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Question for the Cat Slaves here. Are your cats declawed? If not, do you trim their claws?

HippieChick58 9 Mar 3
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8

2 I have now have all their claws. Would never declaw a cat and don't trim.

8

I consider declawing to be cruelty. I've never trimmed a cat's claws as my cats have always been able to go out, but I can see it might be necessary for indoor cats.

Jnei Level 8 Mar 3, 2018

My old girl still goes outside but is now too old to walk sufficiently to stop the sharp needle claws from growing too long and the others curling back on themselves to cut into the pads.

@FrayedBear poor old puss. I had one like that - he was always playing and climbing trees, it was sad to see how he changed in the last couple of years.

7

As far as I'm concerned declawing is animal abuse. When you declaw, you're essentially amputating the first digit of their hands/feet.

I watched this documentary of Netflix, and will never again even consider doing it. [pawprojectmovie.com]

7

I’ll have you know I’m no slave. That being said, no. Sox would rip my face off if I tried to trim his claws.

LOL!! You may think you're not his slave, I'm sure he thinks otherwise. Dogs have owners, cats have staff.

7

No, my cat is not declawed. Yes, we do trim her claws. We also use cardboard scratching pads sprinkled with catnip to distract her from the furniture. It generally works.

6

Would never declaw a cat, that is what scratching posts are for, have had hundreds of cats, never had an issue.

6

My cat is not de-clawed; my furniture is clawed.

6

I would never declaw a cat. Cats need their claws to defend themselves against stray dogs and to climb trees.

6

NO my Zeus is not declawed-don't trim either-totally indoor cat

6

Two 14 year old cats. They are not declawed. I did not think that was even a thing anymore. Most vets I have been to wouldn't do it if I asked them to. They stay indoors as cats have been shown to be massively destructive when out in the world.

6

De-clawing cats is like removing their fingers. Don't do it.

5

I've been owned by cats for decades and would NEVER declaw a cat!! I think it is cruel and unnecessary. I have cat scratchers for them to use. I've never trimmed their nails, as I think they do a pretty good job of keeping their nails "done" themselves. People who declaw are horrid.

5

My Sophie is front declawed, and it was done against my wishes. But she's safe and has always been an indoor kitty. I will never allow one of my cats to be declawed again.

5

I trim their claws because I was a groomer. Declawing is inhumane.

I only trim because my Nyxon has a habit of velcroing herself to the carpet, bedspread, couch, curtains etc and getting stuck because she sharpens them to where they can't release

@LadyAlyxandrea Sacha does that. When he gets his claw stuck in something I tap his foot and say "stuck". He now waits for me to unhook it. He's just gone out for his crepuscular peregrinations.

Edited two minutes later: Now he's back in. Either there's nothing much happening out there in the ifdawn* or he just needed a pee.

*See "A voyage to Arcturus" by David Lindsey.

5

No and no.

4

Never declaw your cat. Mine is an indoor cat, BUT if he ever got out he would be defenseless in many ways. He couldn't climb a tree if a dog chased him. In a fight between 1 medium sized dog and a cat the cat almost always wins. BECAUSE of her claws. Usually a swipe of a claw across a dog's nose sends him running. The cat also might not climb in a place to keep warm if he gets out by accident in winter. They evolved them for many good reasons.

4

I wouldn't do that to my cat. He's a CAT FFS. He knows what "No claws" means and he's (except when he forgets) pretty good at not using his claws. He looks after himself and he has only hit me twice (in three years). Each time he got an immediate slap on the arse.

Only problem I have is when he decides I should get up. He does know "later", "sod off" "not now" and "fuck the fuck off" but he still keeps on until I give in.

He's looking at me right now. He knows what I'm saying.

3

horrible--how would you like your fingernails jerked out? If you don't want to deal with the side issues of pets, then don't get them. It's abusive

Actually, it's more like cutting off your fingers.

either is barbaric

2

When my little brother died, everyone looked at me to adopt his cat, Bundy. She was about 3 years old when I got her, and she had not been declawed. I spent a fortune on scratching posts and even bought a gate to keep her out of my living room. I also attempted to trim her nails ((epic fail) to prevent her from ruining my furniture and beating up on my son’s declawed cat. She choose the furniture after all. She took my leather couch and loveseat down to the wood frame. I found myself debating giving her away but really liked her too much to do that.
I ended up having her declawed after much internal debate. I found a vet that did such a good job that Bundy came home after surgery and acted like nothing happened. In fact she stil thinks she has claws because she still attack’s my son’s cat by swiping at him. I think he’s figuring it out though cause he stands his ground against her now. I never let either of my cats outside, as cats are much safer kept indoors and since I also have bird feeders in my backyard, didn’t want to have the birds served up on a buffet.

I learned how to be with cats and provide a good home to them, whereby they use a scratching post or tree outside. There are many reasons cats need to do it and no reason to resort to amputating their digits that they need to walk on. Declawing is such a barbaric and senseless torture for the sake of vanity that I can't bring myself to not block you from my life forever, starting right here right now. I hope I never run into you again and if we do meet, please don't tell me who you are and remind me about this or I may do something illegal that you won't understand except that you'll feel how your cats felt, save for the deep emotional damage that comes from being physically harmed by someone you put all your trust and security in only to have it debased and betrayed to the core. You won't understand this but what you did (and rationalized) was the worst thing you could do to an animal, especially a companion short of killing it for no reason.

2

And I don't like this thing about "indoor cats". Cats are hunters. They need to travel their world like we do. Mine has a cat door and can come and go to survey his territory as he pleases. Mostly, in these weather conditions, he doesn't. He was my neighbours' cat but left them when they had their second baby. He chose me. I try to remind him of that sometimes.

He has only, ever brought three mice and one bird home in three years. Pathetic! I think he knows what "mouse" and "pidgeon" mean but he only huffs. Seriously, he huffs.

He is a blue-eyed Persian cross and is very intellient. He has a wide range of vocalisations which might surprise you. Ofc I don't know what he is going on about most of the time.

Now where has he gone?

Statistics state that indoor cats live twice as long as outdoor cats. My cats have always been indoor. They were skinny, sick ferals when I trapped them, had them "fixed", and kept them. They are now happy and healthy. They have a climbing tree that looks out the window, which I keep open for them, and are happy. They could be happier out of doors, but they could also be dead or sick because of it.

I heard that cats bring you mice and birds because they think you are too incompetent to hunt for yourself and will starve if they don't do it for you. Another reason might be that they want to tell you they are working hard so you won't get rid of them. It's probably the first one.

2

One is declawed on the front paws by a previous owner, the other is not. I would prefer not to declaw unless there was a very good reason. The declawed cat is the smaller of the two and is a really effective hunter, unfortunately. As for clawing the furnishings, I simply taught them not to, and provide a scratching "thing" for them and they can go out when they want.

I suspect that the reason my Elvira left my neighbor and came to live with me, was that my neighbor had her declawed.....and I treat Elvira like a person!

2

Last December I had let some of my old girls become so thick that I was worried about cutting into the interior. So whilst she was under the anaesthetic I had the veterinary clinic trim them. Thanks @HippieChick58 I need to recheck.

2

Declawed. But far from defenselss. Declawed front paws only.

2

My ginger tabby is the first cat I've had that is not declawed. The new baby is also not declawed. They do not go outside, though the baby wants to. This morning I wrestled both of them down to trim their claws. I try to do it every other week, and in the evening. I've been negligent, and they've been rather destructive. This morning seemed like the best time to do it, but they were squirmier and full of energy. In the evenings they seem to be more relaxed and calmer (more tired) The robovac was also running this morning which I'm sure also added to their stress. Lessons learned for next time. They're over it now, had their breakfasts and taking their morning naps.

And your forearms shredded?

I used to have to trim my ferrets' claws. Holding a cat that doesn't want to be held is bad enough; holding a ferret that doesn't want to be held is like trying to hold a highly intelligent liquid.

@FrayedBear No, we did good. They were on my lap and we were still in bed. I cover them with my quilt when I do the front feet. And I talk and sing to them, it seems to help keep them calmer. I tell them that its a rule for living with me that we gotta trim up the claws from time to time. No scratches for me today.

@Jnei OMG! that is such a good word picture!!

1

Just trimmed them yesterday. It's mostly easy for me. One has less patience than the other. I have to do it in bright daylight and wearing clothes that will go straight to the hamper. I get covered in hair when I trim their claws.

Even though I understand the benefits for the humans, I would never declaw a cat. I believe it is inhumane. I would adopt a declawed cat.

I took in a declawed white cat who was also deaf. That was quite the learning curve to understand his world, but I did, and I wish I could make people understand how damaging, unnecessary and senseless declawing is.

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