Me too. I think maiming an animal for your own purposes speaks for itself.
I don’t think so. Declawed or not, no cat has a chance against a determined dog that’s bigger than they are, which most are. At best, they’ll give it a few scratches while it’s busy breaking their neck. Against larger foes, a cat’s best defense is always retreat, and declawed cats can do that as well as any others.
And yes, they can still climb trees just fine.
Not in my experience.
Julie
That is ridiculous. Are you actually trying to convince us that a declawed cat, upon encountering a cat with claws, will actually be KILLED by the other cat 99% of the time? Surely you do not expect anyone to believe such absurd nonsense?
Then erislover says:
So you’re opposed to spaying and neutering cats, I assume?
I wouldn’t have a cat declawed now unless it were absolutely necessary - and it might be; see below - but I’ve seen what declawed cats can do. Years ago my parents wouldn’t allow my cat Eleanor into the house unless declawed, so she was, but we couldn’t keep the poor girl inside the house. Every day she brought me back all sorts of goodies - birds, assorted rodents, occasionally a barely recognizable disembodied head. She didn’t have any trouble feeding herself without claws (and, hell, I proably could have made myself a meal every day with what she brought back but didn’t eat).
When I started college I took Eleanor with me, and I guess the change was a bit of a shock to her - she hasn’t tried to get out since. But she seems perfectly happy inside and plays quite well with my other cat Sophie.
It’s been interesting, though, since I moved in with my girlfriend and her cat Anastasia. Anastasia is mean; she hates me, my cats, and everyone except my girlfriend, who still has plenty of nasty scratches from the little hellion. We’re considering giving her something like valium to calm her down … but if it comes to declawing her, we won’t hesitate. I’d almost get her defanged if I could.
I’m astonished that anyone would think a cat better off outside - Eleanor was always terribly thin from all the worms she got, and occasionally she came home with scratches. She was impregnated before we could get her spayed (and it’s not like we were waiting to do it - she had to be out there getting kitty laid as soon as she was physically able). She hid herself outside during her labor and lost one of her litter of four even before she brought all the kittens back to our house. My other cat Catherine lost two teeth and a bit of her ear as a stray cat before we took her in. The outside is harsh.
RickJay, I don’t know that I’m against spaying and neutering. The justifications for that behavior have much larger implications like the spread of feline diseases and overpopulation problems. If we reach a point where thousands of cats aren’t killed in shelters all the time because of overpopulation, then yes, I would revise my view accordingly.
I have no problem with it. I have two cats, both of them de-clawed. They are happy indoor cats. One of them likes to go outside, but 5 minutes later she’s ready to go back in. I only let my cat in the backyard and I watch her to make sure she doesn’t go elsewhere.
Cats are safer indoors around here anyway, since outdoor cats will most likely get killed by a car.
Allowing your cat outdoors where it will kill birds, small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and insects is much more unethical than declawing an indoor cat IMO. Belling a cat will not save wildlife, even two bells around the collar won’t help much. The cat learns to move quietly despite the bell or bells and wild animals don’t know that the bell is supposed to be a warning. Your pet, if allowed outdoors, is basically a member of an invader species which is artificially supported because you feed it, vaccinate it, and give it refuge.
“…the University of Wisconsin’s Dr. Stanley Temple estimates that rural cats kill 39 million birds every year in Wisconsin alone!”
http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/rouge_river/cats.html
“At the Chintimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, we see the impact free-ranging cats have on local wildlife. During the spring and summer months, nearly 20 percent of all the songbirds we admit are cat-attack victims. Most of these birds die, as cat bites transmit Pasteurella bacteria, which is difficult to treat in small birds.”
http://www.proaxis.com/~cwrc/Writings/Article1.htm
Even if you think your cat only kills “pests” like mice and rats (it doesn’t, even a well-fed cat will kill birds), such killings reduce the food supply for predators indigenous to your area.
Of secondary concern to me is that your cat will most likely live longer if confined, but I suppose that’s an ethical concern as well.
If the idea that your cat will have a less stimulating life if not given the run of the neighbourhood out-weighs your concern for wildlife, realise that many cats have supposedly worthwhile lives as indoor cats, if the indoor environment is adjusted to their needs. We’re talking house cats, not tigers. You can construct a cat run, for instance, or build shelves where they can watch the birds they’d much rather be killing. How worthwhile any pet’s life can really be said to be is a question I’m not equipped to answer. I suppose keeping one is ethically much better than keeping a slave. Our cat seems to like us OK. Her only interest in us seems to revolve around our body temperature, willingness to stroke her, and the quantity and quality of her feed.