# Declawing Cats **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 17, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158 "2005-09-17T23:29:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/21 "2005-09-18T02:52:30Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > Why do you hate America, **Eve**? šŸ˜ƒ (With apologies to **Miller** ) > > As for those of you thinking about Great Danes: Have you considered just how big those dogs are? The head, over here, will be behaving very nicely. While the tail, seven feet away, is sweeping all the knickknacks off the display case. > > Iā€™m not suggesting theyā€™re bad dogs. But their sheer scale can be a problem. Their size is one of the main attractions we have to the breed. Weā€™re ā€œbig dogā€ people. Weā€™re also considering the [English Mastiff](http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/mastiff.htm), but Iā€™m really leaning towards Danes. My last dog was a 135 pound Rottie. šŸ™‚ Weā€™re not knick-knacky people, and the small amount of them we do have are on top of 6 foot bookshelves. Not even a Dane can reach that highā€¦with his tail, anyways. šŸ˜‰ I have experience with Danes (one of my friendā€™s family bred fawns) , and the size isnā€™t a problem at all. I loves me some big doggie cuddles. _grin_ ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/22 "2005-09-18T02:54:22Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > As for those of you thinking about Great Danes: Have you considered just how big those dogs are? The head, over here, will be behaving very nicely. While the tail, seven feet away, is sweeping all the knickknacks off the display case. > > Iā€™m not suggesting theyā€™re bad dogs. But their sheer scale can be a problem. And then thereā€™s the [Neapolitan mastiff](http://www.akc.org/breeds/neapolitan_mastiff/index.cfm). A friend of mine has two. They are frickinā€™ MONSTROUS! And the drool, man, the droolā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/23 "2005-09-18T02:57:59Z")
**Cerri** , Iā€™m a big dog person, myself. Or at least I was. I now know that Great Danes are too big for me. (Part of it was my former housemateā€™s Great Dane likes to sleep on my bed with me. I have a twin bed. Can you imagine how much space I had left?) As long as youā€™re aware of what youā€™re getting into, enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/24 "2005-09-18T03:37:24Z")
If I had dogs, Iā€™d really want a Dane. Except that the life span of a Dane is rather short - 12 years is old for a Great Dane. And if you are worried about the tail knocking things around, you donā€™t need a dog. Or a cat. Or a child. Get a stuffed animal. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/25 "2005-09-18T05:21:48Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > **Cerri** , Iā€™m a big dog person, myself. Or at least I was. I now know that Great Danes are too big for me. (Part of it was my former housemateā€™s Great Dane likes to sleep on my bed with me. I have a twin bed. Can you imagine how much space I had left?) As long as youā€™re aware of what youā€™re getting into, enjoy it. _chuckle_ We have a Queen bed at the moment, weā€™re already talking switching to a King or California King when we get a dog. Iā€™d never dream of keeping my doggy off my bed. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/26 "2005-09-18T05:42:03Z")
Declawing a great dane? Wait. What? Oh yeah. Fuck you. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/27 "2005-09-18T06:01:49Z")
How about a really big cunt? Doesnā€™t every one of these threads have a really big cunt in it? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/28 "2005-09-18T06:05:16Z")
I should have mentioned the Aussie was usually there, too, and so was the cat. And I donā€™t even like cats. But both the Aussie and the cat were small enough to be able to be pushed around easily. Great Danes donā€™t push easily. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/29 "2005-09-18T06:08:00Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > If I had dogs, Iā€™d really want a Dane. Except that the life span of a Dane is rather short - 12 years is old for a Great Dane. And if you are worried about the tail knocking things around, you donā€™t need a dog. Or a cat. Or a child. Get a stuffed animal. But, you donā€™t understand, He/she isnā€™t worried about the Dane knocking thngs off the shelf, but about him knocking the whold bookshelf over. With his TAIL. One can have a happy, well adjusted, loved pet and a home. Training counts. A friend has a wonderful harlequin Dane, named Cowboy. Cowboy, at age 6 months could look me in the eye while standing on 4 feet. He was the friendliest dog Iā€™ve ever met, but he did tend to trash a room and leave the people in it dripping with dog slobber. Danes are so big, that often breeder welp them in a pen similar to a [pig farrowing pen,](http://tomregan-animalrights.com/archive/farrow.html) so they donā€™t smother the pups. (sorry about the pig farrowing link, I couldnā€™t find a website that didnā€™t have an agenda.) ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/30 "2005-09-18T06:41:15Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > And also, you could say the same thing about spaying and neutering. Canā€™t you just keep your cat inside and deal with her heat and his spraying? The reproductive system is an even more ā€œessentialā€ part of a cat than its claws are, and the personality changes that result from fixing are greater than the ones resulting from declawing. I get so _sick_ of this comparison! It is _not_ the same thing! There are health considerations with altering - there are none with declawing! And the reproductive system is ā€œessentialā€ for sustaining the _species_, not the individual animal! That wonā€™t be a viable argument until weā€™re not euthanizing millions of animals each year. And Iā€™d like to see you keep a cat in heat from darting out the door when thereā€™s a yard full of calling toms. Unless youā€™re prepared to live like a hermit every spring it ainā€™t gonna happen. And what ā€œpersonality changesā€ result from altering? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/31 "2005-09-18T07:19:08Z")
What is ā€œalteringā€ a euphemism for now? Iā€™m canā€™t keep all this kitty mutilation straight. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/32 "2005-09-18T08:38:20Z")
> [@lorinada](#): > > And Iā€™d like to see you keep a cat in heat from darting out the door when thereā€™s a yard full of calling toms. Unless youā€™re prepared to live like a hermit every spring it ainā€™t gonna happen. My youngest cat, a female, isnā€™t spayed, weā€™ve never once had a problem keeping her indoors. We donā€™t have to keep the house shut up either. We have these things called ā€œscreen doors and windowsā€. And we make her get away from the front door when weā€™re coming in and out. Squirt bottle, right inside the door. Itā€™s really not that hard at all. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/33 "2005-09-18T09:29:35Z")
Iā€™d never declaw any of my pets\* _I only ever have goldish, snakes and squid as pets_\* \*\*not in the same tank ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/34 "2005-09-18T12:09:57Z")
I adopted two cats as adults that were already declawed. When I adopted a kitten that was likely to end up much bigger than either one of them (and did) I had him declawed so he couldnā€™t beat the shit out of the other two. He does anyway, but he doesnā€™t slash them to ribbons. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/35 "2005-09-18T13:01:24Z")
I lop the limbs off of all my pets so that I can stack them in the corner when Iā€™m not playing with them. They are generally happy, are really easy to bathe this way, and never get lost. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/36 "2005-09-18T13:07:05Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > What is ā€œalteringā€ a euphemism for now? Iā€™m canā€™t keep all this kitty mutilation straight. Spaying/neutering, I think. Probably sounded better than ā€œfixedā€ - I prefer ā€œbroken.ā€ šŸ˜‰ (And for the record, it is the responsible thing for a ferret owner to spay or neuter their ferret. Female ferrets will not come out of heat until they are bred, or the heat is ended with a particular hormonal injection (like with a needle, smartasses). If neither of these are done, anemia and even death can result. Unneutered males can become very smelly during the mating season, and aggressive towards other ferrets - but not typically towards humans.) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/37 "2005-09-18T13:31:41Z")
I had my husband fixed. šŸ™‚ Anywhooo, the kind of massive doggie I wants in a bad, bad way [American Mastiff](http://www.flyingwfarms.com/DOG%20REFERENCES%20PAGE%20TWO.html) Pictures galore and less drool. I blame Urban Chic ( I think or someother Totally Cool DoperGal) for linking this breed a while back. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/38 "2005-09-18T13:42:38Z")
I canā€™t but notice our OP seems to have flown the coop. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/39 "2005-09-18T13:44:21Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > How about a really big cunt? Doesnā€™t every one of these threads have a really big cunt in it? A REALLY BIG CUNT There. Howā€™s that? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158/40 "2005-09-18T13:55:28Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > A REALLY BIG CUNT > > There. Howā€™s that? Thatā€™s pretty, **Cheezy**. (Comma optional) šŸ˜ƒ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declawing-cats/322158.md?page=3)