larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) (07/28/85)
Well, I have watched this discussion about declawing cats with interest
and now feel it's time to stick my 2 cents in... I should like to point out
that my observations and comments are not without some qualification - my wife
and I are cat fanciers and presently share our home with ten of the furry little
suckers. In fact, that is why my uucp site name is 'kitty'.
There is only one valid reason to declaw a cat - protecting one's home
furnishings from destruction. It is a natural instinct in *all* cats to 'claw'
for the purpose of exercising and sharpening their claws. Some cats can be
'directed' to use a scratching post and some cannot. No amount of training,
cajoling, and/or punishment has ever worked to change the mind of any cat we
have ever had who *insists* about using anything other than a scratching post.
After fighting this issue with our first three cats for about two years, we
had them declawed (front feet only).
During their postoperative recovery period (about 10 days) the cats
did experience some minor bleeding and distress, but all rapidly healed without
complication. These cats subsquently engaged in their normal routines with no
impairment. They in fact will 'scratch' at furniture, but will obviously cause
no harm (they still *think* they have claws). In no way does their lifestyle
seemed hampered by the loss of claws. I must point out, however, that these
cats are INDOOR cats and are never let outside.
We have subsequently had three additional cats declawed as they were
added to the 'family', also with no adverse consequences. The cats play and
fight amongst themselves just fine.
Now here is an interesting observation: one of the above cats is an
outdoor barn cat several years old whom we decided to 'retire' to the good
indoor life. This cat was simply not happy being indoors all of the time, and
so we decided to let it out at will. This cat was a real hunter prior to being
retired, and while it was not intended to let her roam outside to hunt again,
in *NO* way was her hunting ability impaired after being declawed! You would
not believe how prolific she remained in catching mice and birds...
If you consider the methods by which cats fight and defend themselves
you will find: cats fight using their teeth first, their REAR claws second
(while lying on their side or back) - with use of their front claws a third
priority. I do not believe that the loss of a cat's front claws seriously
dimishes their ability to defend themselves.
Cats do not claw furniture with their rear claws - only their front.
THERE IS NO REASON to ever have a cat's rear claws removed!
Our other four cats are 'outdoor' cats who do not cause a problem when
they are allowed to visit indoors; they have ample outdoor activity to satisfy
their clawing urges! These four cats are, of course, not declawed.
So my bottom line is: if you have cats whose lives are spent indoors
for most or all of their existence, I can see no reason not to have them
declawed IF you are having a destruction problem. If you are not having a
problem, then there is no reason to have them declawed. If your cats are
outdoor cats for most of their existence, then I would advise against having
them declawed; besides, they probabaly won't be inclined to claw anything when
allowed indoors anywhow.
A WORD OF CAUTION: Removing a cat's claws requires a significant
amount of surgical skill - which quite frankly not all veterinarians have.
A poorly performed surgery may result in unremoved claw tissue causing a
regrowth of the affected claw - much to the discomfort of the cat and requiring
additional surgery. I would make certain that I had confidence in the
veterinarian performing the surgery.
Larry Lippman
Recognition Research Corp.
Clarence, New York
UUCP {decvax,dual,rocksanne,rocksvax,watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry
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"Have you hugged your cat today?"vollum@rtp47.UUCP (Rob Vollum) (07/31/85)
In article <163@kitty.UUCP> larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) writes: > There is only one valid reason to declaw a cat - protecting one's home >furnishings from destruction. All of the proponents of declawing pet cats seem to be missing one very crucial point. In most cases, I'm sure that these (soon to be amputee) cats didn't have a whole lot of input into whether or not they were to join your households. To make that choice for them, and then to fix them up so that they fit into your idea of what cats should be is, I feel, incredibly cruel. The only answer to the question of whether or not cats should be declawed is NO in my mind. Potential cat owners must (as I did before taking any of my 3 cats) realize the capacity that cats have for ripping up furniture and decide whether training them to use a scratching post would be feasible. If this is a problem, then a cat is not for you. Go buy some kind of inanimate toy instead of making one out of a living creature. -- Rob Vollum Data General Corp. Research Triangle Park, NC <the world>!mcnc!rti-sel!rtp47!vollum
marauder@fluke.UUCP (Bill Landsborough) (08/02/85)
I too have been watching and reading and have to tell my side. I have two cats, both declawed because they were exclusivly indoor cats. But we moved to the country so now their outdoor/indoor cats. We declawed them because they were ruining the furniture and I felt that they would go through less pain from the operation than they were going through with me swatting them when they clawed things. Yeh, I spank my cats, my dogs, my horse, and my children when they need dicipline! It is in love that I dicipline. Anyway, my male cat, declawed and all, is the BULLY of the neighborhood! I'm not implying that he is mean, I'm saying that he is a better fighter BECAUSE he has been declawed. A "normal" cat with claws is swinging away with his claws and inflicting scratches while my clawless cat is going for the throat with his fangs while he is hooking his paws around the back of the opponent. I have had to apologize to my neighbors because my clawless cat is cleaning house! So please don't tell me about those defenseless, clawless cats. I own one. -- "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude... Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) (08/05/85)
> All of the proponents of declawing pet cats seem to be missing one very > crucial point. In most cases, I'm sure that these (soon to be amputee) cats > didn't have a whole lot of input into whether or not they were to join your > households. To make that choice for them, and then to fix them up so that they > fit into your idea of what cats should be is, I feel, incredibly cruel. > > The only answer to the question of whether or not cats should be declawed > is NO in my mind. Potential cat owners must (as I did before taking any of > my 3 cats) realize the capacity that cats have for ripping up furniture > and decide whether training them to use a scratching post would be feasible. > If this is a problem, then a cat is not for you. Go buy some kind of inanimate > toy instead of making one out of a living creature. Okay, you have three cats. Do you have them vaccinated for any feline diseases like distemper, rabies, feline leukemia virus, etc? If so, did you ask the cats if it was alright with them to be vaccinated? Are any of your cats neutered? If so, did you ask their permission? There are certain things which people have to do in the best interest of their pets, and which people have to do in order to have pets AT ALL. There are presently many more cats in this country than people willing to give them a home. Thousands of perfectly healthy cats are destroyed each day by animal shelters. If someone is willing to open their home to a cat and thereby assure it of damn good life, then I do not see a problem with declawing as a requirement for living in that environment. If for some reason I were prevented from declawing my indoor cats, then I would have no choice but to force them to spend a good part of their existence outdoors - an action which will not exactly increase their chance of living to a ripe old age! If you read my article closely, you will see that I am *NOT* advocating en masse declawing of cats - only those cats which: (1) have a total indoor environment, and (2) CANNOT be trained to use a scratching post in a reliable fashion. I do not feel that declawing an indoor cat is in any way cruel as long as it is done after responsible consideration. Larry Lippman Recognition Research Corp. Clarence, New York UUCP {decvax,dual,rocksanne,rocksvax,watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry {rice,shell}!baylor!kitty!larry syr!buf!kitty!larry VOICE 716/741-9185 TELEX {via WUI} 69-71461 answerback: ELGECOMCLR "Have you hugged your cat today?"