by Anonymous
I'm putting in a defense of declawing. All of my cats have been declawed and none have changed personality-wise, nor have they experienced much pain.
The declawing procedure you describe is the traditional method which involves using a scalpel or oversized nail-clipper-like tool to make an incision. There is new technology out there which uses lasers.
These cauterize while cutting and therefore damage the nerve endings to prevent the cat from feeling pain. By the time the nerve endings are restored, the wounds have healed and there's no longer any tenderness.
My cats were trying to jump around, play, and scratch only a day after declaw because they had no clue their claws were gone.
Also, depending on living situations and agreement, I am sure cats would rather be declawed and able to live in an apartment or loving home than still be at the humane society and face the possibility of being put down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Anonymous,
Thank you for sharing your opinion. I agree that it is a better option than being put down or living out a life in a shelter.
However, even if medical advances have made the surgery pain-free, I would still argue that cats still suffer structurally over time, as a result of not being able to stretch properly, and troublesome effects on their shoulders and hip joints also occur.
My primary intent in writing this article is to bring awareness to new cat and kitten owners that this procedure is not to be taken lightly.
Yes, I have been accused of blowing this out of proportion going right to the worst-case scenarios, but these consequences affecting even a small fraction of animals should be enough to make cat owners take pause and think if there may not be a better alternative for their pet.
I will research more closely the advances in laser technology, and I will make the edit to the article and photos if warranted.
I appreciate your contribution, and I'm glad your kitties handled the surgery well.
No comments:
Post a Comment