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"Complete nonsense."

I completely agree. My two cats, Mitzi (7) and Gracie (3), both recovered feral kittens, are both completely indoor cats who were spayed and declawed when they each reached six months in age. In both cases, the vet told me that they would probably get around very gingerly for a period of time because of the procedure. However, when each of them came home, they ran, jumped, and wrestled with me just like nothing had happened. Without declawing, I would have never owned a cat; yet they were a Godsend when my late wife died and I didn't have an empty house to come home to every day.

I also now have two new kittens recovered from feral mothers living under my front porch. Both Rhiannon (Rhia) and Seraphim (Sara) are doing fine and they will both be declawed and spayed at six months as well.

These are four recovered kittens who, without declawing, would be living short and brutal lives outdoors. I have nothing to apologize for.

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RESISTOR

Swear allegiance to the flag, whatever flag they offer;
Never hint at what you really feel.
Teach the children quietly for, someday, sons and daughters
Will rise up and fight while we stood still.

Der Elite Møøsënspåånkængrüppen ØberKømmändø (EMØØK)

Every cat I have ever had has been a rescue. At this moment, I have six. I have always had my cats declawed, and always will.

Do I feel bad about doing it? Yep.

But as I explained to my sister as she was agonizing over whether to declaw her last two rescues;

If declawing allows a person to have more kitties, and to have a less stressful and more loving relationship with those kitties, then it is worth doing.

If your stuff gets ruined and there is constant anger toward a pet for ruining your things, all while tearing up your kids when they play with kitty, then fewer people would have kitties, which obviously results in MORE homeless and/or killed kitties.

While I certainly have no problem with people who don't declaw and can train their kitties to use scratching posts and such, there is no way my husband would allow me to keep so many kitties if they were scratching up our furniture and ripping up our curtains, not to mention the injuries they would inflict on each other when they get into it.

Not only that, but I have another sister who has two rescues, and she doesn't believe in declawing. I won't play with her kitties, 'cause they scratch the crap out of me.

My kitties live fantastic lives, full of love and attention. They have been saved from certain death. I guess that makes me super cruel, to some people.

Cutting off balls and hacking out perfectly functioning ovaries seems kinda harsh, but we do it not only to control population but to also control behavior.

You tell every person who goes to adopt a homeless kitty that they can't declaw, and you will have fewer kitties adopted.

Of course cats “recover” from this barbaric procedure just like you would go on to live a fairly normal life without your fingertips. But why would you do this just to preserve your precious furniture?? It’s mutilation pure and simple, just like tail docking and ear procedures. Some people are just selfish and shouldn’t own cats, period. If you can’t own an animal without mutilating it for your own purposes, then get a pet rock.