I've had kitties all my life. We never declawed them. This was not really a family policy in as much as I think it never really occurred to us and it was never really a problem with the kitties we had.
Kitties like to claw. This is not a behavioral problem. It's just a natural behavior of cats. As an adult I've had cats who have decimated my sofas and I definitely was unhappy about this, but I still felt even without having researched this that declawing was never an option no matter what. it just seemed barbaric.
This documentary was extremely informative and heartbreaking. I learned a lot about the reality of declawing and what it really means for the animal. The images of the big cats having difficulty walking is like a knife in the heart. It was a beautiful act of incredible kindness and empathy that this vet performed surgery on all of these animals to restore their sense of well being and dignity. Through the legal hearings and proceedings you hear both arguments; some say that declawing cats spares them from the shelter (death) and others say that declawing CAUSES them to end up in the shelter due to behavior problems (litter box aversion due to painful paws) and also biting. Perhaps as some have pointed out that the story is one sided. I've yet to see a documentary that presents both sides equally. Be that as it may; though both arguments make sense the bottom line is that the procedure is unnecessary and painful. If you're going to have an animal in your home you have to understand what that means and shouldn't surgically alter it to fit your needs.
I do hope this procedure becomes illegal in the U.S. and though plenty of people might be at risk of having torn up furniture they would be forced to find kinder alternatives to protecting an inanimate object.
Kitties like to claw. This is not a behavioral problem. It's just a natural behavior of cats. As an adult I've had cats who have decimated my sofas and I definitely was unhappy about this, but I still felt even without having researched this that declawing was never an option no matter what. it just seemed barbaric.
This documentary was extremely informative and heartbreaking. I learned a lot about the reality of declawing and what it really means for the animal. The images of the big cats having difficulty walking is like a knife in the heart. It was a beautiful act of incredible kindness and empathy that this vet performed surgery on all of these animals to restore their sense of well being and dignity. Through the legal hearings and proceedings you hear both arguments; some say that declawing cats spares them from the shelter (death) and others say that declawing CAUSES them to end up in the shelter due to behavior problems (litter box aversion due to painful paws) and also biting. Perhaps as some have pointed out that the story is one sided. I've yet to see a documentary that presents both sides equally. Be that as it may; though both arguments make sense the bottom line is that the procedure is unnecessary and painful. If you're going to have an animal in your home you have to understand what that means and shouldn't surgically alter it to fit your needs.
I do hope this procedure becomes illegal in the U.S. and though plenty of people might be at risk of having torn up furniture they would be forced to find kinder alternatives to protecting an inanimate object.