Danger said:
Moonbear, I might have overstated it when I said extremely cruel, but there are a lot of factors that most people don't think of regarding post-operative situations. You're in a fairly stratified position due to your education and career, so what might seem normal to you could come as a surprise to others, with complications that they aren't prepared to deal with. To start with, walking is seriously difficult with the paws all bandaged up. Then there's the problem of not being able to perform one's accustomed rituals in the litter box, and the strong possibility of infection from trying if the bandages aren't completely sealed. Even the ingrained habit of jumping from a couch or window sill to the floor could cause agony. Considering how I feel when the arthritis settles into one of my toes, I can't imagine putting an animal through 10 or 20 times that pain just to save some furniture.
I guess from the fact that my cat is not declawed, one could probably determine I'm not entirely cavalier about it. I don't think of it as something that should be totally routine (some do...they don't even think about all you just described and run the cat to the vet for declawing before even trying). I definitely would limit declaws to front paws. That won't interfere so much with them using the litter box during recovery, and let's them bear weight on the hind paws.
I found it quite easy to train the cat not to scratch furniture. She seemed to forget that rule for about two weeks, during which time the squirt bottle had to come back out (I don't really like that approach much either, as it's not good for teaching them what they SHOULD do, just stopping them from what they are in the middle of doing, but she'd run off before I could get to her so I had to resort to an approach that works from a distance...when she was a kitten, it was much easier to just relocate her from furniture or carpet to a scratching post or mat or box). Part of what I've done is to provide ample places that she can scratch. Mostly, as she found spots that she would return to time and time again, I'd stick a mat or box there so there is no lack of places to exercise her desire for this behavior.
I agree with Vanesch and Kurdt that you should be prepared for the whole cat experience if you want to own one.
I do agree on that point. I don't think declawing is an alternative to proper care and raising of your cat. The catch is that cats (like other animals) do each still have individual personality traits and a range of feral vs. domesticated behaviors. Particularly when someone is adopting an adult cat from a shelter, much more so than when given the opportunity to raise them from a kitten, they may arrive with bad behaviors due to the bad conditions of their prior home. If they take a swipe at anyone who passes near them, one might consider declawing if they can't be broken of that habit. I'd be more concerned about a cat that shreds people (especially children) than one that shreds furniture.
But, for the most part, simply clipping their claws to blunt off the sharp edges really cuts back on the damage they do. Even when I've given Ember her baths and she's tried crawling up my arm to get out of the sink, if her claws are kept trimmed, mostly I've had just bruises, and light scratches from her attempts to dig in her claws for traction. Then again, her claws never come out during play. If she starts to extend her claws, play stops so she doesn't learn it's okay to use claws, but it's rare that this is even needed.
So, while I wouldn't entirely ban declawing, I do agree it should be an absolute last resort, even if you have to first hire someone to help teach you how to teach your cat proper behavior first. And, one definitely has to remember it's surgery, not something to be taken lightly. I was rather shocked when I had Ember spayed that post-operative analgesics were OPTIONAL. I think that adds to the concerns and views of cruelty. Would anyone here want to undergo any sort of surgery without some painkillers in the first few days after the procedure? Pets shouldn't be expected to either. So, if someone is going to declaw, they very much should give the cat analgesics for at least the first 5 days of recovery to keep them comfortable. There are also laser surgery options available now, which speed up recovery time, and if one is going to consider declawing, they also should be prepared to pay the extra expense for the method that causes the least bleeding, trauma, and has the most rapid recovery.
