Declawing is Wrong. Let’s make that clear.
Place for Cats has a ‘No Declawing‘ clause in its adoption contracts – ensuring that no cat adopted from the foster network is ever forced to undergo this terrible procedure.
“Declawing is a barbaric practice that more often than not is done for the sake of convenience rather than necessity”
New Jersey Ammemblyman Troy Singleton.
Will New Jersey be the first state to legislate against declawing? This is a big question for cat lovers. The world watches the USA to see how this develops as, outside the USA, declawing is either unheard of, or it is illegal.
Declawing is Wrong
Declawing is for people who do not want to invest time in their pets. This brutal, invasive and painful ‘surgery’ is done to merely to save a sofa, or prevent damage to property.
Instead of a pet owner working with their veterinary practice to ensure a cat knows how to play properly, or to amend possible health issues, a cat’s paws are chopped off at the first joint. The same procedure is used on ‘big cats’ like lions and tigers.
WHY DECLAWING IS WRONG
- Declawing is amputation; it is not merely the removal of the claws.
- To declaw a cat, the veterinarian cuts off the last knuckles of a cat’s paw – cutting through bone, tendons, skin and nerves. In a person, it is equivalent to amputating each finger or toe at the last joint.
- This surgery can be a very painful procedure with associated health risks and complications such as infection. The mental effects on the can can be imagined. Permanent lameness, pain or arthritis can result.
What would Declawing mean for a Human being?
Onychetomy (the medical ‘name’ for declawing, in a human would mean taking away the last joint of every human finger, including the finger nail. Declawed cats can never scratch an itch, have fun climbing a cat tree, or roam their catio in comfort.
We can only hope that this becomes a sweeping trend across the USA. Mr Singleton ha written eloquently against declawing here, this man means business.
“The New York State Veterinary Medical Society and New York State Association of Veterinary Technicians fought hard against the bills, claiming declawing keeps cats out of shelters. But the facts don’t support it. Biting and litter box avoidance—often the results of declawing—are the top reasons cats are surrendered, not claws.”
Place for Cats Proposed Video
Place for Cats plans to produce an anti-declawing VIDEO, for which we have the screenplay and veterinarians lined up to speak out against the paw tip mutilation.
Meanwhile if you are interested in reading an article against the practice that was written by our director, Mia Lancaster, and published in Place For Cats’ printed newsletter MEOW BEAT, download the Pdf here.
Recommended reference links:- one from a veterinary asssistant’s perspective, and one from City the Kitty, who fights in against declawing. We also recommend The Paw Project for further reading.
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Marjorie
Place for Cats Blogger
