Rolled Out On: 9/27/2004 11:19 AM

My feeling is that de-clawing is only cruel if the cat spends any time outdoors. It may be considered crulel by some who think there is a reasonable chance of the cat getting outdoors accidentally.

On the other hand, cats arguably shouldn;t be spending their time outdoors any more anyway, with the epidemics of Feline Aids and Feline Leukemia. I am sure the cats would disagree, but I know too many people who have been surprised to find their cat has a fatal illness. And if they have more than one cat, eventually all the animals in the house will have it.

Just my opinion

BC

Rolled Out On: 9/27/2004 11:43 AM

Agreed. I don't like the thought of allowing cats to roam free since, unlike a dog, they can't be contained in your backyard. Nothing is more irritating than finding your neighbor's cat has left you little tootsie rolls in your flower bed.

Hudson had a horrible penchant for running outside when the door was open. It is almost ironic that he is buried in the backyard, a place he wanted to be at all times.

Bueller doesn't even like going out on the screened lanai.

Rolled Out On: 9/27/2004 1:35 PM

Lanai? What, you Hawaiian, brah? Like talk story, yah?

Anyway, it seems to me that the issue isn't just one of comparing two simple surgeries. Rather, neutering/spaying is done for the safety and health of catdom: we don't need more feral strays, and neutering a male makes him less likely to sneak out to 'tomcat'.
Whereas declawing is of no benefit to the cat, and is actually dangerous if the cat were to accidentally get out. It is mutilation for the convenience of the owner.
In addition, if I recall/understand correctly, declawing is done by actually removing the full first joint of each digit for the cat. It affects the way they walk, run, and even grab stuff. Yes, my cat grabs things with his paws to play with them; that would be impossible if he were declawed.

I'm not as militant about it. It sounds like Hudson had a happy and unaffected life despite being declawed, so I don't have a problem with it. But my neutered male cat will not be declawed.