Well no one should be cropping ears except a vet but breeders regularly dock tails. As far as docking tails and declawing I see there is a purpose behind why each is done. The docking is done to ahere to the standard and the declawing is done because the person doesnt want the cat clawing their furniture. Both are done for a purpose thats all Im saying

I'm glad Tibbe's tail is docked and he has no dew claws as he's so rough and tough when he is running and chasing something, I swear he could catch or break or hurt a Yorkie's low-carried kind of thin tail or tear a dew claw. But Tibbe's tail/dews done as a newborn.

My cats were very efficient at tearing up everything I had and their own posts but the soft claws worked wonders and they stay on very well. I bow down to the person that invented those things.

I hear that England considers declawing inhumane...I wonder if there is truth in that.

I didn't know if those really worked or were just a gimmick. I do think if I had a cat destroying my house, I would try anything before I had his claws removed.

It probably is because its also illegal to dock tails there also.

Yeah, I thought they were a gimmick before I tried them. They are pricey too. Well, they were when I bought them years ago. About 39 bucks then for a package of them but, it was so so worth every penny! I was able to actually put leather furniture in my house after that and they stayed on a long time. :)

It was also good when my nieces and nephew came over I didn't have to worry about them getting scratched anymore. Icky things live on the nails of cats.

Yes, declawing is illegal in the UK. Probably why I don't know anyone that has an in-house pet cat.

What if you declawed a dog as a newborn? Would that make a difference?

Just thinking here but if you can remove the dewclaws at birth with no continuing pain and it doesn't affect them, could you do the same with the rest of the nails?

I personally would never do it even if it was an option. I see no reason for declawing whether it be cat or dog. If you want to declaw your cat that is your decision, it just isn't for me.

I've done dewclaws before as that is more of a safety precaution for the dog as those nails grow long, curl and can easily tear/break. So there is a very good reason for doing dewclaws.

Having said that I have had one cat years ago declawed and won't ever do it again. For the rest of his life that cat suffered from having sour paws because of being declawed.
I now have 2 cats and neither of them are declawed. I give them their trees, scratching posts and never have a problem with them wanting to destroy furniture or anything.

There are different methods of declawing. The old method is going to cause more pain, more recovery time, and it is more like cutting off the end of a finger. The newer, better methods cannot necessarily be compared to this. If the pad in the area is left, the cat is much more comfortable quicker. They can also just cut a ligament so the claws can't be extended.

Cat scratches can be very dangerous. In situatios where an imunocompromised person is involved, then it is probably the best option to get rid of them. And people would really rather see a cat get brought to a shelter and probably getting euthanized instead of declawing it??

Most do fine with it, esp. with the better procedures. There are complications just like with any surgery, but sometimes it is the best thing to do. Not everybody would be willing to use Soft Paws. I'm personally not a big fan. That's not to say I think every cat should be declawed routinely. i think training should be attempted. But if needed, it's just something I wouldn't hesitate to do.

FWIW on the quicking the nails under anesthesia thing, my vet does that to her own dog because he hates having his nails clips. Then she cauterizes them after. I'll be asking her to do the same with Rylee when he goes under next because his nails are crazy long. Is it the best thing to do? Probably not. But I don't think he's all too comfy with his nails being so long either.

There are a lot of things done in vet med for owner convenience. That won't stop anytime soon.

It's totally a fair question. It seems those things are done routinely to all pups so there was no way for me to find one that wasn't already done. However, I'll also admit I didn't do an extensive amount of research... I trusted my breeder and it was already done so that was that.

For what it's worth, I've also adopted rescue cats that have already been declawed. My first cats were all declawed, but not by me. My two that I have now have all of their claws and are keeping them.

My college roommate had a cat and had her declawed. She was fine after the procedure, bounced right back, and never showed signs of residual pain. I didn't realize there was so much controversy over declawing cats until probably a year ago. But then again, I don't own a cat, nor do I want to own one...so I had never really read up on it. I doubt I will ever have to make that decision because I doubt I'll ever have a cat of my own.

I can see the reason for removing dewclaws in certain breeds of dogs. Levi does not have his; my brother's little Whippet mix, Dallas, does. Those darn dewclaws are always in Dally's way. He's had to go to the vet a couple of times after getting the dewclaw snagged on something - and he ends up with a big bandage like in the picture below. I think his dewclaws cause him more pain now than a procedure to remove them as a puppy would.

I'm generally against things done purely for cosmetic purposes (like tail docking and ear cropping), but I can definitely see both sides for removing or not removing dewclaws in dogs. As far as fully declawing dogs...I don't see the point, really. Mine have never done any damage with their nails.

My son's dog has torn a dewclaw twice now. It is just the ugliest wound and so hard to heal! I hate that dogs have to have those things in that dogs are usually so carefree and give no thought to their bodies when chasing or playing. And I think it must hurt like heck. Tibbe had his removed but he does have a residual growback on his right foreleg that I keep clipped short and watch all the time.

I can definitely see why dew claws are removed just hearing some of the stories of yorkies on here that have them and they have caught on something and let painful wounds. That is terrible and unnecessary when its a simple proceedure to remove them. I have also heard of them growing back though too

This is true, I really didn't ask for it to be done on Jimmy. It had been done already to my baby boy when I got him. If he came the way he was born than I wouldn't have had anything done to him since I really don't see the need in it, personally.

However, I didn't go out looking for one that didn't have these things done either. It's not really something I'm adamant about. You won't see me protesting these procedures by carrying signs and shunning it. (However, I would protest removing a dogs claws).

From an RVT standpoint,
de-clawing is a very bloody surgery and no, cats don't generally handle it very well. What owners don't see is how their legs jump each time their fingers are snapped off, what owners don't see is that even while they are under they wince in pain some even bite. It's reflex, they are heavily sedated however their nerves still detect whats going on. When the cats wake up the majority of the time the glue that holds their pads closed usually comes out and they bleed all over the cages or they bite at their stitches. Generally we have to put the glue back in and it's very painful for them as their paws are really sore. The cats are so confused, yes they have pain medication but that look in their eyes is awful. What did they do to deserve that? Our clinic stopped de-clawing because people were so flippant about it. It's always "my cat is destroying my furniture". Cat's are rather stoic in the sense that it's weak in the wild to show pain so it looks like they are okay but usually they are in pain for months. Some will even stop using the litter box because post surgery (even with the special litter) they don't understand why it hurts to scratch in the box so they associate pain with the litterbox. Which kind of defeats the purpose because now the cat is being more of a "bother" to the owner for now it's pooping on the floor, it's not tearing up the furniture but it's soiling it.

What I will say is that it's a cats natural instinct to scratch, they have to shed their dead nails. As a responsible owner it's your job to teach them where to scratch and clip their nails like you would a dogs. I own two cats one of which was declawed before we got him. He's declawed in the front AND the back. He doesn't like to use the litterbox, and he still makes scratching motions on the scratching posts because it's his instincts. What his previous owners don't understand is that he has no way of defending himself and he's run outside of my house several times and i've had to go after him. I feel awful for him, but we give him a good home with love and understanding. My other cat I got as a kitten and I've been diligent about clipping his nails and teaching him where to scratch. I have no issues with him and we have leather furniture. SOOO I guess im so against it because it shouldn't be an alternative, owning a pet shouldn't have such an "easy" way out because in the long run it has consequences. Sometimes there are none but i've seen more cases where there are some. My de-clawed cat is slightly arthritic when it's cold and he can barely walk. I know it's because of the surgery. He's only 3 years old and didn't deserve the hand he's been given.

I do have somewhat of an understanding for owners that choose to do it, but it's my own personal preference based on experience to be so firmly against it.

sorry this got kind of long.

To address the dog aspect, I don't think they should be declawed in the front, in the back, anywhere. They can't retract their claws like a cat so it would permanently affect their gait. We need our toes, so do they. I can't imagine it being done in the past, those poor dogs.

I don't think this is comparable to cropping and docking. I am against it, my own yorkie is really against all standards. He's parti-colored and natural tail. (I finally get him in 5 days!) dew claws are different. They are vestigial, like wisdom teeth. It's not just for aesthetics it's to avoid getting it caught on something. Great Pyrenees are the only ones that keep them in their breed standard because of their double set.

If this canine de-claw were done as a newborn I would think it would still have detrimental effects later on in their life. It might not be as painful if they were adults but I think it would end up diminishing their quality of life.