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Cat Declawing Is Banned by New York State Lawmakers

nytimes.com

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Re: Cat Declawing Is Banned by New York State Lawmakers

#31

Post by andy_ppp »

droithomme wrote: post #26
TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not wait until they're adults and they can consent to the procedure?

The Judaic perspective is that the covenant applied to all future generations at the time of Moses. It is the son's father who consents to pass the legacy on and indicates this choice eight days after birth or thereabouts through this ritual. One does not choose to be a Jew, one's ancestors made that choice for oneself. There are many secular Jews and they are Jews none the less, accepted by the tribe even if they do…

I think it’s correct that unnecessary operations should only be done with the full consent of those participating... and even then I’d question the reasoning behind them. Just saying ah fuck it, we just chop bits of your penis off without asking you because a made up book says to, is equivalent to saying individuals have certain inalienable rights to decide for themselves what is done to their bodies is beyond insane.

Re: Cat Declawing Is Banned by New York State Lawmakers

#32

Post by gonehome »

I guess I don’t understand why people feel so strongly about this issue. The cats I interacted with growing up were mostly declawed indoor cats and seemed happy and playful.

It was less about furniture and more about not getting scratched (or having dogs get scratched).

Re: Cat Declawing Is Banned by New York State Lawmakers

#33

Post by newnewpdro »

My childhood cat was declawed on the front paws, and I've had multiple cats since then, all with claws intact.

It's definitely a significant difference in the cat's existence to be clawless. I'm happy to see this attitude shifting, but as others have commented here, there will almost certainly be more cats returned to shelters (and killed) when they won't stop shredding the furniture and carpet.

Even if you trim their claws, in my experience they will always do some damage to anything they can sink their claws into. It obviously feels good and is a compulsive activity like stretching for them.

And if you raise them to be aggressive with too much rough-housing in protective clothing, it can be a real problem, like with guests who think it's a good idea to pet the cat that's been unintentionally conditioned to think all arms are as impervious to claws as layers of sweatshirts worn in constant rough-housing. I had a friend who made this mistake long ago, that cat was awesome if you knew how to play with it but it required a safety warning at the entrance or blood would be spilled.

Re: Cat Declawing Is Banned by New York State Lawmakers

#34

Post by Mirminskyfamily »

elil17 wrote: post #8
verisimilitudes wrote: post #2

Meanwhile, infant circumcision is still perfectly legal.

That’s really unrelated. I get that it seems analogous to you, but it’s weird to me that a cats claw is similar to a foreskin in your mind. Declawing is much more like cutting off the cats fingers

Hey, I'd be mad if I had an anteater dick too!

Re: Cat Declawing Is Banned by New York State Lawmakers

#36

Post by throwaway_dd560 »

elil17 wrote: post #8
verisimilitudes wrote: post #2

Meanwhile, infant circumcision is still perfectly legal.

That’s really unrelated. I get that it seems analogous to you, but it’s weird to me that a cats claw is similar to a foreskin in your mind. Declawing is much more like cutting off the cats fingers

They aren't remotely analogous.

Male genital mutilation is far more horrifying.

Re: Cat Declawing Is Banned by New York State Lawmakers

#37

Post by kbd »

purpleidea wrote: post #16

Not a cat owner, so actually curious: I have a friend cat who always scratches me, which is quite painful and leaves marks. Is there a way to trim the nails so this doesn't happen, or is the only solution to avoid the cat?

Cats nails are naturally needle sharp, they can't help but hurt you if they catch. They actually grow out from underneath so as soon as new nail becomes exposed it's super sharp. Cats also have instinctual behaviors that involve sticking their claws in :) Vigilantly keeping your cats nails trimmed is part of being a responsible (indoor-only) cat parent.

Re: Cat Declawing Is Banned by New York State Lawmakers

#38

Post by aba_cz »

purpleidea wrote: post #16

Not a cat owner, so actually curious: I have a friend cat who always scratches me, which is quite painful and leaves marks. Is there a way to trim the nails so this doesn't happen, or is the only solution to avoid the cat?

It's quite easy to do that when our cat is asleep. It usually doesn't wake her up when you rub her feet during that and she looks like she even enjoys it because of the rubbing.

Re: Cat Declawing Is Banned by New York State Lawmakers

#39

Post by threehams »

purpleidea wrote: post #16

Not a cat owner, so actually curious: I have a friend cat who always scratches me, which is quite painful and leaves marks. Is there a way to trim the nails so this doesn't happen, or is the only solution to avoid the cat?

Intentional scratching is a behavioral issue. Sometimes you can solve it by giving the cat more playtime (real playtime, chasing / stalking a wand toy). Sometimes it's about not petting a cat certain ways. Sometimes it can just be solved by rewarding them with treats for not scratching you.

Trimming helps but yeah, search for behavior fixes. Cats are different from us (and dogs) but they're usually not that complicated to figure out.

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