DEBATE? DEBATE? DEBATE?

Question

A lot of people are against de-clawing of cats and it is illegal in some places. Is it any different than getting a dogs tail docked or ears cut? and why you think so? Best answer get 10 points.

Answer 1

once you have it done you cant let it out it has no way to protect his self but if you do i would only do the front if they have a itch they cant scratch tie your hands down and see how bad it would be if you had an itch and couldnt scratch... so i would only do the front but i have seen them do all four but make sure hes inside always and get special kitty liter for the first couple of months so his pads dont get infected

Answer 2

I don't have a big problem with either, to be honest.

On my family's last cat, we let him keep his claws until he started destroying the carpet on the stairs.  I think cats are declawed to stop any destructive behaviour.  If the owners can live with it, I say keep their claws.

As for tail docking/ear cropping.  I don't have a strong opinion either way.  For once.

Answer 3

I think it's different than dogs getting their tails docked because the claws are really the cat's only means of defense. I don't get my cat's de-clawed for that very reason. We live out in the country and our cats need their claws to fight and catch rodents for us! Our biggest cat got into a fight with a snake a few days ago and if he didn't have his claws, no telling what wouldv'e happened to him!

Answer 4

unfortunately, when my dog was a baby he was born with a short tail or the end was taken off for some health reason. cutting off the tail can serve a good purpose, but cutting of ears or declawing doesnt. people cut dog ears because they like the way it looks which is ridicolous.  anyways.  de-clawing cats is harsh because they go from nail to knuckle, which is like yanking out your nail and then cutting off your finger to the first knuckle.  they need those claws to feel safe and if they dont feel safe without their claws, they will defend themselves more than neccessary by using teeth. some people do it, but i do not see what is so horrible about trimming your cats nails??  it only takes as little as 5 minutes to be done with all of the paws.

Answer 5

If your cat is going to be an indoor cat then it doesn't really need its claws. Some cats will be destructive indoors with claws (climb walls, tear apart furniture, climb up you, scratch you, etc.). I have had 3 cats growing up and all of them have been declawed. Now, if you're going to have the cat be an outdoor cat then it needs its claws. I wouldn't feel bad about it though. If I got a cat, the claws would be coming out. . .cruel or not.

Answer 6

Oh my gosh. I never new this happened.

That's just cruel. Cats need claws to survive in the outdoors.

I think it's about time people started treating animals better.

Do vets do this procedure? I'd be extremely surprised if they do.

Answer 7

well i dont think its the same. i had a cat an we got it de clawed because it would scratch us and furniture. but we put it outside because it was a male and he sprayed on everything. and since he didnt have claws he couldnt depend himself and the other cats beat him up pretty bad and he ended up dying. so claws are good for them to keep because its the way of protecting them self. and tails and ears arent.

Answer 8

I don't like declawing, but as some of the other posters stated, dogs get tails docked for safety reasons if they are working breeds. In the hospital I work at, we have had to dock a few non working great danes, simply due to their tails being so heavy and being hit against walls and other hard objects when they wagged them. The owner of the danes tried what he could to keep the tails intact, but in the end they kept breaking the tails and bleeding so much that surgery to remove them was the humane option.

Answer 9

There were actually some safety reasons for docking some working dogs tails but mostly the need has been lost when the dogs are no longer "working". I have never understood the need for ear cropping but if it is something more than cosmetic, I can understand that too.

IMHO there is absolutely no good reason for de-clawing a cat since it causes them to stop using litter boxes, become biters and takes away an important part of their defenses. Also takes away rather than enhances their ability to "work" i.e. catch mice.  

Answer 10

I think the biggest difference is that a cat gets declawed later in life than a dog gets it's tail docked for ears cropped.

They aren't really comparable because of that.

Answer 11

Out of the 3 only tail docking serves a purpose in my opinion. Ear cropping is purely cosmetic and there is no real reason to de-claw a cat IMO. Tail docking can prevent injury in working dogs so for this purpose I think it's perfectly acceptable.

Answer 12

I work at an animal clinic, and one of the vets shared his view on declawing:

  "Getting a declaw is like having the first two segments of your fingers cut off...I wouldn't mind if it meant I had food and a place to live for the rest of my life."

  I thought that was funny in a terrible sort of way.  I think declawing is a tad bit more different that docking and cropping ears.  Sometimes a declaw is necessary (a new child in the house, health problems).  We had a very old homeless cat declawed once so it could live in a nursing home.  On the other hand, cropping ears is just for show purposes- it benefits only the owner.  Most of the people that bring their pups in to have ear crops are just trying to make themselves "badass". I think it's pretty awful for the dog, to endure the initial pain and the post-op bandaging.  Docking can prove to be useful in some situations, but it is still up there with the ear cropping.

Also, with cats not being able to defend themselves, the vet talks to the owner and explains that the cat will never be able to roam outside after the surgery (common sense!).  I myself don't have my cats declawed, but I keep them indoors.  I hate it when people preach about declawing but let their cats run free outside! They can get hit by cars, attacked by people or dogs, and get in fights and come home with nasty wounds and abscesses.

Answer 13

Unlike declawing cats, cropping a dog's ears and docking his tail is for the dog's safety when working.  It would be cruel not to do so.  Furthermore, the puppy experiences little to no pain as a result of the procedure.  A companion dog who is neither shown nor works, has no need for either alteration.