Declawing; please assure me it is illegal in Ireland?

Lauragoesmad

Xiney wrote: »

I will not defend my animal care choices. I am secure in the knowledge that Theo does not suffer any ill effects from his declawing, and apart from some discomfort for a few days following the procedure, never has.

I only posted to explain my reasoning. If you are not willing to accept it, that is your choice. But I will not defend it.

Thats because there is no reasoning under the sun that you could defend it with.
If you ever get another cat, will you get it declawed?

Xiney

Lauragoesmad wrote: »

Thats because there is no reasoning under the sun that you could defend it with.
If you ever get another cat, will you get it declawed?

Or rather I believe the arguments against it are simply not worth my time.

If we want to get into selfishness, where do we draw the line? Keeping birds in cages, fish in tanks, not letting cats roam free; all of these can be deemed selfish but are part of "pets". Owning a pet is inherently a selfish practise.

All my cats have always been declawed. I will continue to have all future cats declawed.

Lauragoesmad

Xiney wrote: »

My cat's paws ARE weird. He has two extra toes on each - opposable thumbs - he is polydactyl.

However, if you ignore the thumbs, they look perfectly normal. This is because his paws are perpetually in the shape of paws with retracted claws.

I will not defend my animal care choices. I am secure in the knowledge that Theo does not suffer any ill effects from his declawing, and apart from some discomfort for a few days following the procedure, never has.

I only posted to explain my reasoning. If you are not willing to accept it, that is your choice. But I will not defend it.

Xiney wrote: »

Or rather I believe the arguments against it are simply not worth my time.

If we want to get into selfishness, where do we draw the line? Keeping birds in cages, fish in tanks, not letting cats roam free; all of these can be deemed selfish but are part of "pets". Owning a pet is inherently a selfish practise.

All my cats have always been declawed. I will continue to have all future cats declawed.

Well I just hope for your poor cats sake, he never gets out by accident. I wouldn't like him to come accross a teritorial tom cat or even worse, a dog. He would never be able to defend himself.

And saying that an argument isn't worth your time. Fair enough saying you don't agree but saying its not worth your time. Whats that about?:rolleyes:

IMO, you are NOT an animal lover and if I had my way, the vet who declawed your cat should be stripped of his/her licence to practice because they are obviously not an animal lover either.

Also, just so you know, some cats have actually gone lame after being declawed. So please don't get anymore cats if you have to have them declawed.

Lobelia Overhill

Xiney wrote: »

My cat's paws ARE weird. He has two extra toes on each - opposable thumbs - he is polydactyl.

I, for one, welcome our feline overlord!

Jays he's a big pu... erm cat.

All the cats that my American friends had were declawed, one of them had been declawed front and back (ouch!) before they got her. The declawing was down to prevent the cats destroying the furniture. I didn't like to say "that's mean!" but I did point out that over here vets will not declaw a cat unless it's to remove a damaged claw, as it's considered cruel to take the cat's first line of defence against other animals away from them ... my friend's looked befuddled by the idea. They did keep their cats indoors tho'.

Aru

acording to our behavoiur lecturer declawing is illegal in most of europe along with other "mutilations" like ear cropping,tail docking(yup its not allowed except in a specific working breed seemingly and an irish vet can be called for disiplinery action if it was done "for cosmetic reasons")and devocalising as their considered inhumane and unnecesery cruelty
Iv never even heard of an irish cat that was de-clawed
However removing a dewclaw(extra digit) isnt unusual in some breeds of dog as it can cause medical problems

Aru

Aru wrote: »

acording to our behavoiur lecturer declawing is illegal in most of europe along with other "mutilations" like ear cropping,tail docking(yup its not allowed except in a specific working breed seemingly and an irish vet can be called for disiplinery action if it was done "for cosmetic reasons")and devocalising as their considered inhumane and unnecesery cruelty
Iv never even heard of an irish cat that was de-clawed
However removing a dewclaw(extra digit) isnt unusual in some breeds of dog as it can cause medical problems

Devocalising??? please tell me that isn't what it sounds like ??

kazza90210

Aru wrote: »

acording to our behavoiur lecturer declawing is illegal in most of europe along with other "mutilations" like ear cropping,tail docking(yup its not allowed except in a specific working breed seemingly and an irish vet can be called for disiplinery action if it was done "for cosmetic reasons")and devocalising as their considered inhumane and unnecesery cruelty
Iv never even heard of an irish cat that was de-clawed
However removing a dewclaw(extra digit) isnt unusual in some breeds of dog as it can cause medical problems

tail docking isnt illegal in Ireland its the same as declawing The Veterinary Council recommends its not done, if you know of vets doing it you can report them.

Devocalising is excatly what it sounds like, its an operation to cut the vocal cords so they produce no sound.

The Sweeper

It's the entire argument around elective surgery - surgery done without a valid medical reasoning. That includes declawing cats, docking tails on dogs that are not working animals, docking ears for appearance and cutting vocal chords on barking animals to prevent them making noise.

Hospitals will not allow us proffer our children for elective surgeries, as it's felt that we should not be permitted to make such decisions for those unable to voice their own protests.

When it comes to our animals, however, it's up to the legislature to pass laws to protect their voice. No law, and it comes down to personal preference.

Neutering is an elective surgery, however it has proven medical and lifestyle benefits to the animal. (Removes risk of ovarian cancer and testicular tumors, reduces the number of unwanted animals needing rehoming, reduces the urge to 'roam' and therefore reduces the risk to the animal of injury incurred while roaming unescorted, so on). You could argue that if an owner will be intolerant of a cat that has claws, then removing those claws is of benefit to the cat. The owner of a working dog will argue that its tail needs to be docked because of the possibility of injury to the tail while working. Some large breeds of dog benefit from removal of dew claws because the claws are large, protrude and are overgrown and if they catch on something they can cause painful injury to the dog.

The concept of elective surgery makes me feel ill. I could never have plastic surgery myself - this is perhaps because I am a surgical admissions clerk at a hospital, and I deal with thousands of surgery patients every year. I see the stress they are under, the intensive risk screening process because of the danger of anaesthetic, the pain, the slow healing process - the thought of undergoing that at someone else's behest makes me queasy.

Subsequently I will always support anti-mutiliation laws in whatever country I live. I believe that to cause an animal pain and stress as a lifestyle choice for you is animal cruelty.

And it's been said already on this thread - if a living thing doesn't suit you in the size, shape, colour, temper or smell that it comes in, then don't take it on. Leave it to someone who it WILL suit, just the way it comes.