College Writing

Persuasive Essay

Ann-Louise De Voe

Declawing of cats

         Declawing is a very controversial subject in the United States. It is a surgery that sometimes is suggested by the veterinarian as a routine procedure that should be done at the same time the cat is neutered or spayed. What you as a cat owner should know is that removing a cat's claws is actually an amputation procedure. It is something that is being done to make the owner's life more convenient, not the cat's. It is morally wrong and should not be allowed!

         I found an article in the May 1999 issue of Cat Fancy Magazine which is written by Solveig Fredrickson. Fredrickson starts her article by telling the reader that "scratching is a natural feline function-not a sign of boredom or a way to get under your skin" (p.20). The main reason why cat owners are declawing their cats is to save their furniture from possibly getting destroyed. Fredrickson gives multiple suggestions on how to train your cat to use for instance a scratching post instead of your furniture. Unfortunately the article doesn't end as good as it started. Fredrickson is mentioning declawing as a solution if all other solutions have failed. I can understand that it can be very frustrating when you can't get your cat to stop clawing on the furniture. What I can't understand is how you can even consider putting your cat, who you are supposed to love, through such a terrible surgery just to protect your furniture.

         You have to remember that declawing a cat means that you are taking away something that all cats are born with. Cats are born with claws for a reason. They use them to keep their balance, defend themselves, mark their territory, stretch and exercise. Scratching is a behavior that cats are born with. Roz Riddle, a co-owner of a prestigious New York City shop devoted to cats, talks in his book about cat owners of declawed cats that have told him that their cats doesn't seem to be missing their claws just because the cat still tries to scratch. Riddle doesn't agree. He thinks that the cat is still desperately trying to perform a behavior that is necessary for them. "They know perfectly well that they are declawed, but feel driven to try again and again to get a grip (impossible without claws) on something so as to get the proper pull and stretch for their backs" (1984, p.40). I totally agree with Mr. Riddle. Or do you think that a cat is so stupid so it can't see or feel that its claws are gone?

         So does this emotionally hurt the cat? Pam Johnson, feline behavior consultant, writes in her book that it is possible that especially an older cat who gets declawed ends up being traumatized (1994). Other cats that she has seen has become nervous. "This may lead to the cat becoming a biter" (p.68). Johnson says that a cat normally warns you by showing its front claws. If the claws no longer are there you have to be prepared to get bitten instead. Even Riddle mentions in his book the fact that a declawed cat "feel at a great disadvantage, and tend to put on a much bigger show of hostility and toughness in order to compensate for that they feel to be an inability to defend themselves" (p.41). I can't even imagine how mutilated I would feel if I would be a cat that had been declawed. 

          For you who doesn't believe that a cat can get emotionally hurt by getting declawed I will give you other reasons why you shouldn't do it. One main reason is because the surgery itself is incredibly painful. Declawing is just like cutting a human finger off at the last knuckle. After the cat has been declawed he/she still has to function as normal. The first couple of days after surgery when the pain is the worst the cat still has to walk on their paws to use their litter box etc. They can't just lay down and rest for a couple of days like humans can. Can you imagine if someone cut the last part of your toes of and the next morning you have to walk just like nothing had happened? Do you think that you could stand the pain and be able to keep your balance? Roz Riddle says in his book that he has seen cats cry for days because they were in such pain after the surgery was done (1984). So is there really any good reason to put your cat through this?

         The surgery doesn't even provide any medical benefit for the cat. Instead there is a risk for infection after the surgery has been done. There have been cats who have developed infection in their paws which led to amputation of the leg. You have to realize that this is a surgery that only benefits the owner not the cat, which I hope that I have already proved. Dr Nicholas Dodman, professor of behavioral pharmacology at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, says that "declawing fits the dictionary definition of mutilation to a tee" (1997, p.140). He talks about how inhumane the surgery is and that it is such a horrible procedure that it has even been used to torture prisoners of war. Just that statement should prove to everyone how morally wrong declawing is.

         The United States is one of very few countries that declawing is being performed in. In most of Europe and also in Australia declawing is looked upon as animal abuse. In some countries it is even illegal. Dr Dodman explains that his view might come from the fact that he comes from British heritage. He mentions that it is a question about animal welfare and a lot of the cosmetic surgeries have been banned in England. My homeland Sweden is also a country where declawing is looked upon as animal abuse.

         So my final question is: Are we supposed to abuse the cat that we decided to take in as a family member in our house? Doesn't that cat have the same rights to get your respect and love as everyone else in your life? If you can't accept a cat the way it is born it is probably better for you to buy something else as a pet. Maybe a stuffed animal would be suitable? If there wasn't a reason for cats to have claws, they wouldn't be born with them!