Declawing Cats
Sonny Caliendo
English 105
March 13, 2013
Onychectomy Inhumane or Not
Scratching is a cat’s most instinctive behavioral aspect. It is the one skill, other then breathing, for felines that need not to be taught (Death or Declaw, 2005). The domestication of the house cat first started over 8,000 years ago and with this came the scratching instinct. Having these as pets in your home can be a risk to your furniture, your health and the health of any children you have in the house. Cat’s claws can be razor sharp and would easily tear the flesh of a human, let alone fabric from a love seat. This is why for hundreds of years now veterinarians have been performing a surgery known by the medical term as an Onychectomy but many call it declawing. There are many different views on the procedure and it is a very controversial subject, recently researchers on the topic have said there are three distinct ways people think. There is the first group of thinkers who think the pain is minimal and a substantial increase to the quality of life of you and your cat, next is the middle thinkers who look to alternative methods, and the third group of thinkers are people who absolutely disagree with the surgery and think it is one of the most inhumane things practiced in veterinary medicine today.
When your cat reaches six months of age, it is the humane time for you to have it fixed. One feral cat can produce 57,000 offspring a year and right now the total estimation of feral cats is greater then the population of Japan (Responsibilities, 2009). There are apparent reasons to fix your cat but are there the same for declawing it? If them having claws comes at the expense of you having ruined furniture and scratched up skin then your answer might be yes. At the same time one gets their cat spade or neutered generally this is when owners decide to declaw or not to declaw. The surgery itself takes only about 20 minutes and then the cat is required usually to stay a
English 105
March 13, 2013
Onychectomy Inhumane or Not
Scratching is a cat’s most instinctive behavioral aspect. It is the one skill, other then breathing, for felines that need not to be taught (Death or Declaw, 2005). The domestication of the house cat first started over 8,000 years ago and with this came the scratching instinct. Having these as pets in your home can be a risk to your furniture, your health and the health of any children you have in the house. Cat’s claws can be razor sharp and would easily tear the flesh of a human, let alone fabric from a love seat. This is why for hundreds of years now veterinarians have been performing a surgery known by the medical term as an Onychectomy but many call it declawing. There are many different views on the procedure and it is a very controversial subject, recently researchers on the topic have said there are three distinct ways people think. There is the first group of thinkers who think the pain is minimal and a substantial increase to the quality of life of you and your cat, next is the middle thinkers who look to alternative methods, and the third group of thinkers are people who absolutely disagree with the surgery and think it is one of the most inhumane things practiced in veterinary medicine today.
When your cat reaches six months of age, it is the humane time for you to have it fixed. One feral cat can produce 57,000 offspring a year and right now the total estimation of feral cats is greater then the population of Japan (Responsibilities, 2009). There are apparent reasons to fix your cat but are there the same for declawing it? If them having claws comes at the expense of you having ruined furniture and scratched up skin then your answer might be yes. At the same time one gets their cat spade or neutered generally this is when owners decide to declaw or not to declaw. The surgery itself takes only about 20 minutes and then the cat is required usually to stay a
References: Ginsberg, Susan. "Cats, Claws, And Conflict." Animals 126.4 (1993): 26. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. "Cat Fight!." People 59.20 (2003): 110. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. Atwood-Harvey, D. (2005). Death or Declaw: Dealing with Moral Ambiguity in a Veterinary Hospital. Society & Animals, 13(4), 315-342. doi:10.1163/156853005774653627 Whitcomb, R. (2009). Five Calif. cities try to scratch out declawing procedures. DVM: The Newsmagazine Of Veterinary Medicine, 40(12), 6. French, Melissa. "Guidelines and Responsibilities." Heart of America Humane Society. N.p., 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. <http://www.heartofamericahs.org/education/petfacts.php>.