Declawing has been around for decades. If it were cruel, vets would never have done it (what about tail docking and other things that are acceptable "in the name of breed conformity?") That said, I have a declawed cat (front paws only) and she has NEVER missed her front claws. She was being extremely destructive and the declawing solved the problem. She still attempts to scratch/sharpen her nubbins on floor rugs and wicker and such (harmless). Tried the soft caps once and that was much more annoying to her. There is no reason to declaw the back feet because if a cat is pinned, they will need them to protect themselves in defense with the back claws. Also, a declawed cat MUST be kept as an indoor only cat. It's the cat friendly dogs that are at most risk of injury. My rescue yorkie was recently quasi accepted by my declawed cat. They sniff each others' noses, but Phoebe will occasionally softly bat at Bowie's face. He almost lost an eye at my daughter's house because he assumed her (non-declawed) cats were as cute and cuddly and receptive as Phoebe. We have to visit tonight for my daughter's halloween bash and I am terrified that my curious Yorkie will try again to make friends with disastrous results. One cat is particularly aggressive and approaches him with the intent to inflict bodily harm. But I will also say an aggressive cat needs to be trained/disciplined for intentionally inflicting injury when it's not out of bona fide self defense. |