Why is the declawing of cats still legal in the USA?

Question

I really cannot get my head around this.

Of course, most of you across the pond are against it and wish it were illegal, I see alot of you everyday telling people not to declaw their cats. The thing is though, we shouldn't have to tell people not to declaw their cats - it's as irresponsible and cruel as feeding your cat rat poison. Yet it is still kept legal - and people actually do it to their poor animals!

It does not benefit the cat in any which way, and it only benefits owners of cats for petty, stupid, immoral, selfish and arrogant reasons - and even then whatever their stupid reason is, declawing doesn't help alot. (If anyone needs me to explain why all this is, and really can't see the selfishness of it, then I sure do hope you never own a cat)

It just doesn't make sense to me, at all, to keep it legal. I have seen an overflow of intelligent, kind and considerate cat users from the USA, many of whom have helped me with my own cat problems considerably. It's common knowledge that declawing is cruel, and you're extremely far from a 'backwards country' in general anyway - so why is the USA still humouring the horrible and inconsiderate owners, do you think?

Are there any official reasons why declawing is still legal for you guys over there? Is this something that many loving owners or organisations are actively rallying against over where you are at the moment?

Answer 1

i live in australia and i hadnt even heard of this

IF A PERSON IS GOING TO BUY AN ANIMALS WHY THE **** ARE THEY GOING TO MUTATE IT TO THEIR OWN SELFISH NEEDS!.

omg the people that declaw dont want a pet or animal they want a stuffed toy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! which they are cheaper, cleaner and dont do anything that might be NATURAL

Answer 2

it's legal?? i never thought it would be legal in the US.

i mean where i live people have little respect for animals, but there are still people talking against the declawing cats. It is cruel!

there's another thing... maybe people don't know how traumatizing declawing is for cats. When i first heard of the concept i was really excited but later i found out about the consequences... i thought the cat would be happy nd so would everyone else.

sadly, where i live, nobody usually even says a word if a cat is even killed... it's just sad.  

Answer 3

The only time my cats are declawed is when they don't use their scratching post and decide to reek havok on everything else in the house (after of course trying other method to deter the naughty kitty). It should only be used as a last resort.

Answer 4

Normal people just buy a scratching post.

Randolph, that's nonsense. If animals were property in that sense, there would be no grounds for intervention and prosecution for cruelty.

If it can be shown that de-clawing impedes a cat's normal behaviour, and I believe it does, then it can be considered cruelty. Perhaps no-one has bothered to make the challenge?

Answer 5

I'm in the UK and thought de clawing a cat meant to cut its claw's short! I wondered why all the americans seemed to get so angry when people wre snipping their pets claws (i was thinking i know they cant climb the curtains so well and defend themselves so well, but its not THAT bad is it?!)

then somebody explained what declawing was in the USA and i was shocked i cannot believe it is done at all!

I have my older cats claws tips removed frequently now to stop him digging into our knee's, but the thought of this DE CLAWING procedure seems unreal

Answer 6

Cats are not entities that can enjoy legal rights. Animals are strictly considered property in the common law countries.

Therefore, unless state lawmakers pass a statute the prohibits the practice, you can do whatever the STATUTE (hear! hear!, Pyronian or whatever your name is) doesn't prohibit, and what the jurisprudence in the interpretation of the statute considers Ok.

ADDENDUM

The locker room lawyers (Pyronnian or whatever the heck he calls himself, Dawacky and whoever else) that've posted underneath  appear to have legal educations gleaned from the back of their cereal boxes. So, just to help them understand it, I will elaborate:

There are several types of legal property (intellectual property, personal property and real property for instance). If you fail to understand the difference between these main categories of property, I'm sorry to say, you're lost already.

Now, animals are considered a type of personal property. Need proof? Then by all means, simply can go into the Westlaw legal service, and use the WestKey directory to check it out yourself. In fact, I'll save you the trouble of having to navigate that complex database - go to Key 28, subKey k1.5(3).

It's available online to lawyers and people who have a subscription that may need access to caselaw. Alternatively, it's available for free at your local law library. That is my source of legal information.  

Now, I didn't make the law. I'm just telling you want it is.

Dumbasses who want to shoot the messenger when the message is not one they like to hear, are just plain ignorant.

If you want to change the law, call a lawmaker. I've just merely answered the person's question. I have nothing whatever to do with the fact that the law is the way it is.

Answer 7

You compare declawing a cat to feeding it poison? Really? Poison will kill a cat but declawing it merely alters it. It's still legal because people have CHOICE how they live their lives. Declawing doesn't make an indoor cat aggressive at all. AT least none of the indoor cats I have ever come in contact with in my ENTIRE life. The power of free-thinking. Maybe you've never heard of it. I seriously hope someone as close-minded and dramatic as you doesn't have animals. YIKES- I feel sorry for them. But here's my questions to you, whatever-your-name-is: You take such a stand and talk like you know declawing should be illegal- are you a Vet? Do you know exactly what goes into the surgery procedure? Did cats all over the world unite and tell you they wanted you to be their spokesperson? I didn't think so. I can't stand people that have nothing better to do with their time than humanize their pets. No I don't know what it's like to be declawed, but neither do any of you. It's an owners choice, deal with it. Go feed yourself some poison.

Answer 8

I don't really like too many laws, and to me that's just stacking one more thing we can't do up on the table. I'd rather have the choice.

Answer 9

Animal rights in the US are very...loose. There's BSL, but there are still places where you can own breeds like Pit Bulls, where they are banned over there.

As far as animal "altering" goes, it goes many ways. Declawing cats is legal over here, which is just plain cruel, in my opinion, but over there docking tails (on dogs) is illegal, which is kind of silly. There *are* some breeds that docking benefits.

Basically, the government over here isnt going to change the law--they don't care. What with the housing market, gas prices, and elections every four years to worry about--why would they? And frankly, our Congress simply could care less about trivial matters like that. That's why they dont fix it.

The reason it is still done is probably along the same lines vets reccommend Science Diet. The vets want the income, and probably dont think about it so much. And the owners dont want to educate themselves--they'd rather save their sofa than buy a scratching post.

Answer 10

Well, it's like cropping ears and docking tails on dogs too isn't it. Pointless, only for the owner's selfish desires in most cases (dogs tails are SOMETIMES docked for their own safety or because of repeated injury). A lot of owners who think they have the right to do this are shallow and really don't love the animal. They might "love" it in that it is cuddly and it is cute, and has silky fur, and no claws, but not in the way that someone who truely cares about the well-being and happiness of the cat.

It seems there are a few people in America who are like this unfortunately. There are plenty of ways to file down the nails to prevent scratching etc if you are showing your cat and I personally think it is cruel to make a cat stay inside all its life since  cats are born to stalk and run and climb and SCRATCH!! But lifestyles have changed and as long as the cat has an outlet for these things that's acceptable.

As soon as these cruel acts are outlawed the better. And animals are NOT treated as property that is utter codswallop! Laws have changed, and the lives of animals are actually valued in the laws as harsher and harsher penalties are being layed for cruelty and neglect, not just of domestic pets but of livestock and wild animals too.

The property thing doesn't really make sense, unless it is a rental you don't charge someone for breaking their own t.v or breaking the dinner set or even burning their own house down, but you can if they break/abuse their own dog. You can if they also abuse their own child. So that means the animal is treated as a life not property. So there.

Gees Becca, you hit a nerve there, closed minded!! Have you even TRIED imagining what it is like for a cat to be declawed? A cat's claws are one of its biggest prides. And you might say "but but they need to do this so that they can be handled for shows" and what is a show for? the cat or the owner? hmmm. And if you can't let your cat out to naturally strip its claws or give it a scratching post inside then DON"T GET A CAT. get a stuffed animal instead.

Choices, choices, choices. There are rarely many choices to make if you think about it. You either choose between what is legal and what is not, what will benifit you, what won't and what will ethically be right or not. You have less freedom than you think.

Answer 11

US person here. I'll make it short and sweet. Our legislation here is not animal friendly. Concern for the well being of pets in the US is overshadowed by concern for convenience and the "right to be fee to choose". Unfortunately pets here are left to suffer because of this lack of concern.  

Answer 12

That's a good question. I'd like to know that myself. It's a terribly inhumane thing to do to a cat. It's not just a simple trimming of the nails. It's amputation, and takes away their ability to defend themselves, and even for indoor cats it makes them terribly aggressive. I've owned six cats in my lifetime, and I would rather get my top knuckles removed before I would ever think of declawing them. It's mutilation, and not worth a few scratches in the furniture. If you can't deal with that, you have no business owning a cat in the first place. That's my opinion on the matter.

<edit> Sorry, I didn't address your actual question. The only real reason for it is that snotty, shallow people want to own a living toy, but still keep their furniture in tact. That's about it. I personally think it amounts to cruelty, but what do I know?