MeBecomingI
Member
This is very reasonable to me because my family have been in situations like this.
I think an important thought has been left out discussions like these in which is the cat causing injury to the respective owner or other people because of the claws and the respect of the life of the cat.
One of the cats my parents had was incredibly nice and friendly most of the time to most people. But, for some reason we won't ever find out, he hated my father and was unfriendly to me. He loved my brother and my mother and for the most part, a lot of guests. An important thing to mention was that my little sister was very young and we weren't entirely sure the response he would have to her, either. He would cuddle up, purr and knead everyone else with no claws and often presented them with the utmost affection and never once do I recall him ever hurting them. However for my father, the cat would often follow him around and scratch at him for no apparent reason. The cat would often attack him on a daily basis and often drew blood which of course was stressful for him. For me, he would hop on me and start kneading my lap but instead of using the pads of his paw as he would with the others (sans my father), he would stick out his claws and dig them into me often causing some pretty harsh pain. When I had a visible response to the pain such as sudden movement or vocally expressing pain, he would look at me and dig further. Yet, he would rub up against me and did show signs of affection.
We had to try and teach him to not claw or dig at us, but he wouldn't accept it. So we had a bit an issue that had to be addressed because the situation could not continue. We had a beautiful cat that was loved by all despite the issues but one who would not attack or show signs of aggression to my brother and mother under any circumstances. We had a beautiful cat that was loved by all despite issues but one who would viciously claw and attack my father (who still treated the cat with love) and often stab me when he is trying to show affection. On top of that, my little sister was young and we didn't want her getting hurt. I should mention that he was a very happy and active indoor cat who loved playing around.
The decision we faced was....
- Declaw him so he can't attack my father and I with his claws and prevent any potential injuries with my sister and we don't have to put him down and take away his life or have to give him away to someone else given we all, but especially my mother and brother, loved the cat regardless.
- Put him down to completely get rid of the issues with the claws despite him loving life and everyone still loving him and we lose a member of the family.
- Give him away to another family and run the risk that he could attack them and they could put him down anyway and we lose a member of the family.
The cat has since passed away and years have passed and I am no longer with them of course, but I still have cats and the decisions are made the same way every time... weigh the situation between any potential benefits and negatives with the life and well-being of the cat in mind. We don't simply declaw for the sake of it and never have and never will. The situation has to dictate what the course of action is. For the cats that we have had that were declawed (not all cats) had never ever showed signs of discomfort or decreased energy or drive. They've all been indoor cats and are very, very playful. All the declawing procedures that were carried out were done incredibly professionally and safely and all have had quick recovery times.
I understand the position that people have regarding being strictly against declawing and I respect that. But there are situations that may arise where declawing may be the best course of action for both the human owner and the cat itself.
