I know that all of us in here agree that declawing is a terrible, terrible thing. Sorry if my message sounded harsh when almost everyone who will read it already knows & agrees with everything I said. The message wan’t directed at the people with this goal but at anyone else who may come across it.
I feel so strongly about this and that is the way my message came out. As I was writing that entry about it a power of emotion erupted in me which took me by force. I’m surprised just how much I felt as I wrote it.
Feb 21, 2007, 08:49AM PST | 0 comments
Declawing a cat means amputating their “fingers”. It’s so sad that people think it’s OK to have this done. I once knew someone who had had this done to his cat and he thought he was doing an ok thing. He really, really loved his cat. The guy said that his cat was an indoor cat & never needed to climb or fight and so “he didn’t need his claws”.
I feel like crying when I think of this, that people who LOVE THEIR CATS still sometimes have them declawed & don’t realise what they’re doing. Some cats get DEPRESSED for a very long time when they lose the upper part of their “fingers” & their claws. It can take a long, long time for them to stop feeling the pain. Then they spend their lives without the ability to grip. If you’ll notice, when your cat wants to clutch something he/she clasps it with the claws. And when a cat makes a jump which is difficult he/she often uses claws to prevent stumbling. Declawed cats can’t do any of these things.
And they can’t defend themselves if the need arises. Their instinct tells them to stand their ground and get ready to fight, but when the need is greatest all they have are soft, crippled pads so they are completely beaten down & victimised whether this is by another cat, a dog, a fox or whatever else.
There is so much more to say on this. IT IS ILLEGAL in many countries, and strongly discouraged in many others. Yet cats are still getting declawed. Why?
If you DON’T want the CLAWS then DON’T HAVE THE CAT. The claws are PART OF THE CAT & he/she NEEDS THEM.
Feb 21, 2007, 08:30AM PST | 7 cheers | 0 comments
