Forget about laws in the United States. People don't give a crap about cats (even though they're the most popular pet). Why not start with the vets. Picket or at least mark any vet's office if s/he declaws. BTW, in spite of the fact that women are so worried about their precious furniture, I have yet to meet a female vet who declaws.
@79barkingspider I wish it were true. This FEMALE vet, Dr. Jean Churan, recommends declawing for ALL cats ... even BEFORE the cats exhibits inappropriate scratching. Check out her unbelievably horrible YouTube video, "Kitten Cat Declawing by South Elgin IL 60177 Veterinarian."
ok, here's my case: i tried months and months to convince my mom to not do this and trying to train him to use his posts, but NOTHING worked. and my mom laid down the law when she said "either get him declawed or he goes to the pound" and then made the appointment when i told he not to. he's at the vets office now recovering from his surgery now and probably has it already done :(
Pro-declaw people should just be honest, declawing is only ever out of convenience for some doof to protect their objects(the cat is a living thing you crazy, why would you cut your cat over stuff) or bratty kid(teach your child not to pull on Kitty's tail and mabye he won't get scratched).If you can't handel a cat how it is in nature you should NOT have a cat in the first place.
Declawing just pisses me off. Your furniture is more important than the well-being of a living creature? It's just THAT hard to train them not to scratch the furniture, and buy a post?
I heard from a woman who declawed her cat that it's because she has small children. Bullshit, why can't you just tell your children not to fuck with the cat? Besides, I think it's important they learn that no matter how cute an animal is, they can cause harm if you treat them wrong.
It takes a pair of $5 nail clippers and 5 minutes once a week to prevent your cat from scratching furniture or skin. I will NEVER understand why people would mutilate their "beloved" pet rather than take the time to clip the cat's nails and keep them blunt.
"Just to save furniture"? Why don't you lazy assed people just train your cat not to scratch furniture and provide a damn scratching post or cat tree for their natural habits? I actually got off my ass and did so with my cat, and he hasn't scratched the couch in years because of my ninja ambush spray bottle squirt training and him having a comfy cat tree he likes to rip apart.
And my cat is freaking mean and stubborn, so you have no excuse! Plus the scratching post is cheaper in the long run.
@BlueLagoonLoon for me i just used a spray bottle of water, and after a few months, my cat stopped scratching everything and continued to live like regularly. plus, we let her outside and she scratches the trees and loves it, and i have a scratching post and even though she prefers teh trees outside, she still enjoys it. people care more about a lifeless piece of cloth and leather istead of a living, breathing animal.
I really don't see why exactly people are saying it is bad in the first place. The cats are put under so they don't feel anything during the surgery. After they are done removing the claws, they give them pain killers so they are comforible. I don't see why people are making a fuss about this. Yes, its removing bone, but that's where the claw is located.
@ewinmn WoWW are you a heartless SOB!!. Sure would hate to be your pet (or relative)! Amputating is OK as long it is "painless"? You have no problem witht the longterm crippling problems or persistent pain caused by declawing? That is just sick.
@ewinmn ur just stupid , a cat was born with claws for a reason it is used for protection and it would stress the cat out not to have their claws , how would u like to go without life with no fingernails or the top of ur finger bones , only people who are lazy and can't correctly teach the cat on the proper way to scratch other types of things such as cat scratchers are the kind of people who actually get this surgery done , also most don't know the type of torture they put their cat through
@imtoosmartformyself - i totally agree with you!! im part of the RSPCA team and we do NOT SUPPORT this kind of thing. a cat's claws brings natural instincts to them and taking that away takes away the cats need for hunting. you can clearly see that declawing has a chain on effect
declawing -> no hunting -> no natural instincts -> if them cats then breed the offspring may not have their strong natural intincts as there ancestors had.....there for declawing is A BAD MOVE!!!
@ewinmn Because it is like cutting off the first bone of your fingers. If you want your cat declawed so badly, then try to see what it feels like to have the first bone of you fingers removed. Why not instead use a scratching post, a double sided sticky tape called "Sticky Paws", and trim your cats claws; or use nail caps called "Soft Paws"? Cats need their claws for their health and well being.
I got my cat declawed. He was a stray kitten and had we not taken him in he probably wouldn't have survived. He's doing perfectly fine and we love him to death. Price to pay to live in my house and not destroy my furniture. No regrets.
@MrTangent he did not even choose to live in your house, whether he was going to die or not. you had absolutely no right to take something vital away from him. even if you say, you own him, you have no right to take their claws away. cut your own fingers off if you want to have it done so bad. you care more about a lifeless piece of cloth and leather instead of an animal. if you have a kid, are you going to declaw him or her? you obviously dont love your kids if you let them keep their fingers.
Declawing is awful. I've seen it done and can't believe owners still want it done. Still though doctors aren't always the bad guys in this situation. The doctors where I work hate doing it and only do it because so many people put down their cats or bring them to the humane society if it's not done. Btw, soft paws don't work very well- they constantly come off.
I've never had a cat declawed. And from now on, whenever I get a cat, I will never have it declawed. You can train them and you can clip/file their claws. There is NO need to have em declawed. There are many products out there that help file and trim the claws, like that file scratch pad I saw on TV that's a scratching pad that does the filing FOR YOU as the cat scratches it and plays on it. There's also something called PEDI PAWS PET NAIL TRIMMER! I got one myself. Cheers cat lovers!
Do not declaw your cat. Get him or her a scratch pad of some sort (they tend to like cardboard - mine does anyway). A friend from school had a cat that was declawed - it was pitiful to see the poor animal trying to interact without them. And it appeared (in its older age) that it was arthritic in the joins of the paws. Claws are to a cat what thumbs are to a human - leave them alone. Have them regularly clipped if its that big a deal. Just don't declaw them.
It's a good thing I didn't get my kitty declawed, even though she destroyed my hands while playing. She is still learning what no to scratch and what to scratch.
yea!!!! ive never agreed with taking an animals defences away....testicles are one thing i know ive got two older sisters and was married for a spell,but cats,if they end up stray what do they have left? its not a throw -pillow that throws up grass and insect parts for your dumb-assed amusement. its a friend,a created, beautiful creature. you wanna de-claw? - get a lion, then teach him/her to drive defensively.
i dont know why anyone would ever want to put their cat through that. I didnt have my cat declawed because its unnatural and just cruel. it should be illegal to declaw a cat.
I have a mean Main Coon,i found him in a snowstorm.He clawed you until you bleed & went to a hospital,the vet said he needed it.He got declawed at 7months old,now he will be 2 years old in June.He is a happy cat & we love him to death!!!! He is not in pain,he is too happy.I would not suggest to do it after a year old.
@xotinamariaxo FACT: Declawing is not preformed in many other countries (such as England an Germany) and people are able to live in harmony with their cats. Your cat may be doing well, but many declawed cats have lifelong problems.
FACT: Your cat was a kitten and probaly feral. It needed behavioral training, NOT mutilating surgery. Did you even TRY SoftPaws nail covers?
FACT: Your vet let you down with bad advice, and YOU let your cat down by following it.
@xotinamariaxo No, the cat didn't need it, you were the one needing it. I'm glad your cat's ok, I'm not gonna say anything more, only this, change the vet, he has poor ethic and does things only for money, and next cat you have try SoftPaws, they're great
this is stupid. The hand makes it seem like they are cutting off a while finger for the poor things. it is ACTUALLY just the tips of the fingers. this is also a very useless 'project". I love cats, and i love "meaningful things" but arent there more important things to focous on then this?
There are these things called softpaws, They are basically rubber tips that cover your cats claws. You glue them on and they last for a month or more until your cats claws grow out and then they fall off. They cause the cat no pain, and stop scratching problems. Even better cats can go about thier normal habits using scratching posts and such, without doing any damage. I have been using these on my cats for years and had no problems.
There are veterinarians who are fighting this inhumane brutal amputation of a cats ten toes. There is a doctor in Minnesota who does repair reconstruction surgery for domestic cats who are suffering painful disfigurement that is caused by declawing. It is illegal in many other countries but is going on in America in record numbers. It is not necessary. A cat can be trained to scratch on a post or another object provided for that purpose. Stop this madness. Write your legislator and the AVMA.
@prettykitty0451 Dr. Ron Gaskin has done very interesting research into the complications of declawing. Google him and his clinic, Main Street Veterinary Service, to learn more about his excellent work.
@ThePawProject There is a recent article by the AP regarding feelings on declawing, but they are focused toward the owner's feelings. They said they declawed because they wanted to save their wood floors or the wallpaper. One said the cat showed no signs of pain and still makes kneading movements. These kind of uninformed comments is why legislation is needed to stop this torture. No credible value can be given to an opinion that ten amputations are painless. Shame!
The ignorance people have for all topics including this one is a damn embarrasment to the human race. Superior..haha what a fu**ing joke..more like the most ignorant, selfish, decieving creatures ever know! The Human Race! What we do to our plant & animals ia an awful share..to bad our goverment is the same way or we could actually do some good in the hell we call earth!
I feel that if amputation of your cat"s toes, a.k.a. "declawing", isn't made illegal that vets have a moral obligation to inform their clients of what the procedure truly is and explain in detail what will be done to their cat. I wish it was banned for all eternity.
Knowledge is power. Many people don't know what this procedure really means for cats, big and small, wild and domestic. Thank you for bringing this issue to attention of those that might not otherwise realize there is an issue in the first place.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying this to justify declawing, (one alternative is to, you know, not even get a cat in the first place) but to criticize your ad for its apparently one-sided approach. If declawing was unfavorable even from a cat-attack-centric outlook, that should be mentioned in your ads. Just telling people declawing is cruel won't cut it if you don't also convince them it's unjustified cruelty
@neoYTPism There is only so much that we can put in a 30 second video. At the end of the video, we refer people to our website. The FAQs page may answer some of your questions.
who ever declaws their cats, should get declawed themselves. what an inhumane sick disgusting thing to do. i want to spit in all of your faces. Don't you dare try to argue this, or tell me otherwise.
@neoYTPism Check out YouTube video of cat bitr infections. There are a lot of them. And scientific studies claim that declawed cats bite more than non-declawed cats.
@neoYTPism Please go to the FAQs page on our website....pawproject(dot)org/faqs. In particular, see the references to articles by Yeon, Jankowski, and Gaynor.
@neoYTPism What injuries would that be? In my country it's an illegal procedure, no cats here are declawed. By your warped logic cat owners here should be carrying injuries from our clawed cats. I currently own 4 cats, all with their claws, all inside cats. What horrific injuries should I be carrying, because I see none.
i realy think declawing is like chopping off your cats defence tool........its inhumane and ubusive to the cats and the owners of cats who are against declawing.......i think declawing should be against the law........some people just want cats to die i guess.....to cats if u manage to make it to washington please learn to talk then find me ill help u
@SundaeTheKitten No, it's worse. Up to a third of cats that are declawed suffer long term problems such as chronic pain, littering problems, altered personality leading to either meekness or increased aggression thereby leading to biting, and many wind up surrendered to shelters because of it. About 20% of cats in US are declawed, yet around 50% of cats surrendered are declawed. Overrepresentation because of lazy cat owners who can't be bothered training their cats properly to use scratch poles
@alishapeele26 Sometimes shocking is necessary to get people to think. It's fake, but think about how that really happens every day to innocent cats who can't speak up for themselves.
Short, disturbing, to the point and accurate. I shared this with everyone I know. I can't imagine mutilating my cats in such a horrible way. I can also tell you I fostered a declawed cat that had such severe litter box avoidance issues that he developed crystals in his urine. He was a sweet, but rather neurotic cat, and I think that whoever declawed him scarred him mentally as well as physically. Cats are perfect the way they are-WITH their claws. Thank you for making this video.
To those who still think it's ok, keep in mind it's not JUST the hands, but the feet too. Even if you only declaw the front paws, the cat still has to walk on freshly wounded paws, with the ends of its remaining toe-bones squishing around in the wounds with every step it takes.
Most will still walk, because they have the intense survival instinct to NOT show their weakness. So they act fine. But are in agony, especially when trying to dig in the litter box, stones grating against the wounds!
Wow this video gets the point across it's rather freaky. When I was a kid we adopted an abandoned cat that had been declawed by it's past owners..It wouldn't use the litter box. We had to give her away because we couldn't stop her from going on the floor. We found out a few months later that she had been attacked by a bunch of dogs and ripped apart because she had no claws to defend herself. That image always stuck with me..and that's why I will never declaw a cat.
ill never do that to my little max really i would never ever i could just let him scartch a tree or something btw what declawing is it just cut their nails off cause thats painful and crule
I've always hated the very idea of declawing. Not only are you cutting off a piece of their anatomy, but you're also taking away a part of their natural defenses. What happens when the cat goes outside? Even by accident? All it's got left is biting and believe me a declawed cat is far more aggressive than a normal cat.
I was living in a state thousands of miles away when my mom decided to declaw our cats. I was LIVID! I knew exactly what declawing does to a cat and I begged her to change her mind, but she didn't. She went through with it, and she got to see firsthand how much PAIN they were in just walking around afterward, and paid to treat an infection little Cleo got from using the litter. She's guilt-ridden about it to this day, and you know what? Much as I love my mom, she SHOULD feel guilty about it.
Its simple for everyone to make the owner look bad but how about the landlords of apartments and rental homes who tell people cats are welcome as long as you pay the pet fee then turn around and tell you after sighning the lease you either DECLAW THE CAT or face eviction. IT IS MORE COMMON THEN NOT THAT OWNERS OF CATS FACE THIS DAILY. Tackle that issue first (make a law against that) Then tackle the declawing issue...
@amoura242010 Thanks for making that excellent point. In fact, the Paw Project has been working to prohibit landlords from requiring declawing. In 2010, the California legislature passed a Paw Project-sponsored bill which would have prohibited landlords from requiring both declawing and devocalization (debarking). Unfortunately, the California Veterinary Medical Association spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect forced declawing and convinced the governor to veto the bill.
@ThePawProject Fortunately the idea to prohibit landlords from requiring declawing had proven to be a popular one. The Paw Project is actively supporting similar bills introduced for 2011 in Connecticut and New York.
@amoura242010 My understanding is that many landlords wanted a ban on requiring declawing as a condition of occupancy. It lost in California because of pressure on the governor from the veterinary association. They were the only ones that didn't want a ban on landlords requiring declawing. Go figure!
@AttorneyKathyT The state's largest landlord organizations actually supported the California bill that would have prohibited landlords from requiring declawing and debarking. Only the veterinaians opposed it.
@AttorneyKathyT I wish it was simple. Where I live, North Dakota land lords and the owners of apartments get away with doing this because our Govenour and some of the judges here say well its a privately owned building. So they have that right to demand declawing. What I want is there to be in no way to keep any stipulations like declawing out of the rental contract. if it isn't listed then the landlord can't turn around say other wise when a renter is willing to pay for Damages if occur
@amoura242010 You don't need to make a new law, just make everybody aware of this. Then, before signing the contract, insist on adding that the "cats will not be declawed" or similar language to the contract. You can simply write it on the contract before you sign it and if the landlord doesn't agree move elsewhere.
@amoura242010 It's actually already illegal for the landlord to make up a condition after the contract has already been signed. As long as you can show your signed copy of the contract/lease, and show that the condition was NOT on there, then he cannot evict you for it. You would get an automatic win in court. The key is to get a copy that has your signature on it.
My family has always owned cats. They were always declawed. When I became an adult, I adopted cats of my own. My vet taught me about declawing, and why it is wrong. She showed me how to train my cats properly and discourage them from scratching in the wrong places. I have cat trees in almost every room, and they do not scratch anywhere I don't want them to scratch. My furniture is fine, and my cats are happy. I adore their cute little INTACT paws.
I don't understand why anyone would ever consider amputating the end of their cat's toes just to make them "fit" into their home. Even more puzzling to me is why some vets in North America are continuing to promote this unnecessary and cruel surgery. Especially when you consider that it was the refusal of vets to perform declawing in European countries that led to it being banned there. In fact European legislation refers to it as an "unnecessary mutilation" .
The thing I like so much about this PSA is how extremely true to life it is. The vet in the video omits, sanitizes, and glosses over the facts about declawing in precisely the same way that I have seen and heard vets do in real life. This is what passes for "education" about the procedure in far too many vet clinics across this country. The utter failure of the veterinary industry in this regard is inexcusable. Thank YOU, Paw Project, for helping to fill the void.
Well done! Hope this message reaches many, many people!
Of course it is "more kind" to give pain management drugs after any surgery. I suppose if someone were to cut off the ends of my fingers I would want drugs too! But that doesn't make it okay! Don't declaw!
We took a cat in from neighbors who were going to abandon him when they moved. He was a great cat and we all loved him. However he got out and was killed by a do as he could not climb a tree or defend himself.
It is bad!! Why would anyone do that its just pure pure evil! What would they do if they were fighting a dog or something vicious?! We have a leather sofa and richard wont let my cat on it because hes afraid she will scratch the sofa , but we never would take the claws her!
After working in the veterinary industry for the better part of a decade and witnessing more declaw surgeries and recoveries than I can count, I am here to tell people that if you have not been in that surgery suite yourself, if you have not heard the crunching of bone and seen the blood-soaked recovery cages for yourself, if YOU have not been the one having to administer the aftercare to a freshly declawed cat...you do NOT know what you are talking about when you say that this is OK. It's NOT.
@Lorelei6668 and what exactly do you mean of "blood soaked recovery cages" ? Doesn't your vet place STOP the cat from bleeding out like that? If you don't like having cats declawed or worse, declawing them yourself for your job as a living, why are you working as a vet anyways?
It is difficult for me to understand under what circumstances one could ever justify maiming an animal for the sake of convenience. And I don't buy the "doing it for the cat" line. Since when is cutting off healthy digits a healthy thing?
If vets really think declawing doesn't cause problems, I invite them to gather long-term data on all declawed cats & see how many are now biting, house soiling, not getting along with kids or other pets, have anxiety & have been rehomed, relinquished, or euthanized because of these problems. Shelters & rescue groups need to collect this data too. Those that already have agree - declawing causes behaviour problems.
Vets who declaw behave unethically by not following their association policies that state clients are to be informed that this surgery involves the extremely painful amputation of cats' toes at the last knuckle; they're also supposed to properly council clients about declawing alternatives. Clawing things is a normal behaviour that needs to be directed towards appropriate items; scratching posts are essential, not optional. Trimming cats & dogs nails is a necessary part of pet care.
I think it's lazy to say that you have tried everything. Clearly you didn't try positive reinforcement training. I bet if you really examined your cat's paws they wouldn't be normal either. Poor kitty. That was just lazy on your part. Lazy, Lazy ,Lazy. If your puppy was chewing your slippers, you'd probably say, "Let's detooth him!"
Thanks for making this video, I was always against declawing my cat and now Im more sure than ever that I made the right decision. It always seemed a hurtful practice to me. Cats are already altered (neuter/spay), so by declawing we are eliminating their natural need. I feel cats that are declawed are denied their natural instincts of clawing and scratching. They are denied being a cat.
I declawed my cat as a last resort. We tried keeping his nails trimmed, tried many kinds of scratch posts and pads, tried the plastic tips too many times to count and he continue to destroy my furniture and carpets. We thought it was less cruel to declaw than dis-own him. He recovered quite quickly and is perfectly fine. He is an indoor only cat.
@JLC48 My neighbor took her two young cats to the vet clinic to have them declawed. One was dead two days later because the anesthetic destroyed its kidneys. How would you feel if you had insisted on that totally unnecessary surgery and YOUR cat ended up DEAD?!
@JLC48 I volunteer at a pet adoption organization. We don't allow last-resort declaws. Our adopters sign a contract in which they agree not to declaw. If they can't deal with the cat, we will take it back and try to find the cat a home where it will be accepted for what it is. We have found that declawed cats are much more likely to bite and to not use their litter boxes. AND to lose their homes because of those bad behaviors.
@JLC48 There is no such thing as a de-clawed cat that is "fine"-the bone/claw digit that he was meant to walk on the rest of his life, to use for dexterity, exercise, communication, & defense (in case he escapes) has been severed from his skeleton. Cats are masters at hiding pain, so just bcuz your cat is learning to cope w/being crippled silently, doesn't mean he isn't suffering. Every de-clawed cat experiences phantom pain (like human amputee victims) not to mention arthritic&emotional pain.
@JLC48 Frankly, we don't believe in the "last resort" argument. There are many resources available on the internet for humane alternatives to declawing. For you, your furniture was more important than the risks to your cat from subjecting it to what veterinarians in the United Kingdom refer to as a "mutilation." Just as you must child-proof your house for a baby, you need to modify your house for a cat...not the other way around.
Great video!! It reminds me of a time a few years ago when I was considering having our cat declawed. Our vet said it was no big deal, but when I learned from a friend that declawing was amputation, I said "NO WAY!" For our cat, Soft Paws nail covers solved the scratching problem. I was happy -- my wife was happy -- and the cat was very very happy.
Folks: To those who are considering having they're beloved 'Family Member' (Cat) declawed I urge you to PLEASE reconsider. I have 3x rescued De-Clawed by previous owners Cats in this house ~ all 3x display the symptoms of extreme psychological harm. As a result of owners initially declawing these Cats to correct supposed bad behavior, they in fact caused more and ultimately abandoned these souls to they're fate (Death) in Shelters. IF you love your Cat, do NOT Declaw!! Nuff' said.
Declwawing your cat IS A HORRIBLE thing to do. They ARE IN PAIN! I work in an animal shelter. When a cat is declawed they have to remove the toe at the first joint. The claws have to be removed that way or they grow back. Sometimes there will be a regrowth of bone anyway and this is even more painful for them. People wonder why their cats don't use the litterbox. It's CAUSE OF THE PAIN!!! They associate the pain of the litter hurting their feet and then just stop using it.
@dogtorted A survey of over 1000 veterinarians by Wagner and Hellyer (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association) found that 30% administered no pain medication after declaw surgery. Another recent article found that cats still were experiencing pain 12 days after surgery...the study ended at 12 days so it is unknown when the pain ends. Declawing is amputation that can have negative consequences long after the pain has diminished. Can amputation for non-medical reasons be humane?
@dogtorted Sorry but declawing is inhumane even if done correctly and that is why it is banned or considered extremely inhumane in 38 countries . Even before it was banned here in the UK our vets would not do it, in fact in all my career as a vet nurse only one person asked and was told she'd not find a vet in the UK willing to disable a cat that way for convenience sake. Cats need their claws to stay healthy. A declawed cat is an unhealthy cat.
@dogtorted YOU say declawing is humane. WOW, what a hypocrite!!...I saw your youtube video about how hilarious it is to smother dogs, you pathetic psychopathic fck. You are a veterinarian who likes to kill animals? I pity anyone who would entrust their animal to you. You should have your license pulled, sicko.
@WTFintheUSA Actually, I said it can be done humanely, but should be discouraged. As far as my comedy video goes, how does that make me hypocrite? Perhaps you don't understand the word. Or perhaps you prefer ad hominem arguments (oops! another big word! go look it up....) to actual debate. If you don't think my comedy is funny, that's fine. It has nothing to do with my amazing veterinary skills. Luckily, my clients know the difference between fact and fiction. To bad you don't.
@dogtorted hyp·o·crite – noun "a person who feigns desirable moral beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs." Doctor, you profess a concern about humane treatment of animals here, while elsewhere express a contempt of animals and pleasure killing them. Q.E.D.: You are a hypocrite, muthafugger. Oops, I went ad hominem on yo' ass again. My bad!
@dogtorted Where are your ethics? Do you follow association policy & properly council your clients BEFORE surgery, disclose that declawing is amputation, show them how to trim their pets's nails, & educate them that scratching posts are essential equipment because scratching is normal feline behaviour? If you agree to declaw cats to prevent furniture damage, that is unethical.
@dogtorted A CANADIAN survey of 276 clients found that only a whopping 4% would have seriously considered [getting rid of their cats if declawing wasn't available]. Because this study was published in a journal that few vets even know exists, it has remained obscure, & most vets who favor declawing use only the flawed and 99%-wrong figures. (Landsberg GM. Cat owners’ attitudes toward declawing. Anthrozoos 1991;4:192-197.)
@dogtorted Original research at MSVS is revealing the long term effects of declawing cats by any method. Digit hyperflexion, false digit pad formation, distal P2 osteochonditis, flexor tendonitis, and the psychological damage is be rated also. The physical paw damage is shown in the black and white of hi resolution dental radiographs. Board certified radiologist are reading them and fthese are their finding not mine! Analgesics do not work for 7-12 years!
i think the truth is stretched a bit on this. Its not like removing part of a finger its just the nail itself. But i own a cat and he's completely a house cat and im getting him declawed on all his paws for reasons. One he's kinda wild and does tear up stuff with his claws. Two when i have company over he tends to scratch my guests on purpose and he doesnt do it out of fear or trying to defend his territory. He does it to be playful but he can be mean while doing so. Doesnt matter its my cat.
@romanticwander Sorry, but that is not correct, it IS like removing part of a finger. There are many ways to find what declawing truly is, including watching the YouTube videos of actual declaw surgeries. One particularly disturbing video shows the veterinarian using "plastic surgery bone cutters" to remove the third phalanx (toe bone) from each toe of the cat's front paws. You wouldn't use "bone cutters" if you were just removing nails, would you?
@ThePawProject if need be then yes. (btw im not trying to be sarcastic about it) i just think about it from my point of view. There are some cats that do need this procedure and my cat tends to be one of them. I have had a few cats before that i never declawed due to the fact that they were calm and collected especially when i have visitors. But this is needed for my cat since ill be moving out of state with new roomates and well... I cant have my cat scratching them up now can i?
@romanticwander Why not take him to a vet and have his nails clipped so he can't scratch your visitors or snag your furniture instead of having his knucklebones permanently and painfully removed?
@PhoenixRocks cuz it grows back? the furniture im not to worried about that just material stuff. But guests... nah i have to watch out for them. And locking up the cat is damn near impossible too. He's about two years old already so yeah. I dont see nothing wrong with it really. Its not a big deal. But again people like to say "oh you dont know the truth. Oh its inhumane. oh this oh that." i think the real focus should be on the pets that are abandoned on the street. those are more important.
@romanticwander When your guests come over, why not have them help you trim your cats nails so they get trimmed regularly or have them help you apply Soft Paws every 6 weeks or so - they can hold the cat if he is so feisty. There are some good YouTubes showing how to do both. There are lots of pain free ways to manage claws besides chopping off their 3rd Phalanx finger bones! Giving them a sisal post to scratch will help keep the claws groomed too :-)
@romanticwander Also, be prepared for the lifetime of care ur de-clawed cat will need, most people abandon them when the issues develop. I live w/a de-fingered cat fr a shelter (abandoned by his 1st home) who has caused severe urine damage bcuz of arthritis & ulcerated paw pads, can't use his box. This is common, so know you'll have to buy joint support & pain meds for the rest of the cats life since u made the decision to cripple. You never know what problems they'll have until after surgery.
@PhoenixRocks You can get your declaw relief by having a digital flexor tendonectomy done. We have done the surgery for 9 cats with great success. The sooner the better! However, I cannot "fix" the horrible damage to these cat's minds. I wish I could.
@ThePawProject lets be honest here what is more important the safety of an animal or the safety of a human. and i no your robot will make some long stufpid response but it is called declawing not defingering. so what is more important attacekd guests or a clawless cat? i rest my case
@Sheamuscoronation Keep the cat away from guests. Teach it not 2 attack yer guests. Cats can learn things, my cats play fetch. If you squirt a cat w/H2O when it tries 2 attack someone enough, it will stop attacking people. Guaranteed. So you're gonna say "I shouldn't have to.", but it is just as important to train your cat as it is your dog. You don't let your cat, let's say, pee on the rug. U taught him/her not 2 do it, 2 go in the litter box, right? Same thing. De-clawing's just the lazy way.
@Sheamuscoronation also, they don't call it de-fingering because cats do not have fingers. They have paws & claws & since you are not removing the "paw" part the only thing left that you can call it is de-clawing.
@romanticwander Use those tips that go over their nails instead, Softpaws. My cats clawed the crap outta my furniture until I put Softpaws on 'em. I would rather @ least try that be4 having yer cat de-clawed.
No, it's not quite like amputation but I assume it feels akin to having all your fingers/toes snapped off at where your nails start.
I realize I'm probably not going to change your mind but...if you love or care about something, why would you want it to go through unnecessary pain?
If the owner's options are to either declaw the cat or euthanize it/take it to an overcrowded shelter to eventually be euthanized, I don't see a problem with declawing, selfish or not.
@stephie929 Thanks. We hear that argument a lot, but we don't see this as a "declaw or death" situation. There are many humane options to declawing...just google and find out. And remember that in the many countries were declawing is illegal, euthanasia rates are not higher than in the US.
Very subtle, I really think the shock ending is brilliant, this gets the message over exactly how devastating declawing is to cats and how smoothly it is sold to unsuspecting cat guardians by unscrupulous veterinarians
@auntykill Thank you, though we don't want to brand all veterinarians as "unscrupulous." Most may be just caught up in the culture of declawing and don't bother to question the practice. Interestingly, veterinary organizations in many countries, such as the UK, Australia, and Ireland, consider declawing to be unethical or unacceptable.
Shocking. I've never even heard of such a procedure. Absolutely barbaric. And those of you who think that this is acceptable, clearly have no place keeping pets. Cats have claws for all kinds of reasons. You don't like it, don't keep cats!!!
Oh my god!!!!! I had no idea people did that! I had heard about clipping, and that must be horrible enough for a cat. But actually removing the claws? Seriously? Why? Just so your sofa doesn't get scratched? Don't have cats, if you need to mutilate them in order for them to be convenient to you! :( I am so shocked!
clipping kitty's claws takes all of 5 minutes once you have it down. if you can't spend 5 minutes doing this once a week, than you seriously don't need to own a cat. or possibly children, for that matter.
wtf....which crazy person come to such an stupid idea....my cat have long claws but i'm not afraid that he hurt me with them. he's a friendly cat, i can play with him without beeing hurt....what's with a cat tree - there's such a simple solution. damn cruel selfish people!
My cat has all his claws and he doesn't scratch up anything because we bought him one of those scratch towers it was like $20. So it's cheaper I recommend that instead of mutilation!
Even if this psa is a little unrealistic, it doesn't change the fact that it is NOT right to mutilate our pets simply so that our couches don't get scratched. If having your fuurniture scratched is such a problem, here's a novel idea: DON'T ADOPT A CAT! If you have to tear his claws out just to satisfy your own selfish desires, you DON'T deserve a cat!!
This is so stupid. My mother's owned TONS of cats that were declawed, it's not like removing the tips of the fingers. It's more like if we took off our fingernails and they didn't grow back.
Declawing is actually a safe procedure and is beneficial for the health of the cat and the owner. It isn't performed in the cage, and after the cat heals it's fine. It'll be back to its' normal self. The only surgery I know that changes the cat's personality is neutering, that makes it less active.
I fully support cat declawing. You can't compare a cat to a human guys...
kris1991 1 month ago
@kris1991 Wtf? why not?
TheBucketSkill 4 weeks ago
Forget about laws in the United States. People don't give a crap about cats (even though they're the most popular pet). Why not start with the vets. Picket or at least mark any vet's office if s/he declaws. BTW, in spite of the fact that women are so worried about their precious furniture, I have yet to meet a female vet who declaws.
79barkingspider 2 months ago
@79barkingspider I wish it were true. This FEMALE vet, Dr. Jean Churan, recommends declawing for ALL cats ... even BEFORE the cats exhibits inappropriate scratching. Check out her unbelievably horrible YouTube video, "Kitten Cat Declawing by South Elgin IL 60177 Veterinarian."
ThePawProject 1 month ago
Here in Sweden this is illegal too, same goes with removing teeth and docking of tails and ears. I can't believe they would declaw cats... Horrible!
DecemberRegn 3 months ago
don't do to other as you wouldn't want other to do to you, this includes our beloved pets
vikvik16 4 months ago
This has never been allowed here in the Netherlands, I was aghast and bewildered to hear this was happening in the US.
ZaynahZihoa 4 months ago
ok, here's my case: i tried months and months to convince my mom to not do this and trying to train him to use his posts, but NOTHING worked. and my mom laid down the law when she said "either get him declawed or he goes to the pound" and then made the appointment when i told he not to. he's at the vets office now recovering from his surgery now and probably has it already done :(
TearsOfBlood666100 5 months ago
Pro-declaw people should just be honest, declawing is only ever out of convenience for some doof to protect their objects(the cat is a living thing you crazy, why would you cut your cat over stuff) or bratty kid(teach your child not to pull on Kitty's tail and mabye he won't get scratched).If you can't handel a cat how it is in nature you should NOT have a cat in the first place.
HelloMidnightChaos 6 months ago 3
Declawing just pisses me off. Your furniture is more important than the well-being of a living creature? It's just THAT hard to train them not to scratch the furniture, and buy a post?
I heard from a woman who declawed her cat that it's because she has small children. Bullshit, why can't you just tell your children not to fuck with the cat? Besides, I think it's important they learn that no matter how cute an animal is, they can cause harm if you treat them wrong.
hayitsnotfred 6 months ago 2
@hayitnotfred
I guess you're going to replace everyone's furniture.
bfnfamily 6 months ago
It takes a pair of $5 nail clippers and 5 minutes once a week to prevent your cat from scratching furniture or skin. I will NEVER understand why people would mutilate their "beloved" pet rather than take the time to clip the cat's nails and keep them blunt.
SnowyDogz 7 months ago
what about dogs? is it the same for them?
DramaQueenJade 8 months ago
"Just to save furniture"? Why don't you lazy assed people just train your cat not to scratch furniture and provide a damn scratching post or cat tree for their natural habits? I actually got off my ass and did so with my cat, and he hasn't scratched the couch in years because of my ninja ambush spray bottle squirt training and him having a comfy cat tree he likes to rip apart.
And my cat is freaking mean and stubborn, so you have no excuse! Plus the scratching post is cheaper in the long run.
BlueLagoonLoon 8 months ago
@BlueLagoonLoon for me i just used a spray bottle of water, and after a few months, my cat stopped scratching everything and continued to live like regularly. plus, we let her outside and she scratches the trees and loves it, and i have a scratching post and even though she prefers teh trees outside, she still enjoys it. people care more about a lifeless piece of cloth and leather istead of a living, breathing animal.
GeneralVan 8 months ago
I really don't see why exactly people are saying it is bad in the first place. The cats are put under so they don't feel anything during the surgery. After they are done removing the claws, they give them pain killers so they are comforible. I don't see why people are making a fuss about this. Yes, its removing bone, but that's where the claw is located.
ewinmn 8 months ago
@ewinmn WoWW are you a heartless SOB!!. Sure would hate to be your pet (or relative)! Amputating is OK as long it is "painless"? You have no problem witht the longterm crippling problems or persistent pain caused by declawing? That is just sick.
TheBunnyRunner 8 months ago
@ewinmn try cutting the top part of your finger off, and then tell me what is so bad about it.
GeneralVan 8 months ago
@ewinmn ur just stupid , a cat was born with claws for a reason it is used for protection and it would stress the cat out not to have their claws , how would u like to go without life with no fingernails or the top of ur finger bones , only people who are lazy and can't correctly teach the cat on the proper way to scratch other types of things such as cat scratchers are the kind of people who actually get this surgery done , also most don't know the type of torture they put their cat through
imtoosmartformyself 8 months ago
@imtoosmartformyself - i totally agree with you!! im part of the RSPCA team and we do NOT SUPPORT this kind of thing. a cat's claws brings natural instincts to them and taking that away takes away the cats need for hunting. you can clearly see that declawing has a chain on effect
declawing -> no hunting -> no natural instincts -> if them cats then breed the offspring may not have their strong natural intincts as there ancestors had.....there for declawing is A BAD MOVE!!!
aliisha234 7 months ago
@ewinmn Because it is like cutting off the first bone of your fingers. If you want your cat declawed so badly, then try to see what it feels like to have the first bone of you fingers removed. Why not instead use a scratching post, a double sided sticky tape called "Sticky Paws", and trim your cats claws; or use nail caps called "Soft Paws"? Cats need their claws for their health and well being.
DesireeChicago 7 months ago
would that be the equivilant to having your nails pulled out??? ;/
xPeaceLoveCookiesx 9 months ago
@xPeaceLoveCookiesx Worse. It's equivalent to having the ends of your fingers amputated...nail AND bone.
ThePawProject 9 months ago 4
@xPeaceLoveCookiesx If they take out the nail, it just grows back. So they chop off the whole first joint.
ZaynahZihoa 4 months ago
I got my cat declawed. He was a stray kitten and had we not taken him in he probably wouldn't have survived. He's doing perfectly fine and we love him to death. Price to pay to live in my house and not destroy my furniture. No regrets.
MrTangent 9 months ago
@MrTangent he did not even choose to live in your house, whether he was going to die or not. you had absolutely no right to take something vital away from him. even if you say, you own him, you have no right to take their claws away. cut your own fingers off if you want to have it done so bad. you care more about a lifeless piece of cloth and leather instead of an animal. if you have a kid, are you going to declaw him or her? you obviously dont love your kids if you let them keep their fingers.
GeneralVan 8 months ago
Declawing is awful. I've seen it done and can't believe owners still want it done. Still though doctors aren't always the bad guys in this situation. The doctors where I work hate doing it and only do it because so many people put down their cats or bring them to the humane society if it's not done. Btw, soft paws don't work very well- they constantly come off.
VetTechnician2b 9 months ago
I've never had a cat declawed. And from now on, whenever I get a cat, I will never have it declawed. You can train them and you can clip/file their claws. There is NO need to have em declawed. There are many products out there that help file and trim the claws, like that file scratch pad I saw on TV that's a scratching pad that does the filing FOR YOU as the cat scratches it and plays on it. There's also something called PEDI PAWS PET NAIL TRIMMER! I got one myself. Cheers cat lovers!
KuvaPefo 9 months ago 2
Do not declaw your cat. Get him or her a scratch pad of some sort (they tend to like cardboard - mine does anyway). A friend from school had a cat that was declawed - it was pitiful to see the poor animal trying to interact without them. And it appeared (in its older age) that it was arthritic in the joins of the paws. Claws are to a cat what thumbs are to a human - leave them alone. Have them regularly clipped if its that big a deal. Just don't declaw them.
AzmodanKijur 9 months ago
It's a good thing I didn't get my kitty declawed, even though she destroyed my hands while playing. She is still learning what no to scratch and what to scratch.
xxSUPERbus 9 months ago
Cats claws serve as a weapon againest enemies and mice.
Cats need their claws.
Haloguy700 10 months ago
Horrible, Horrible procedure that should never be done! Sadly many don't realix how cruel it is! Great video!
Abayomiabys 10 months ago
yea!!!! ive never agreed with taking an animals defences away....testicles are one thing i know ive got two older sisters and was married for a spell,but cats,if they end up stray what do they have left? its not a throw -pillow that throws up grass and insect parts for your dumb-assed amusement. its a friend,a created, beautiful creature. you wanna de-claw? - get a lion, then teach him/her to drive defensively.
noodlesmealey 10 months ago
i dont know why anyone would ever want to put their cat through that. I didnt have my cat declawed because its unnatural and just cruel. it should be illegal to declaw a cat.
amandaaaoxxx 10 months ago
I have a mean Main Coon,i found him in a snowstorm.He clawed you until you bleed & went to a hospital,the vet said he needed it.He got declawed at 7months old,now he will be 2 years old in June.He is a happy cat & we love him to death!!!! He is not in pain,he is too happy.I would not suggest to do it after a year old.
xotinamariaxo 10 months ago
@xotinamariaxo FACT: Declawing is not preformed in many other countries (such as England an Germany) and people are able to live in harmony with their cats. Your cat may be doing well, but many declawed cats have lifelong problems.
FACT: Your cat was a kitten and probaly feral. It needed behavioral training, NOT mutilating surgery. Did you even TRY SoftPaws nail covers?
FACT: Your vet let you down with bad advice, and YOU let your cat down by following it.
TheBunnyRunner 10 months ago 3
@xotinamariaxo No, the cat didn't need it, you were the one needing it. I'm glad your cat's ok, I'm not gonna say anything more, only this, change the vet, he has poor ethic and does things only for money, and next cat you have try SoftPaws, they're great
maritz3 10 months ago
this is stupid. The hand makes it seem like they are cutting off a while finger for the poor things. it is ACTUALLY just the tips of the fingers. this is also a very useless 'project". I love cats, and i love "meaningful things" but arent there more important things to focous on then this?
18andoverism 10 months ago
@18andoverism -- Cats walk on their toes. Declawing actually changes the way they walk. It is physiologically devastating.
felinerescue 10 months ago
@18andoverism Jeez, get your eyes checked. It's obvious that only the last part of each finger is missing. But we love your "meaningful" comments.
TheBunnyRunner 10 months ago
What's a cat without it's claws? This is banned everywhere in Europe but it's legal in the US. Totally bizarre.
weemalky 10 months ago
There are these things called softpaws, They are basically rubber tips that cover your cats claws. You glue them on and they last for a month or more until your cats claws grow out and then they fall off. They cause the cat no pain, and stop scratching problems. Even better cats can go about thier normal habits using scratching posts and such, without doing any damage. I have been using these on my cats for years and had no problems.
alyceaskew 10 months ago
all the people who declaw there cats are crual
kristandreamstar1 10 months ago
its terrible to declaw a cat
gpiggers 11 months ago
There are veterinarians who are fighting this inhumane brutal amputation of a cats ten toes. There is a doctor in Minnesota who does repair reconstruction surgery for domestic cats who are suffering painful disfigurement that is caused by declawing. It is illegal in many other countries but is going on in America in record numbers. It is not necessary. A cat can be trained to scratch on a post or another object provided for that purpose. Stop this madness. Write your legislator and the AVMA.
prettykitty0451 11 months ago 12
@prettykitty0451 Dr. Ron Gaskin has done very interesting research into the complications of declawing. Google him and his clinic, Main Street Veterinary Service, to learn more about his excellent work.
ThePawProject 11 months ago 8
@ThePawProject There is a recent article by the AP regarding feelings on declawing, but they are focused toward the owner's feelings. They said they declawed because they wanted to save their wood floors or the wallpaper. One said the cat showed no signs of pain and still makes kneading movements. These kind of uninformed comments is why legislation is needed to stop this torture. No credible value can be given to an opinion that ten amputations are painless. Shame!
prettykitty0451 10 months ago
@prettykitty0451 cool. gonna try and write the avma
would never declaw my cat if it scratches the shit out of you it wants to be either Left alone or be outside
chetneyoff3 10 months ago
The ignorance people have for all topics including this one is a damn embarrasment to the human race. Superior..haha what a fu**ing joke..more like the most ignorant, selfish, decieving creatures ever know! The Human Race! What we do to our plant & animals ia an awful share..to bad our goverment is the same way or we could actually do some good in the hell we call earth!
MizDivine360 11 months ago
I feel that if amputation of your cat"s toes, a.k.a. "declawing", isn't made illegal that vets have a moral obligation to inform their clients of what the procedure truly is and explain in detail what will be done to their cat. I wish it was banned for all eternity.
wholoveskitty 11 months ago
Knowledge is power. Many people don't know what this procedure really means for cats, big and small, wild and domestic. Thank you for bringing this issue to attention of those that might not otherwise realize there is an issue in the first place.
jeanettenatoli 11 months ago
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying this to justify declawing, (one alternative is to, you know, not even get a cat in the first place) but to criticize your ad for its apparently one-sided approach. If declawing was unfavorable even from a cat-attack-centric outlook, that should be mentioned in your ads. Just telling people declawing is cruel won't cut it if you don't also convince them it's unjustified cruelty
neoYTPism 11 months ago
@neoYTPism There is only so much that we can put in a 30 second video. At the end of the video, we refer people to our website. The FAQs page may answer some of your questions.
ThePawProject 11 months ago
@cracklytoes would you rather get rid of your cat then declaw it so you could have a place to live? Think about it from others points of views.
wrightway556 11 months ago
@wrightway556 We are thinking about it from the cat's point of view.
ThePawProject 11 months ago
omg, i feel like a HORRIBLE person.
this video made me cry, i cant even live with myself anymore knowing what ive put my baby through... poor thing :'(
alishadawnxo 11 months ago 2
Anyone who declaws their cat is selfish!
cracklytoes 11 months ago 3
who ever declaws their cats, should get declawed themselves. what an inhumane sick disgusting thing to do. i want to spit in all of your faces. Don't you dare try to argue this, or tell me otherwise.
KittyVP 11 months ago 2
@KittyVP uh...OK. We won't
ThePawProject 11 months ago
My fingertips hurt just LOOKING at that last part. o.o
Still though, I suppose the flip side would be to show the injuries someone would have gotten from a cat who WASN`T declawed...
neoYTPism 11 months ago
@neoYTPism Check out YouTube video of cat bitr infections. There are a lot of them. And scientific studies claim that declawed cats bite more than non-declawed cats.
ThePawProject 11 months ago
Which scientific studies, from whom, and what did they base their data on? @ThePawProject
neoYTPism 11 months ago
@neoYTPism Please go to the FAQs page on our website....pawproject(dot)org/faqs. In particular, see the references to articles by Yeon, Jankowski, and Gaynor.
ThePawProject 11 months ago
@neoYTPism What injuries would that be? In my country it's an illegal procedure, no cats here are declawed. By your warped logic cat owners here should be carrying injuries from our clawed cats. I currently own 4 cats, all with their claws, all inside cats. What horrific injuries should I be carrying, because I see none.
nupthatisit 11 months ago
i realy think declawing is like chopping off your cats defence tool........its inhumane and ubusive to the cats and the owners of cats who are against declawing.......i think declawing should be against the law........some people just want cats to die i guess.....to cats if u manage to make it to washington please learn to talk then find me ill help u
maskedcat12345 11 months ago
That is scary. I was seriously thinking of getting all of my cats declawed but now I change my mind. I don't want to mutilate them.
PorkChopMissPiggy 11 months ago
Oh, come on! Its not as bad as all that!
SundaeTheKitten 11 months ago
@SundaeTheKitten No, it's worse. Up to a third of cats that are declawed suffer long term problems such as chronic pain, littering problems, altered personality leading to either meekness or increased aggression thereby leading to biting, and many wind up surrendered to shelters because of it. About 20% of cats in US are declawed, yet around 50% of cats surrendered are declawed. Overrepresentation because of lazy cat owners who can't be bothered training their cats properly to use scratch poles
nupthatisit 11 months ago
@nupthatisit What other choice is there, when you have a cat that likes to scratch you?
SundaeTheKitten 10 months ago
@SundaeTheKitten SoftPaws are a great option, look them up
maritz3 10 months ago
I made "Do Not Declaw Your Cats!" video long time ago as well....
This video is much better than my way. I get more nasty comments and make me sad to know some people out there are not heart centered....
ayakurosawa 1 year ago
@luvpudel I'm sorry for your Casey, but I'm glad that you understand now and can educate others.
MsMEHowe 1 year ago
@alishapeele26 Sometimes shocking is necessary to get people to think. It's fake, but think about how that really happens every day to innocent cats who can't speak up for themselves.
MsMEHowe 1 year ago 2
Short, disturbing, to the point and accurate. I shared this with everyone I know. I can't imagine mutilating my cats in such a horrible way. I can also tell you I fostered a declawed cat that had such severe litter box avoidance issues that he developed crystals in his urine. He was a sweet, but rather neurotic cat, and I think that whoever declawed him scarred him mentally as well as physically. Cats are perfect the way they are-WITH their claws. Thank you for making this video.
MsMEHowe 1 year ago 3
To those who still think it's ok, keep in mind it's not JUST the hands, but the feet too. Even if you only declaw the front paws, the cat still has to walk on freshly wounded paws, with the ends of its remaining toe-bones squishing around in the wounds with every step it takes.
Most will still walk, because they have the intense survival instinct to NOT show their weakness. So they act fine. But are in agony, especially when trying to dig in the litter box, stones grating against the wounds!
xZaCloudx 1 year ago 2
Wow this video gets the point across it's rather freaky. When I was a kid we adopted an abandoned cat that had been declawed by it's past owners..It wouldn't use the litter box. We had to give her away because we couldn't stop her from going on the floor. We found out a few months later that she had been attacked by a bunch of dogs and ripped apart because she had no claws to defend herself. That image always stuck with me..and that's why I will never declaw a cat.
GhostlyAngel 1 year ago 5
ill never do that to my little max really i would never ever i could just let him scartch a tree or something btw what declawing is it just cut their nails off cause thats painful and crule
dddavalene 1 year ago
i take care of my pet i hope a pet does not die i love pets!!!!!!
dilbee99 1 year ago
I've always hated the very idea of declawing. Not only are you cutting off a piece of their anatomy, but you're also taking away a part of their natural defenses. What happens when the cat goes outside? Even by accident? All it's got left is biting and believe me a declawed cat is far more aggressive than a normal cat.
fatalrob0t 1 year ago 2
I was living in a state thousands of miles away when my mom decided to declaw our cats. I was LIVID! I knew exactly what declawing does to a cat and I begged her to change her mind, but she didn't. She went through with it, and she got to see firsthand how much PAIN they were in just walking around afterward, and paid to treat an infection little Cleo got from using the litter. She's guilt-ridden about it to this day, and you know what? Much as I love my mom, she SHOULD feel guilty about it.
ImpKicker 1 year ago 3
Its simple for everyone to make the owner look bad but how about the landlords of apartments and rental homes who tell people cats are welcome as long as you pay the pet fee then turn around and tell you after sighning the lease you either DECLAW THE CAT or face eviction. IT IS MORE COMMON THEN NOT THAT OWNERS OF CATS FACE THIS DAILY. Tackle that issue first (make a law against that) Then tackle the declawing issue...
amoura242010 1 year ago 7
@amoura242010 Thanks for making that excellent point. In fact, the Paw Project has been working to prohibit landlords from requiring declawing. In 2010, the California legislature passed a Paw Project-sponsored bill which would have prohibited landlords from requiring both declawing and devocalization (debarking). Unfortunately, the California Veterinary Medical Association spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect forced declawing and convinced the governor to veto the bill.
ThePawProject 1 year ago 11
@ThePawProject Fortunately the idea to prohibit landlords from requiring declawing had proven to be a popular one. The Paw Project is actively supporting similar bills introduced for 2011 in Connecticut and New York.
ThePawProject 1 year ago 2
@amoura242010 My understanding is that many landlords wanted a ban on requiring declawing as a condition of occupancy. It lost in California because of pressure on the governor from the veterinary association. They were the only ones that didn't want a ban on landlords requiring declawing. Go figure!
AttorneyKathyT 1 year ago
@AttorneyKathyT The state's largest landlord organizations actually supported the California bill that would have prohibited landlords from requiring declawing and debarking. Only the veterinaians opposed it.
ThePawProject 1 year ago 2
@AttorneyKathyT I wish it was simple. Where I live, North Dakota land lords and the owners of apartments get away with doing this because our Govenour and some of the judges here say well its a privately owned building. So they have that right to demand declawing. What I want is there to be in no way to keep any stipulations like declawing out of the rental contract. if it isn't listed then the landlord can't turn around say other wise when a renter is willing to pay for Damages if occur
amoura242010 1 year ago
@amoura242010 You don't need to make a new law, just make everybody aware of this. Then, before signing the contract, insist on adding that the "cats will not be declawed" or similar language to the contract. You can simply write it on the contract before you sign it and if the landlord doesn't agree move elsewhere.
socaljda 1 year ago
@amoura242010 It's actually already illegal for the landlord to make up a condition after the contract has already been signed. As long as you can show your signed copy of the contract/lease, and show that the condition was NOT on there, then he cannot evict you for it. You would get an automatic win in court. The key is to get a copy that has your signature on it.
xZaCloudx 1 year ago 2
My family has always owned cats. They were always declawed. When I became an adult, I adopted cats of my own. My vet taught me about declawing, and why it is wrong. She showed me how to train my cats properly and discourage them from scratching in the wrong places. I have cat trees in almost every room, and they do not scratch anywhere I don't want them to scratch. My furniture is fine, and my cats are happy. I adore their cute little INTACT paws.
ghoulie3 1 year ago 7
@ghoulie3 I'm so glad you learned the truth and decided to do what's best for your sweet kitties. Kudos to you!
MsMEHowe 1 year ago
I don't understand why anyone would ever consider amputating the end of their cat's toes just to make them "fit" into their home. Even more puzzling to me is why some vets in North America are continuing to promote this unnecessary and cruel surgery. Especially when you consider that it was the refusal of vets to perform declawing in European countries that led to it being banned there. In fact European legislation refers to it as an "unnecessary mutilation" .
crepuscularone 1 year ago 2
The thing I like so much about this PSA is how extremely true to life it is. The vet in the video omits, sanitizes, and glosses over the facts about declawing in precisely the same way that I have seen and heard vets do in real life. This is what passes for "education" about the procedure in far too many vet clinics across this country. The utter failure of the veterinary industry in this regard is inexcusable. Thank YOU, Paw Project, for helping to fill the void.
Lorelei6668 1 year ago
Well done! Hope this message reaches many, many people!
Of course it is "more kind" to give pain management drugs after any surgery. I suppose if someone were to cut off the ends of my fingers I would want drugs too! But that doesn't make it okay! Don't declaw!
ranchocortina 1 year ago 3
We took a cat in from neighbors who were going to abandon him when they moved. He was a great cat and we all loved him. However he got out and was killed by a do as he could not climb a tree or defend himself.
Declawing is cruel in many ways...
idav5d 1 year ago 2
It is bad!! Why would anyone do that its just pure pure evil! What would they do if they were fighting a dog or something vicious?! We have a leather sofa and richard wont let my cat on it because hes afraid she will scratch the sofa , but we never would take the claws her!
PepsiGirlz4 1 year ago 2
After working in the veterinary industry for the better part of a decade and witnessing more declaw surgeries and recoveries than I can count, I am here to tell people that if you have not been in that surgery suite yourself, if you have not heard the crunching of bone and seen the blood-soaked recovery cages for yourself, if YOU have not been the one having to administer the aftercare to a freshly declawed cat...you do NOT know what you are talking about when you say that this is OK. It's NOT.
Lorelei6668 1 year ago 32
@Lorelei6668 Amen to that.
fireflyangel27 1 year ago 2
@Lorelei6668 Thanks for all you have done to get the word out. You have helped many people and their animals.
ThePawProject 1 year ago 5
@Lorelei6668 and what exactly do you mean of "blood soaked recovery cages" ? Doesn't your vet place STOP the cat from bleeding out like that? If you don't like having cats declawed or worse, declawing them yourself for your job as a living, why are you working as a vet anyways?
ewinmn 8 months ago
It is difficult for me to understand under what circumstances one could ever justify maiming an animal for the sake of convenience. And I don't buy the "doing it for the cat" line. Since when is cutting off healthy digits a healthy thing?
thirst4metal 1 year ago 7
If vets really think declawing doesn't cause problems, I invite them to gather long-term data on all declawed cats & see how many are now biting, house soiling, not getting along with kids or other pets, have anxiety & have been rehomed, relinquished, or euthanized because of these problems. Shelters & rescue groups need to collect this data too. Those that already have agree - declawing causes behaviour problems.
twocentsCanada 1 year ago 6
Vets who declaw behave unethically by not following their association policies that state clients are to be informed that this surgery involves the extremely painful amputation of cats' toes at the last knuckle; they're also supposed to properly council clients about declawing alternatives. Clawing things is a normal behaviour that needs to be directed towards appropriate items; scratching posts are essential, not optional. Trimming cats & dogs nails is a necessary part of pet care.
twocentsCanada 1 year ago 5
I think it's lazy to say that you have tried everything. Clearly you didn't try positive reinforcement training. I bet if you really examined your cat's paws they wouldn't be normal either. Poor kitty. That was just lazy on your part. Lazy, Lazy ,Lazy. If your puppy was chewing your slippers, you'd probably say, "Let's detooth him!"
AttorneyKathyT 1 year ago 7
Thanks for making this video, I was always against declawing my cat and now Im more sure than ever that I made the right decision. It always seemed a hurtful practice to me. Cats are already altered (neuter/spay), so by declawing we are eliminating their natural need. I feel cats that are declawed are denied their natural instincts of clawing and scratching. They are denied being a cat.
DaCatOnTop 1 year ago 4
I declawed my cat as a last resort. We tried keeping his nails trimmed, tried many kinds of scratch posts and pads, tried the plastic tips too many times to count and he continue to destroy my furniture and carpets. We thought it was less cruel to declaw than dis-own him. He recovered quite quickly and is perfectly fine. He is an indoor only cat.
JLC48 1 year ago
@JLC48 My neighbor took her two young cats to the vet clinic to have them declawed. One was dead two days later because the anesthetic destroyed its kidneys. How would you feel if you had insisted on that totally unnecessary surgery and YOUR cat ended up DEAD?!
TheBunnyRunner 1 year ago 6
@JLC48 I volunteer at a pet adoption organization. We don't allow last-resort declaws. Our adopters sign a contract in which they agree not to declaw. If they can't deal with the cat, we will take it back and try to find the cat a home where it will be accepted for what it is. We have found that declawed cats are much more likely to bite and to not use their litter boxes. AND to lose their homes because of those bad behaviors.
SchaumburgPets 1 year ago 7
@JLC48 There is no such thing as a de-clawed cat that is "fine"-the bone/claw digit that he was meant to walk on the rest of his life, to use for dexterity, exercise, communication, & defense (in case he escapes) has been severed from his skeleton. Cats are masters at hiding pain, so just bcuz your cat is learning to cope w/being crippled silently, doesn't mean he isn't suffering. Every de-clawed cat experiences phantom pain (like human amputee victims) not to mention arthritic&emotional pain.
PhoenixRocks 1 year ago 6
@JLC48 Frankly, we don't believe in the "last resort" argument. There are many resources available on the internet for humane alternatives to declawing. For you, your furniture was more important than the risks to your cat from subjecting it to what veterinarians in the United Kingdom refer to as a "mutilation." Just as you must child-proof your house for a baby, you need to modify your house for a cat...not the other way around.
ThePawProject 1 year ago 10
@ThePawProject I agree totally!
DesireeChicago 8 months ago
Great video!! It reminds me of a time a few years ago when I was considering having our cat declawed. Our vet said it was no big deal, but when I learned from a friend that declawing was amputation, I said "NO WAY!" For our cat, Soft Paws nail covers solved the scratching problem. I was happy -- my wife was happy -- and the cat was very very happy.
ArmeeCrawler 1 year ago 4
Folks: To those who are considering having they're beloved 'Family Member' (Cat) declawed I urge you to PLEASE reconsider. I have 3x rescued De-Clawed by previous owners Cats in this house ~ all 3x display the symptoms of extreme psychological harm. As a result of owners initially declawing these Cats to correct supposed bad behavior, they in fact caused more and ultimately abandoned these souls to they're fate (Death) in Shelters. IF you love your Cat, do NOT Declaw!! Nuff' said.
LowRiderGhost 1 year ago 5
@LowRiderGhost
agreed
DaCatOnTop 1 year ago 2
Declwawing your cat IS A HORRIBLE thing to do. They ARE IN PAIN! I work in an animal shelter. When a cat is declawed they have to remove the toe at the first joint. The claws have to be removed that way or they grow back. Sometimes there will be a regrowth of bone anyway and this is even more painful for them. People wonder why their cats don't use the litterbox. It's CAUSE OF THE PAIN!!! They associate the pain of the litter hurting their feet and then just stop using it.
egypteyes2005 1 year ago 24
Too bad there's nothing in the PSA about the pain control these cats get. Far easier to demonize the vet to get your point across I suppose.....
With nerve blocks and aggressive pain control most declawed cats are up and walking comfortably right after surgery.
There are definitely alternatives to declawing and it should be discouraged, but when done right it is not inhumane.
dogtorted 1 year ago
@dogtorted A survey of over 1000 veterinarians by Wagner and Hellyer (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association) found that 30% administered no pain medication after declaw surgery. Another recent article found that cats still were experiencing pain 12 days after surgery...the study ended at 12 days so it is unknown when the pain ends. Declawing is amputation that can have negative consequences long after the pain has diminished. Can amputation for non-medical reasons be humane?
ThePawProject 1 year ago 26
@dogtorted Sorry but declawing is inhumane even if done correctly and that is why it is banned or considered extremely inhumane in 38 countries . Even before it was banned here in the UK our vets would not do it, in fact in all my career as a vet nurse only one person asked and was told she'd not find a vet in the UK willing to disable a cat that way for convenience sake. Cats need their claws to stay healthy. A declawed cat is an unhealthy cat.
kattaddorra 1 year ago 7
@dogtorted YOU say declawing is humane. WOW, what a hypocrite!!...I saw your youtube video about how hilarious it is to smother dogs, you pathetic psychopathic fck. You are a veterinarian who likes to kill animals? I pity anyone who would entrust their animal to you. You should have your license pulled, sicko.
WTFintheUSA 1 year ago 4
@WTFintheUSA Actually, I said it can be done humanely, but should be discouraged. As far as my comedy video goes, how does that make me hypocrite? Perhaps you don't understand the word. Or perhaps you prefer ad hominem arguments (oops! another big word! go look it up....) to actual debate. If you don't think my comedy is funny, that's fine. It has nothing to do with my amazing veterinary skills. Luckily, my clients know the difference between fact and fiction. To bad you don't.
dogtorted 1 year ago
@dogtorted hyp·o·crite – noun "a person who feigns desirable moral beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs." Doctor, you profess a concern about humane treatment of animals here, while elsewhere express a contempt of animals and pleasure killing them. Q.E.D.: You are a hypocrite, muthafugger. Oops, I went ad hominem on yo' ass again. My bad!
WTFintheUSA 1 year ago
@WTFintheUSA dogtorted is a flaming troll; he's posting comments to get attention.
twocentsCanada 1 year ago
@dogtorted Where are your ethics? Do you follow association policy & properly council your clients BEFORE surgery, disclose that declawing is amputation, show them how to trim their pets's nails, & educate them that scratching posts are essential equipment because scratching is normal feline behaviour? If you agree to declaw cats to prevent furniture damage, that is unethical.
twocentsCanada 1 year ago 2
@dogtorted A CANADIAN survey of 276 clients found that only a whopping 4% would have seriously considered [getting rid of their cats if declawing wasn't available]. Because this study was published in a journal that few vets even know exists, it has remained obscure, & most vets who favor declawing use only the flawed and 99%-wrong figures. (Landsberg GM. Cat owners’ attitudes toward declawing. Anthrozoos 1991;4:192-197.)
twocentsCanada 1 year ago 3
@dogtorted Original research at MSVS is revealing the long term effects of declawing cats by any method. Digit hyperflexion, false digit pad formation, distal P2 osteochonditis, flexor tendonitis, and the psychological damage is be rated also. The physical paw damage is shown in the black and white of hi resolution dental radiographs. Board certified radiologist are reading them and fthese are their finding not mine! Analgesics do not work for 7-12 years!
rgaskinDVM 1 year ago 3
@rgaskinDVM Thanks, Dr. Gaskin, for sharing your clinical research findings.
ThePawProject 1 year ago 3
i think the truth is stretched a bit on this. Its not like removing part of a finger its just the nail itself. But i own a cat and he's completely a house cat and im getting him declawed on all his paws for reasons. One he's kinda wild and does tear up stuff with his claws. Two when i have company over he tends to scratch my guests on purpose and he doesnt do it out of fear or trying to defend his territory. He does it to be playful but he can be mean while doing so. Doesnt matter its my cat.
romanticwander 1 year ago
@romanticwander Sorry, but that is not correct, it IS like removing part of a finger. There are many ways to find what declawing truly is, including watching the YouTube videos of actual declaw surgeries. One particularly disturbing video shows the veterinarian using "plastic surgery bone cutters" to remove the third phalanx (toe bone) from each toe of the cat's front paws. You wouldn't use "bone cutters" if you were just removing nails, would you?
ThePawProject 1 year ago 10
@ThePawProject if need be then yes. (btw im not trying to be sarcastic about it) i just think about it from my point of view. There are some cats that do need this procedure and my cat tends to be one of them. I have had a few cats before that i never declawed due to the fact that they were calm and collected especially when i have visitors. But this is needed for my cat since ill be moving out of state with new roomates and well... I cant have my cat scratching them up now can i?
romanticwander 1 year ago
@romanticwander Why not take him to a vet and have his nails clipped so he can't scratch your visitors or snag your furniture instead of having his knucklebones permanently and painfully removed?
PhoenixRocks 1 year ago 2
@PhoenixRocks cuz it grows back? the furniture im not to worried about that just material stuff. But guests... nah i have to watch out for them. And locking up the cat is damn near impossible too. He's about two years old already so yeah. I dont see nothing wrong with it really. Its not a big deal. But again people like to say "oh you dont know the truth. Oh its inhumane. oh this oh that." i think the real focus should be on the pets that are abandoned on the street. those are more important.
romanticwander 1 year ago
@romanticwander When your guests come over, why not have them help you trim your cats nails so they get trimmed regularly or have them help you apply Soft Paws every 6 weeks or so - they can hold the cat if he is so feisty. There are some good YouTubes showing how to do both. There are lots of pain free ways to manage claws besides chopping off their 3rd Phalanx finger bones! Giving them a sisal post to scratch will help keep the claws groomed too :-)
PhoenixRocks 1 year ago
@romanticwander Also, be prepared for the lifetime of care ur de-clawed cat will need, most people abandon them when the issues develop. I live w/a de-fingered cat fr a shelter (abandoned by his 1st home) who has caused severe urine damage bcuz of arthritis & ulcerated paw pads, can't use his box. This is common, so know you'll have to buy joint support & pain meds for the rest of the cats life since u made the decision to cripple. You never know what problems they'll have until after surgery.
PhoenixRocks 1 year ago 4
@PhoenixRocks You can get your declaw relief by having a digital flexor tendonectomy done. We have done the surgery for 9 cats with great success. The sooner the better! However, I cannot "fix" the horrible damage to these cat's minds. I wish I could.
rgaskinDVM 1 year ago
@ThePawProject lets be honest here what is more important the safety of an animal or the safety of a human. and i no your robot will make some long stufpid response but it is called declawing not defingering. so what is more important attacekd guests or a clawless cat? i rest my case
Sheamuscoronation 1 year ago
@Sheamuscoronation Keep the cat away from guests. Teach it not 2 attack yer guests. Cats can learn things, my cats play fetch. If you squirt a cat w/H2O when it tries 2 attack someone enough, it will stop attacking people. Guaranteed. So you're gonna say "I shouldn't have to.", but it is just as important to train your cat as it is your dog. You don't let your cat, let's say, pee on the rug. U taught him/her not 2 do it, 2 go in the litter box, right? Same thing. De-clawing's just the lazy way.
eagan22mi 1 year ago 4
@Sheamuscoronation also, they don't call it de-fingering because cats do not have fingers. They have paws & claws & since you are not removing the "paw" part the only thing left that you can call it is de-clawing.
eagan22mi 1 year ago 3
@romanticwander Use those tips that go over their nails instead, Softpaws. My cats clawed the crap outta my furniture until I put Softpaws on 'em. I would rather @ least try that be4 having yer cat de-clawed.
No, it's not quite like amputation but I assume it feels akin to having all your fingers/toes snapped off at where your nails start.
I realize I'm probably not going to change your mind but...if you love or care about something, why would you want it to go through unnecessary pain?
eagan22mi 1 year ago 5
If the owner's options are to either declaw the cat or euthanize it/take it to an overcrowded shelter to eventually be euthanized, I don't see a problem with declawing, selfish or not.
stephie929 1 year ago
@stephie929 Thanks. We hear that argument a lot, but we don't see this as a "declaw or death" situation. There are many humane options to declawing...just google and find out. And remember that in the many countries were declawing is illegal, euthanasia rates are not higher than in the US.
ThePawProject 1 year ago 5
Very subtle, I really think the shock ending is brilliant, this gets the message over exactly how devastating declawing is to cats and how smoothly it is sold to unsuspecting cat guardians by unscrupulous veterinarians
auntykill 1 year ago 5
@auntykill Thank you, though we don't want to brand all veterinarians as "unscrupulous." Most may be just caught up in the culture of declawing and don't bother to question the practice. Interestingly, veterinary organizations in many countries, such as the UK, Australia, and Ireland, consider declawing to be unethical or unacceptable.
ThePawProject 1 year ago 3
Shocking. I've never even heard of such a procedure. Absolutely barbaric. And those of you who think that this is acceptable, clearly have no place keeping pets. Cats have claws for all kinds of reasons. You don't like it, don't keep cats!!!
Only in America...
MutantTyrant 1 year ago 8
Oh my god!!!!! I had no idea people did that! I had heard about clipping, and that must be horrible enough for a cat. But actually removing the claws? Seriously? Why? Just so your sofa doesn't get scratched? Don't have cats, if you need to mutilate them in order for them to be convenient to you! :( I am so shocked!
maggytou 1 year ago 8
I worked in a vet clinic. I saw how it's done. This is accurate.
aerronelbron 1 year ago 4
clipping kitty's claws takes all of 5 minutes once you have it down. if you can't spend 5 minutes doing this once a week, than you seriously don't need to own a cat. or possibly children, for that matter.
strymfir 1 year ago 5
wtf....which crazy person come to such an stupid idea....my cat have long claws but i'm not afraid that he hurt me with them. he's a friendly cat, i can play with him without beeing hurt....what's with a cat tree - there's such a simple solution. damn cruel selfish people!
Kinnamoncloud 1 year ago 2
that was a great vid, declawing is awfull!
jyfnvideos 1 year ago
If you don't like being clawed in the face, don't have an animal.
Cinnamint0 1 year ago
My cat has all his claws and he doesn't scratch up anything because we bought him one of those scratch towers it was like $20. So it's cheaper I recommend that instead of mutilation!
GabriellaShawver 1 year ago 2
but you can cut little only like you do on dogs...but shit not take away all it would be the same as we lost all nails on our fingers...
majidahmaria 1 year ago
Even if this psa is a little unrealistic, it doesn't change the fact that it is NOT right to mutilate our pets simply so that our couches don't get scratched. If having your fuurniture scratched is such a problem, here's a novel idea: DON'T ADOPT A CAT! If you have to tear his claws out just to satisfy your own selfish desires, you DON'T deserve a cat!!
tokyopanda13 1 year ago
aww
shynb10 1 year ago
WOW thats crazy
CoraRanjel 1 year ago
WOW
CoraRanjel 1 year ago
but I don't like being clawed in the face :l
colorXmeXcrayon 1 year ago
Awwww!!! :( That's terrible!
unicornbubblegum57 1 year ago
poor kitties! :(
Rabbitlove77 1 year ago 2
WTF
Brotherclips 1 year ago
This is so stupid. My mother's owned TONS of cats that were declawed, it's not like removing the tips of the fingers. It's more like if we took off our fingernails and they didn't grow back.
Declawing is actually a safe procedure and is beneficial for the health of the cat and the owner. It isn't performed in the cage, and after the cat heals it's fine. It'll be back to its' normal self. The only surgery I know that changes the cat's personality is neutering, that makes it less active.
StrawberryBoy100 1 year ago
@StrawberryBoy100 Declawing certainly does not benefit the health of the cat. That's crazy!
WTFintheUSA 1 year ago 3