It’s legal in the US, and sometimes even recommended by vets.

I met someone who had it done because she trusted her vet’s advice. Her cat completely changed.

It’s legal in Russia too, but it’s accepted as unethical and a few ostracized clinics can do the “soft paws” surgery

Like, just get a dog if you can’t handle the claws.

Cats can retract theirs; dogs can’t. I’m not sure this would work out. Not to mention you gotta clip the dog’s every once in a while and if you do it wrong, you can hurt them.

That’s why so many cats end up with chronic pain, behavioral issues, or even stop using the litter box after the procedure. There are far better alternatives like regular trimming, scratching posts, or soft nail caps. It feels like one of those practices we’ll look back on and wonder how it was ever considered acceptable.

Sure, but their nails aren’t typically as sharp as cats’ claws, so there is that.

TIL Poor little kitties, why are humans so thoughtlessly monstrous?

It’s also super easy to clip a cats nails every other week. I have two cats and have fostered others, and I’ve clipped them all to keep the nails short and dull.

Scratching is part claw maintenance and part territorial marking / decorating. And it feels good for them! If you catch a cat scratching the furniture, scolding them will usually get them to stop. Most cats will quit scratching the furniture entirely if you give them more appealing things to scratch. It has to be a good height, very stable, and have a texture they like.

Simply clipping the tips of the claws goes a long way to prevent furniture destruction, when combined with a scratching/climbing tree. Some cats like sisal but others prefer carpet on the posts. I have a routine with my present cat where she knows if she jumps to a certain place she’ll get a couple Dental Treats, but before she jumps I briefly check her front paws. If there’s a longer, sharper nail, I clip it, just the tip. Then I put up the treat. That way she never has to put up with more than one or two snips. I use a regular toenail clipper, but a big sharp quality one. And turn it because claws are taller than they are wide.

Cat’s claws are for hunting, fighting and climbing. They are extremely sharp, and can rip your skin and make you bleed without even trying.

Dog’s claws are for traction and digging. Usually dogs claws are dull, they might still cause a big of damage to the top most layer of your skin, but they have to make an effort to draw blood. Dogs hunt and fight with their teeth instead of their claws.

As bad as declawing can be, there is something worse: cutting the tendons so they can’t flex their claws anymore.

I had a cat I adopted off the street that had that done, and because he couldn’t scratch things his claws had grown through the pads of his feet.

Because that’s what the people doing it told us it was and kids don’t know better.

How much pain do you think most cats cause others, simply for existing?

We also need to ban non-vegan cat food

It’s illegal in Québec.

I have two cats, littermates. One will almost never scratch you, usually happens if play gets too vigorous and he forgets. The other will lightly scratch you just to get your attention, and will dig his claws into your lap if he’s enjoying petting too much. I love them both, even when they are being pains in the ass.

Im sorry the world is uglier than you think it should be, but having that attitude and capping it off with an implication that it’s okay to cause another being lifelong pain simply because of their nature makes it pretty clear that you don’t so much want a more ethical world for other creatures as much as you don’t like cats.

Cats who get declawed are generally indoor cats who wouldn’t hurt anything but their owner’s furniture regardless.

Also cats are obligate carnivores, and you’re an asshole.

We would never consider it because we had kids and dogs and the cats needed their claws. But yes it should be banned. We don’t declaw dogs.

I wish we’d trained them to sit still to have them trimmed, as now the kids are grown and dogs not puppies either, but it’s no big deal. Just don’t get expensive furniture.

Nope. You’re ignorant of biology. Enzymes have been on the market for a looong time

I know you might mean well because giving cats vegan diets with enzymes appears to reduce animal suffering, but consider for a moment that cats cannot speak to us. Cats are proficient at hiding their pain, and they cannot tell us if their vegan diet is making them ill.

The best thing you can do to reduce animal suffering as a vegan is not to have children. Creating fewer humans objectively decreases consumption, ethical and unethical. Have a cat, eat meat, do whatever you want, but nothing will have a greater impact on this planet than to help lower its population. Heck, even murder reduces animal suffering if you don’t consider humans an animal.

I’m just saying that vegan cat food is very far down on the list of effective vegan practices, and it is certainly not ethical because you cannot determine the magnitude of harm it can cause your cat.