The Horrors of Declawing!
written by Dr. Laxmi Iyer

Declawing is a fashion. A popular culture to keep your cat in control...keep them out of mischief, so to say. Declawing is what people do to their cats who are mischeivious and playful. Isn't that an awful thing to do?

Declawing suits your lifestyle. A declawed cat means never again furniture that has been scratched or cushions with scratch marks. But...have you ever thought how horrifying it is to be a cat without proper claws? It's terrible. It's awful. The truth is it is a cruelty that can be done without.

Don't declaw your cat's claws. Your cats need those claws. Declawing is a monstrous thing to do to cats. A cat without proper claws doesn't feel like a cat anymore. It's awful for a cat's sense of locomotion, balance, self respect and identity.

Aloof and independent creatures, a declawed cat becomes painfully handicapped. A person who truly loves his or her cats would never declaw. It's one of the worst sins of cruelty to a cat.

It cramps their expression, their instinctive desire to express themselves by scratching on wooden barks, tree trunks. What are the commonly used veterinary procedures?

One of them is onychectomy - the cutting of the claw and related bone and muscle tissue. The other is tendonectomy where the cat's tendon is cut so that the cat cannot use the claw. It sounds absolutely barbaric to do that. Yet, it is being practised in some parts of the world - specifically the US and Canada even in this age and time.

On April 7, 2003, the West Hollywood, California City Council decided to ban cat declawing. It is great news for cat welfare activists because this is the first city in the US to take measures against declawing. One hopes that before the end of this year, the fashion of declawing cats will become extinct.

If you care deeply about your cats and the cats in your neighbourhood, be the whistle blower and cheer leader. Make this issue a community campaign and fight to protect your cats.

List of some useful websites that give the facts on declawing

http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/html/declaw_law.html
http://www.monmouthcountyspca.org/info.htm
http://www.paws.org/work/factsheet/advocacyfactsheets/exoticpets.html
http://www.de-clawing.com
http://www.declaw.lisaviolet.com
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/declaw.html
http://www.paw-escue.org/declaw_paper.html
http://www.amby.com/cat_site/dc-wyntk.html
http://www.avar.org/avar_cat_declawing.htm
http://www.cfainc.org/health/declawing.html
http://www.declaw.com
http://www.maxshouse.com/facts_about_declawing.htm
http://www.theanimalspirit.com/declaw.html