer for their health?