Los Angeles moves to ban declawing of cats

[Elmore Furth]

The Los Angeles City Council has given preliminary approval to an ordinance that would ban the declawing of cats.

Are they crazy?





http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iygMobQg87-nZ6KW1WB-8rNxllrwD9BQCDA02

[Merlot]

1. Declawing cats is CRUEL and inhumane

it's done for the benefit of the human with no regard for the feline.

The only one's who are crazy are the ones who do this or oppose it.

[Elmore Furth]

3. OK, how many cats with claws do you have?

I have to house cats. I couldn't keep my curtains, molding or furniture with them having free reign of the house.

So you don't believe in circumcision either? Dirty, dirty, dirty.

[Merlot]

5. 3 cats all with claws. It was very easy to train them to use the scratching

post. Anyone who has a cat in their home owes it to themselves and their furniture to have scratching posts, one in each room.

And they're all fixed, too.

[Le Taz Hot]

7. I have 7.

If you don't want pets scratching your furniture, get a fish!

[Juneboarder]

8. I have to agree with the majority here...

Please do the research Elmore, and I know you too will find this act inhumane. Once a cat has been declawed, it takes away their pride and security. Their claws are their protection in nature and when you remove the claws it helps the cat to develop anxiety and your cat will never act the same. I have two cats, brother and sister, and both have their claws. I keep a kitty castly in my bedroom for them and have two other scratching posts throughout he house for them to indluge in... The household couldn't be happier :)

[toadzilla]

21. my cat has her claws, i do keep them trimmed though.

[kestrel91316]

13. Tired old propaganda FAIL.

The cats I have owned who were declawed (some of whom I did myself, some came that way) were all very happy and well-adjusted, and they LOVED pretending to rip the furniture and I loved NOT having to discourage it.

Stories of chronic pain and lameness and behavior problems in cats are mostly BS. And the behavior problems such as aggression usually predate the declaw. Properly performed declaws do NOT cause lifelong problems. This is scientific fact, determined through research studies published in respected, refereed journals.

[Kerrytravelers]

16. The ASPCA and Humane Society disagree with your position.

Cats have a natural need to scratch. To take that ability away is just mean. A simplty scratching post fulfuills that need. If one can't be bothered to have a simple scratching post, then a cat isn't the right pet for them.

In fact, the ASPCA classifies declawing as cruelty.

http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/cruelty-glossary.html

Declawing: The act of surgically amputating the entire distal phalanx, or end bone, of an animal's toes. The surgery is non-reversible, and the animal suffers significant pain during recovery. Declawing has been outlawed in many countries in Europe.

The Humane Society has some thoughts regarding declawing:
http://www.humanesociety.org/search/search.jsp?query=declawing

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/facts/declawing.html

...Yet declawing is almost never necessary, and owners should not consider it a routine prevention for destructive scratching. Declawing can actually lead to an entirely different set of behavior problems that may be worse than shredding the couch.

... Medical drawbacks to declawing include pain, infection and tissue necrosis (tissue death), lameness, and back pain. Removing claws changes the way a cat's foot meets the ground and can cause pain similar to wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes. There can also be a regrowth of improperly removed claws, nerve damage, and bone spurs.

After a cat is declawed, she can experience litter box problems. Scratching in the litter box after surgery could be painful, leading the cat to associate the box with pain and avoid it. Some cats may become biters because they no longer have their claws for defense.

This article is about general surgeries that are unnecessary for animals.

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2009/07/hsvma_applauds_banfield_for_stopping_canine_cosmetic_surgeries_073009.html

The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association congratulates Banfield, The Pet Hospital®, for making a corporate decision to stop performing ear cropping, tail docking and devocalization procedures at its 745 hospitals throughout the United States. The company will still perform these surgeries when deemed medically necessary.

...HSVMA has an ongoing campaign against cosmetic and convenience surgeries. The campaign is designed to provide the veterinary profession with tools to educate the public and offer alternatives to these unnecessary and potentially harmful procedures. HSVMA is actively supporting a bill in the Massachusetts legislature (H.B. 344), which would ban convenience devocalization of dogs and cats.

These organizations have no monetary incentive to push or not push declawing. They are there to simply advocate the welfare of animals.

[ailsagirl]

23. It absolutely is

[proud patriot]

2. they actually remove the whole first knuckle of each digit

I declawed a cat once when my son was a baby.

I can't see myself ever doing that again .

[Booster]

4. I declawed one of my cats once and vowed I'd never do it again.

That particular cat is gone now but I have 4 and no problem at all with them clawing. They have a couple of cat trees and they use them.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. I see the furniture of a human.

My kitty just got a brand new 'cat tree' which is a multilevel sleep/scratch play zone. The moment it came in the door, she began to scratch the sisal provided for that use, preferred by cats. She has not even looked at the human furniture since then. So I have to wonder if your cats have been given any alternatives? All you have to do is give them a better choice, and they will take it.
To declaw an animal because you are too foolish or cheap to provide for that animal what it needs according to its nature is not just cruel but it is lazy as hell.
I see no photo of your cat's allowed scratching places. Do they have any provided for them at all? If it is a post, is it tall enough and balanced enough for their natural behavior?
My kitty is asleep on her perch right now, and in the last hour she has scratched happily on three different surfaces that belong to her, for her to do with as she wishes.

[Kerrytravelers]

9. I hope they do. Our local ASPCA is pretty adamant against it, and no reputable doctor in my town

will declaw. The procedure basically cuts off half of their little feet.

I have two indoor cats, neither declawed. Our furniture is perfectly fine, no scratching at all. We have one small scratching post. When they were kittens, if the claws came out, we took them to their scratching post. Once they knew better, we have a small squirt bottle and we squirt water on their upper back and shoulders, where it irritates them more because they can't reach it to clean. If someone can't dedicate that little time to their pet's care and nurturing, they don't need a pet.

And, what happens if a declawed house cat gets outside? They are defenseless. How terrifying for a pampered indoor kitty!

[Patchuli]

10. I have 3 indoor tuxedo cats

and they have 6 scratching posts of every variety. They use them. If you like, I will post how well-used and loved the posts are. Especially when you sprinkle cat nip on them too...
You need to provide for your cats' needs or they will satisfy them any other way they can. My sister declawed her older cat. He is a terrified, nervous hiding scaredy-cat. She was going to adopt another and I told her not to even do that if she had a thought in her head of declawing that one too. She got a beautiful little kitten girl that stole my heart and I basically told her I will steal her kitten if she is even thinking of declawing that little one. It IS cruel, inhumane and selfish. If your furniture is important enough to cause you to think to harm your furry friends, find them new homes. You and your furniture can just be catless! Jerry would not approve of declawing!!!!! It is definitely NOT kind!

[shanti]

11. yes, cruel and inhumane

i have two of my own (with claws, thankyouverymuch) who are indoor cats for the most part. the corners in my house are edged in plywood and they've been using it as a scratching post since day one. as it's the defacto scratching post, i don't mind, since they don't touch the couch! they do attempt to use my oriental rugs sometimes tho.

[litlady]

12. The low down on declawing right here:

- Declawing is the equivalent of cutting off your fingers, look at a picture. It is mutilation.

- Declawing can cause balance problems, temperament change, and certainly pain if the cat ever gets in a fight with a clawed cat or another animal. A cat I had when I was young was declawed by my landlord (I was far too young to stop it). He was very nervous the rest of his life. No, that does not happen to all cats, but it can happen. Many other problems have occurred during the surgery itself.

- Many vets find it cruel and won't do it. Many pet adoption agencies won't adopt out animals if they know the owner will declaw them.

- Some cities already have this ban, and LA has grappled with it before.

- Declawing is already illegal in most of Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and Brazil.

- Alternatives such as Soft Paws, deterrent sprays, and training to use scratcher pads are readily available.

- Aside from the facts, there is also the incomprehensible idea of putting a piece of furniture, a possession that can be purchased, above an animal that was brought into the home to be a family member. I recognize the difference between humans and animals but I am quite sure that if a toddler were damaging furniture (as they certainly can) that most people would not amputate the child's hand.

- Apparently I need to qualify this with experience. Currently I have three cats and am caring for two more. All indoor, all have claws, all but one fully trained to claw at posts and pads instead (other one a kitten, we're working on it!) Throughout my life I have had cats and it has hardly been an issue and even when it has been, the happiness of the companion animal is placed above a piece of wood or fabric!

[kestrel91316]

14. I note with sad irony how many DUers who are APPALLED at the idea of

government interference in the doctor-patient relationship when it comes to women's reproductive rights, who turn around and applaud government interference in the veterinarian-client-patient relationship.

And nobody dies when a cat is declawed.

[Kerrytravelers]

15. That is a bit over-dramatic. And in no way is declawing cats and abortion rights parallel.

[LeftyMom]

17. Can you please let us know where you practice so I can never bring my cats there?

Thanks.

[Alameda]

18. or we could warn people not to bring animals there....?

I am horrified reading how some here think it's their right to mutilate and cripple an animal for their own egoistic desires.

[LeftyMom]

19. I'm really not shocked.

It's very obvious from her posts that she doesn't especially *like* animals.

[kestrel91316]

20. EPIC FAIL.

Hyperbole much? What I don't like is stupid pet owners who pursue pseudoscience at every opportunity, and in doing so, do REAL harm to their pets.

But you knew that already.

[LeftyMom]

22. I stand by my opinion.

I wouldn't let you touch my rescue kitties if every other vet on earth got raptured tomorrow. I must not be the only one with that opinion, judging by your constant posts about how poorly your practice is doing. Maybe if you pretended to actually care about animals you'd do a better business. :shrug:

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[kestrel91316]

25. You would promptly be sued for libel/slander, lol, and you would LOSE.

Medical professionals are in a special class when it comes to malicious unfounded badmouthing. And the judgements tend to be very large against the defendents here in CA.

Wanna find out?

[LeftyMom]

27. Notifying people of your stated opinions is not libel, nor is suggesting they take their business

elsewhere. Now if somebody were to look your practice up on yelp or some similar rating site and state something factually incorrect, that would be potentially actionable. But neither a statement of facts "Kestrel supports legalized cat declawing" nor a statement of opinion "therefore I would not let Kestrel within 50 feet of my cat" is actionable. A statement that "Kestrel eats puppies" is actionable, provided you can document that you do not, in fact, eat puppies and that the person making the statement knew that this was inaccurate, made the statement with malicious intent, and that it harmed your reputation.

[flvegan]

28. Might be that pesky "client" part there.

For example just for you, the patient really has no rights in the vet case so it's a stupid comparison to make. Kind of like if a stay at home mom/housewife with a controlling husband that gives her no money or privacy went with her to the clinic and told her she couldn't get an abortion.

But anyway...

[huskerlaw]

29. Not always true.

I'm going to set aside the ridiculous comparison and go after your last sentence.

My sister's cat died while he was being declawed. Turns out the little guy couldn't handle the anesthesia. So in addition to being unnecessary and cruel, it is also potentially life threatening for the cat. It is surgery, after all.