Sun 31 May 2009
Special Guest Post:
Hi, my name is Mevalin* and I did a project for school about declawing cats. I want you to know how bad it is to declaw cats.
I chose this project because I wanted to help make cats’ lives better.
I don’t think it is fair to declaw cats, or shows respect. Declawing cats is like cutting off the top part of your fingers. A cat’ body is very well designed. A cat’s life depends on its claws. Cats need their claws to defend themselves. If you pull their tail, they scratch you. And if the cat sees a mouse it will stab it with its paw to catch it.
You may not like it when a cat scratches your carpet, but does your cat like it when you wash its new cat-licked fur? But seriously, try getting your cat a scratching post. Your cat will act like the scratching post is the carpet. I Keep my cats in a non-carpeted room over night so they don’t get into trouble scratching the furniture.
Claws naturally give cats great climbing power (if the cat is not deliberately handicapped by a human.) Cats’ claws allow them to establish footing for running, walking, climbing, springing, and for stretching. Scratching is a normal characteristic of a healthy cat.
If you have a lost cat and it has not been declawed, your lost cat would definitely be able to defend itself and hunt for food.
I want to be a veterinarian when I grow up so I can help stop declawing cats.
By the way, my three cats are much more happy not being declawed.
*Hint: Mevalin is my favourite name but my real name is private.
June 1st, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Excellent post by your “special guest”. I wholeheartedly agree.
K.
P.S. That’s got to be Mackenzie in the photo, though I’ve never heard her use that kind of language.
November 12th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Just wanted to let Mevalin know that in spite of the negative stuff about declawing cats, we brought my grandmother’s cat to our farm four years ago and not only could he climb trees (still had his back claws, I guess), but he was very successful as a bird hunter and was also the boss of all the other cats on the farm… all of which had their front claws. The big mean tomcats that were around didn’t bother him, either.
Someone recently told me that cats don’t actually claw mice to catch them, that they just put their paw down hard on them before biting them. Don’t know if that’s true, just passing it on.
At first Grandma’s cat ran away because he was afraid of the dog, and he didn’t come back for two months, but he managed to survive somehow, claws or no claws.
So fear not. Declawed cats can still hunt and they can still climb trees.