When I was a young teen in school I read and loved the book Rambling Rose
I remember it as a book that managed to be very funny even when it was moving.
Rose is a young, impoverished, under-educated, girl with a heart of gold who happens to be overwhelmingly attractive too. She joins a rather unusual (and for that time, unconventional) family as nanny/housekeeper.
Severl moments from the book stand out in my memory that are light-hearted. A particular episode had a significant impact on me that I want to talk about here.
The father (of the family that Rose stays with) in the book is presented as a forward thinking man, non-conformant to silly rules of society and with revolutionary ideas about raising his children. And yet, he decides on something unspeakably cruel for poor Rose, a girl who implicitly trusts his custody.
The rambling in the title refers to Rose’s healthy and strong sexual apetite that leads her to …err…ramble.
So the family doctor suggests a hysterectomy to “cure” her “nymphomania”, in her “best interest”.
The father agrees!
A man who is otherwise kind, forward thinking, and uncaring of the consequences of non-conformity, does not at this point in the book, rise above what society considered an acceptable practice.
Rose is saved by his wife’s intervention. She is furious when she learns of these plans and crushes them.
That society thinks a practice is acceptable can be such a powerful factor in blinding people’s views. We accept and follow certain practices because “everyone” does it.
Anyone who declaws a cat and thinks he or she is an animal lover is probably like the dad in this book. A person who does not think of him/herself as cruel and is misinformed. Someone who does not realise the enormous cruelty. Someone unfortunately too blinded by widespread acceptance of the procedure to question.
Declawing is not a kitty manicure. It is painful surgery. The cat’s anatomy is such that the claws are attached to its last paw joint. You are amputating the equivalent of kitty’s toes when you agree to declaw. Kitty cannot talk to tell you how painful it is. While it heals, kitty will still need to walk, obey its instincts to kick litter after it goes to the toilet. Despite that it hurts. IT HURTS. Please google declaw cat to learn how much. Or read the other entries here to learn.
Can anyone care enough for material things like furniture to inflict this on poor kitty?
There are alternatives if furniture means that much. Scratch posts and training kitty to use them. Things called soft paws that sheath the claws.
If the worry is being scratched by kitty, dont do things that make kitty scratch. They are probably things kitty does not like being done to her/him. Or kitty is playing that way because of her/his instincts.
Declawing is illegal in several countries, especially in Europe, because it is such an inhumane procedure.
All remaining countries of the world – wake up. Declare declawing illegal.
