Inhumane. Removing part of their digits for our convenience? We are a sick species.

if they are strictly house pets not too bad but if the cat is out at all you've stripped it of any defence system.

Inhumane. I do put up with a lot though from Monty the slightly disturbed cat though ...

My opinion is that it is definitely inhumane.

It is completely inhumane. This causes the animal discomfort. I have read literature on this topic that was provided by the local animal shelter.

I myself would not get my cats declawed, but as long as its only the front claws removed and they have at least their back claws to somewhat defend themselves if they were ever to get out. Its better then them getting euthanised because the cat was clawing furniture!!!

I was told that it is like having the ends of your fingers cut off at the last knuckle, I did not know this until all of mine were done.....but all of my cats I had declawed and fixed. After the first week or so they see to get on fine. It is amazing how they use their paws like hands...but when they get in to tiffs no one gets wounded...they are fun to play with and I don't have to worry about my furniture....I only had their front paws declawed so they can get up a tree to get away from danger when they get out....so in some ways it is a selfish thing to do but in others it is best when you have a couple....

Generally bad. If you need to alter an animal for your convenience, you probably should look into a different animal altogether. If it's an animal you *already* own, and your new landlord is a cat-hater or whatever change in circumstances, I'd prefer you go through other options- is it a laid back cat that would let you trim its nails? Would soft-paws fit your landlord's guidelines? Does your mom/lover/sister who lives nearby want a cat and not need to declaw, where it could be "your" cat in their house? There's also, love's parents have a cat with no back claws *or* front claws. She was already declawed front when they got her, but she had some sort of skin problem on the back of her neck that she swas scratching raw, scratching till it bled and then some. the medication they were giving her was really more sedating her than helping the itching, and bandaging wasn't working. Finally, they just said, well, it can't hurt worse than anything else, and declawed her back legs so she couldn't scratch it anymore. It healed. The cat's a very twitchy cat, and I don't know if that comes from having no self-defense-- but she's not scratching herself literally to death. My point, i guess, is that I can see why you might have reasons for doing it with a cat that you already own, a change of circumstances or some medical reason, although I'd hope you'd go through any possible alternatives. But getting a cat that you intend to declaw is pretty irresponsbile, it seems to me.

inhumane, get them a scratching post and they pretty much will leave other things alone.

I hear it's illegal in California now. At least that's what the vet told me. I wasn't going to do it and I forgot why I even mentioned it. My cat is an outside cat, so she needs to be able to defend herself. I wouldn't do it, even if she was an indoor cat. Seems inhumane to me. Especially when you can just clip them. I have a friend that clips her cats nails every month or so and it has the same exact effect.

Along with not being able to defend itself, I read this about declawing: "a cat uses their claws to stretch. If they are de-clawed they cannot do this properly and will result in problems, including arthritis of the spine, hips, and feet. You may also have litter box problems. A cat is used to 'scratching' to cover it's litter and with no claws will have no reason to do so. The litter box will no longer seem necessary to a cat".

It's like having the ends of your fingers cut off to the first knuckle. It's not just a nail job. Many of the cats are extra sensitive on their feet and even wave their paws in the air. Some can't use cat litter because it's too painful for them. It's cruel. I wish it weren't so as we've got some terrible scratchers to live with. They are clawing the doorposts unless I apply double sided tape there and love clawing up the furniture. I clip and file and have thought about getting Softpaws but with 4 cats that gets expensive. But I hate them ruining so many things. It's a brand new house and we just put up the trim and some need replacing already. But we've left a few bad ones so they will use them and not new ones. Cat scratching posts work well for some areas. But I will let them shred my things before I ever declaw.

Inhumane

inhumane. totally inhumane.

It's silly. If a little girl scratched her sister, would the solution be to cut her fingers off at the first knuckle so she could never scratch again? Obviously the answer is to teach the girl not to scratch. Cats are moody but can be controlled very easily with simple techniques, available in book and online form. If a cat has a scratching post he learns to like, he will not destroy the furniture. Read a book, don't chop off your kitties fingers.

Is this a serious question? Cat claws are destructive. If you live in a nice house with things you care about the claws have to go.

To save personal belongings from the need of the cat to sharpen it's claws. You can trim a cats claws. But that just makes then want to sharpen them more. I had my cat Aniken's front claws removed and he still goes out side. He has plenty left in the back to defend himself if needed.

Lets see, so they dont tear up your furniture and scratch the crapp out of you or your kids.

It may seem inhumane until you come home from somewhere one night to the bloody stump of a claw stuck in the couch, that the cat chewed through to get away when the nail was stuck.

Cause cats like messing things up. However, it is wrong and there is a place in hell for them. Right next to people who debark dogs. ;)

I had one cat declawed years ago, to save my furniture, etc, and when I saw how much pain he was in I vowed to never do that again. Maybe I'll have nice furniture one day when I no longer have cats, but for now, I'd rather have my cats.

They do it because they want to save their couch or drapes, walls. But it is cruel, it's amputation including the first knuckle. And some cats never get used to walking normal again, or don't like the feel of carpet or litter. I've seen some cats just flex their empty feet and pads like they are extending their claws.

i dunno, cant you just cut their claws? instead of taking them off?

People do it beause they want to save their furniture and carpets, but it is inhumane. I once read an article about how the cats respond immediately after it's done and it's horrible, those poor kitties are in a lot of pain. Some, but not all, vets today will refuse to perform the operation.

no idea...it leaves them defenseless...terrible!

Because they would rather take the easy way out rather than train the cat to use a scratching post and not the furniture and carpet. Declawing is illegal in the EU and Japan.

They think it will save their drapes and couch.It's amputation and I think it is inhumane.I have two indoor cats that both have all their claws.When they were kittens,they were corrected with a "No" if they tried to use the arm of the couch.They use their scratching post and are praised when they do.They have never caused any damage.We do trim their nails,so that probably helps.