My view on feline declawing is that every feline owner should make her own decision. Declawing a feline is not inhumane. It is a reasonable choice for people who want to own a feline and nice furniture.
I don’t feel so poor for the pampered indoor cats that get declawed since I understand these cats are lucky to online in houses where they are loved.
Many cats are not so lucky.
In 2010, 446 impounded cats were killed in our three regional pounds found in Fargo (N.D.), West Fargo (N.D.) as well as Moorhead (Minn.), according to the pound stats reported by Adopt-A-Pet of Fargo-Moorhead.
I do not feel poor for cats that online in houses without their claws while so many cats are killed in pounds.
Josh as well as I got a new couch Friday, so now we are dealing with the concern most feline owners ask at some point:
Should we declaw our cats or not?
Josh is all for it, as well as I’m on the fence so we most likely will have Beamer as well as Scout declawed eventually.
I’ve written about the pros as well as cons of declawing a feline before, so I won’t repeat myself here.
Instead, I want to share my personal handle this problem since I do believe it is a personal option for each feline owner. I’m not telling you what to do. I’m just explaining my point of view as a feline owner who likes her cats extremely much.
Personally, I want to do all I can to teach my cats not to scratch the furniture. If nothing works, then I am 100 percent in favor of declawing them.
So right now we are mentor them they are not enabled on the couch at all (I know, I know. just hold off on the laughter a bit). Dogs are not enabled on the new couch, so the cats aren’t either.
It’s not just the actual scratching from cats that damages furniture. It’s years of cats “kneading” into the pillows with their claws as the get comfortable as well as relaxed. It’s years of jumping onto the arms as well as the back of the couch. It’s years of wrestling as well as playing on the couch.
So we’re trying a new concept: No cats allowed.
Our cats respond quite well to a voice correction – “Hey!” or “No!” We utilize that if they approach the couch, as well as we likewise have a water bottle nearby. We haven’t had to utilize it yet. The cats have lots of other seating choices such as an old chair, pet beds as well as a new, two-level scratching post. Their preferred area is Ace’s dog bed.
To keep my cats entertained, I’ve been making sure to play with them every day. We play chasing as well as pouncing games so they have less energy for scratching the couch. I’m likewise trying to rotate their scratching posts to keep things interesting, as well as to rotate their toys as well as randomly put treats as well as catnip on their appropriate scratching as well as sleeping places.
And obviously I’m keeping their nails clipped.
When we can’t supervise our cats, we put them in our laundry space (their catpartment).We’ve been doing this for months already since Beamer eats whatever in sight, as well as Scout … well, he poops on rugs ?
I truly don’t believe these attempts will stop them from scratching the couch, however I’ll feel much better if I provide them this chance.
It does assist that Scout as well as Beamer are 6 as well as 8 years old – not kitties – as well as they sleep for a great 19 hours per day.
Isn’t it inhumane to declaw a cat?
You have to choose what is right for you as well as your cats. There are always going to be people who tell you it’s cruel to declaw a cat. There are always going to be people who believe that declawing an indoor feline is just what you do. checked out up on the pros as well as cons of declawing a feline as well as discuss it with your cat’s vet.
It’s never made a whole great deal of sense to me exactly how some people can be so against declawing cats however so in favor of spaying as well as neutering cats.
People will utilize specific points to suggest against declawing, however then they will totally ignore those exact same points when it comes to spaying/neutering.
Here are the most typical examples:
Declawing a feline will cause the feline pain.
Yes, declawing a feline triggers pain, however so does spaying/neutering a cat. any type of surgical treatment will cause at least some amount of pain for an animal.
Declawing a feline is far less invasive than eliminating her ovaries as well as uterus, a procedure most feline owners do not believe twice about.
Declawing a feline is practical for the owner.
Of program it’s practical to own a feline that doesn’t ruin residential or commercial property with his claws. It’s likewise practical to own a sterilized feline that doesn’t spray everywhere or go into heat.
Beamer marked in the home right up up until the day he was neutered (poor bastard). He will likewise continue to scratch as long as he has his claws. He’s a cat!
Declawing a feline is not necessary.
Declawing a feline is not necessary, however either is sterilizing a cat.
Some people will suggest that spaying/neutering is necessary for controlling the feline population. Controlling the feline population is important, however sterilizing cats is not the only method to achieve this. feline owners can prevent unsterilized cats from breeding by keeping them inside your home as well as away from other unsterilized cats.
Others will suggest that spaying a feline is necessary since it reduces her danger of mammary gland tumors, ovarian cancer as well as uterine cancer. I’m not persuaded this is a genuine reason to spay every female cat.
Removing body parts such as the ovaries is going to get rid of the possibility of future cancer to those body parts. however just since a feline has ovaries does not mean she has a high danger of establishing ovarian cancer.
Removing a dog’s ovaries might really decrease her lifespan, according to research study from the Gerald P. Murphy cancer Foundation. as well as sterilization can contribute to specific cancers in dogs, according to the department of veterinary clinical sciences at Purdue University.
Ted Kerasote, author of “Merle’s Door,” has a book coming out in autumn of 2012 called “Why Dogs die Young,” as well as it addresses these extremely issues. I can’t wait to checked out it.
Pet owners requirement to look at the pros as well as cons of sterilizing their animals as well as declawing their cats as well as make their own decisions. These are personal choices. What is or isn’t necessary is debatable.
To declaw or not declaw?
Beamer as well as Scout destroyed one couch over time. They will likely ruin another.
I’m going to provide my cats a week or two with the above “behavior modification” plan as well as then re-visit the declawing issue. I have made up my mind that I am okay getting them declawed if they don’t leave the couch alone.
I like my cats extremely much. They have a great life.
Photo by Tawna Whitford
Photo by Tawna Whitford