I didn’t call it immoral.
Your argument seemed to be that if someone was against you declawing a cat, then it was condemning all of those cats to death.
It isn’t better for the individual animal, but your claim seems to be that if you can’t get a cat declawed that you can’t get a cat at all.
I know full well the statistics on shelters. I’ve been involved in cat rescue for a long time. And declawed cats don’t seem to have better chances than ones with their claws intact.
Julie
I’m glad you mentioned this, Isabelle, because I’m betting there are a number of people that assume “declawing” means cutting the nail in such a way that it simply prevents the nail from growing back. Having said that, I will say this: my only problem with declawing cats is that a declawed cat has no method of self-defense. This is not a problem if the cat is strictly a house cat, but if the animal goes outside at all, it must be able to defend itself.
As far as people who say it’s inhumane, I don’t see it as being any more so than spaying or neutering, which also permanently disables the animal.
I’ve had both of my cats declawed. From my experience, they had no problem. One cat was as happy as ever when he came home. The other was a bit strange, maybe from painkillers? He was fine.
In my opinion, cats can manage without claws. They can jump on counters, run, and wrestle without any pain or difficulty, and perform virtually activity they could do before the declawing. Obviously it will be more difficult for a human without fingers to perform daily tasks like typing, eating or lifting, which are essential abilities that you’d need to have.
I do agree that outdoor cats shouldn’t be clawed. Just knowing from what I see outside (Racoons, foxes, and other cats), I would never let my cats out alone.
I’m afraid I find the whole concept of an “indoor cat” rather unethical. Depriving an animal from fresh air, access to grass, trees, things to hunt, for its whole life? I’d say that makes it a prisoner rather than a pet.
I’ve got three cats with long sharp claws. They don’t scratch me because, oddly enough, they like me (and my husband). Sometimes they scratch the furniture - so what? Cats are more important than a few bits of furniture.
By the way, I’ve never heard of anyone over here de-clawing their cat - is this a US thing? And would you “de-bark” a dog?
PS: in my experience, foxes and cats get along fine
In my experience, outside cats get eaten by coyotes very quickly.
It all depends on where you live. In the deserts of the great Americal Southwest, cats and small dogs getting eaten by coyotes is just a fact of life. It happens every day.
In this situation, would you still find ‘indoor cats’ unethical?
Can’t you keep the coyotes out of the garden at all? I’m not actually sure what a coyote is - is it a sort of wolf? (Sorry to be provincial). But, yes, I think I’d still say that depriving a cat of any access to outdoors is unethical. If your living arrangements are too dangerous for a cat, you should not keep a cat.
BTW, I’ve just seen another identical thread further down the board. some mistake, surely…
That’s exacvtly what I’m saying. There is no good reason whatsoever for a housecat to be allowed outside. They are safer and healthier inside and just as, if not more, happy. I’ve had outside cats and inside cats; the inside versions live longer, stay healthier, and are every bit as fit and happy as the outside versions. They’re less trouble for neighbours, less destructive to the local wildlife, and less likely to bring in fleas. There’s no excuse at all for letting cats out.
So, anyone who lives in the Southwestern US shouldn’t have cats?
The living arrangement aren’t dangerous, as long as you keep the animal inside.
If people who lived here didn’t have cats, all the cats who currently have comfy lives here would be euthanized. A better solution?
By the way, here’s some info about coyotes, since you asked
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We’re talking about animals bred by humans for humans. If you’re letting your cat out just remember that it runs the risk of death, maiming, and sickness from a variety of sources. I really hate finding cat crap in my garden and smelling cat piss when I get home. I suppose I could treat them like any other feral animal who messes around my yard.
I’ve never had a cat declawed because training them not to scratch isn’t that difficult. I’ve also had a dog and we trained it not to bark all the time.
Marc
Do all (breeds of) cats like to go outside? I don’t have much experience with cats, but my friend has a pug (dog, bitch actually) that hates to go outside. So I am sure some cats like the inside.
Moderator’s Note: Duplicate threads merged.
Cats should be kept indoors. For one, indoor cats have an average lifespan of 12.5 years, while outdoor cats only have an average lifespan of 2-5 years. It keeps cats from killing songbirds and other wildlife, and as mentioned above, keeps your neighbors gardens safe. 
http://www.cfhs.ca/Programs/HumaneEducation/GeneralPublic/IndoorCat/
http://www.theanimalspirit.com/indoors.html
http://www.monmouthaudubon.org/c_cats.htm
http://home.hiwaay.net/~keiper/indoors.htm
http://wildlife.wisc.edu/extension/catfly3.htm
I’m sure there are many better ones but I just did a quick google search. There have been several SDMB threads on this subject as well. It isn’t cruel to keep cats inside. Cats aren’t humans.
Autz - thanks for coyote link.
No of course I wouldn’t kill existing indoor cats in the southwest US. My point was simply that if you decide to keep an animal you should have some respect for the nature of that animal. If I lived in the tropics, I would not buy a polar bear. If I lived in a small 15th-floor apartment, I would not buy a large energetic dog. A bird is designed to fly - so I would not clip a bird’s wings just so I could keep it as a pet. If your living arrangements are not suitable to accommodate the animal’s nature, then you should not keep that animal.
While I accept that some cats are very lazy and are happy to spend most of their lives indoors asleep, others are much more adventurous. So cats should have some access to the outdoors, however limited. By de-clawing them and imprisoning them indoors, you are distorting the animal’s innate characteristics to suit yourself. Cats are nocturnal predators, not fluffy toys.
Cars are by far the biggest killers of cats, but even if you live in a log cabin hundreds of miles from anywhere, there are risks, but that’s life (and death) for you.
An argument against my own argument has just occurred to me - my cats have been neutered/sterilised, which, you might say, is distorting their innate characteristics for my own convenience. Damn, why do ethical debates about animals always get so sticky??
Debates on Ethics tend to get sticky in general.
Don’t be so hard on yourself: were the reasons you neutered your cat for your benefit, or, your cat’s benefit, or, wider social benefits, or, a combination thereof.
Compare your motivations with those of someone who declaws their cats.
This made me laugh. Our cats won’t go outside. We came home once and found that we had apparently left the kitchen door unlatched. It was standing wide open.
We had 10 cats.
They were all inside.
These just aren’t wild animals.
Julie
I have cats who have never been outside other than being carried in a crate to and from the car.
I have one cat who was a stray and severely abused. She used to dart out the door when she got the chance, but she doesn’t even try any longer–not because we chased her down or punished her or even tried all that hard to keep her in. She just didn’t like what the outside was all about. It’s cold! And wet! And there are strangers out there! Eek!
Julie
With sooo many threads about cat declawing available, I can not believe you did not do some simple research to get your facts straight.
First of all - please stop humanizing animals. You can not compare a cat’s paw to a human hand. They are designed for different purposes and fuction differently. Do you consider bobing a dog’s tail analogous to a butt lift?
Second - there are new alternatives to the old onychectomy procedure. Namely laser declawing which is less painful and less intrusive for the cat. In fact, one of the biggest risks with laser declawing is that since the cat feels no pain, they may try and do too much with their healing paws and end up with complications because of it.
Third - I have no problem with declawing. I am the owner of the domesticated animal. I provide it with food, shelter, affection and activities. The cat has been modified to adapt to my living arrangements (neutered and declawed). I don’t feel bad about it and if the cat does, she keeps it to herself. Humans have been modifying our environment to suit our needs for lo these many years. It seems almost ludicrous to be concerned over such a trivial matter.