Cats Need Their Claws

To better understand the nature of why your cat scratches, it’s important to take a look at the important uses of your cat’s claws:

Hunting: Cats are natural hunters. Their retractable claws provide them with traction while running and help them catch and hold onto their prey. If you watch the way your cat plays with its toys, you can see that while your indoor cat doesn’t need to hunt for its next meal, the practice of hunting and chasing is still an instinctual part of your cat’s behaviour.

Stretching: Being able to grip items, like your carpet, allows your cat to twist and stretch the full length of its body, which is not only a good form of exercise, but it’s also a great source of enjoyment for your cat.

Climbing: A cat’s claws are curved to help climb up trees and other surfaces to get to safety. For indoor cats, their claws allow them to grip items such as cat trees or furniture, so they don’t fall or slip.

Leaving their scent: When cats scratch an item, they leave behind a special scent produced from glands on their paws. This allows a cat to leave its signature behind as a message to other cats.

Protecting themselves: A cat’s claws act as a method of self-defense when faced with a predator. While indoor cats have little need to defend themselves, their claws still offer the security of knowing they have a form of protection. Cats also use their claws to communicate certain messages, for example swatting to communicate the need for distance.

Balance: When a cat is declawed, it’s not at all like clipping nails. Declawing is amputating the claw and related bone and muscle tissue. Without their claws, cats often have trouble balancing

Scratching is a perfectly natural practice for your cat and serves several healthy functions. As listed above, without their claws they go through the trauma of not being able to be themselves. They also go through a life time of pain, We must assert our love for our companions and stop the barbaric declawing of our beloved cats.

Please help us end this in Pennsylvania by signing and sharing our petition. https://www.causes.com/campaigns/923454-outlaw-cat-declawing

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Outlaw Cat Declawing: Petition

Petition By M. Robbins and Guardian Of Animals

Governor Wolf, House Legislature, Senate, State Representatives

Declawing of cats has been a part of managing the scratching behavior of objects in cats. However, this barbaric tradition to protect ”items” and other material possession has caused more harm than good. Declawing cats has left them physically and mentally scarred for life.

We sit here on the precipice of destroying our beloved companions just to protect a few pieces of furniture or walls. All of which can easily be replaced, repaired and or protected by other humane ways.

Declawing of cats should never be an option. Scratching objects and or trees is a natural instinct for cats. The Medical drawbacks to declawing include pain in the paw, infection, tissue necrosis (tissue death), lameness, and back pain. Removing claws changes the way a cat’s foot meets the ground and can cause pain similar to wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes.

Those who declaw are basically torturing cats for a lifetime. Some cats, even big cats in zoos go through life never placing full weight on paws, some even developed a mental disorder. Leading them to constantly lick and or shake their paw uncontrollably.

Not to mention if cats should escape outside how would they ever defend themselves against other cats or wildlife? They wouldn’t and due to that inability to defend or climb a tree, they would most likely die.

Why declaw when There are many alternatives to declawing that doesn’t leave a hazardous effect. Such as having professional clip nails as they do for dogs. Nail caps that can be adjusted to their size. And then there is double-sided tape to protect walls and door frames. Bumpers to protect furniture and non-toxic apple bitter to deter them from scratching up surfaces.

There’s also an environmentally friendly cat tree. Made of hemp, cardboard, dead tree bark and sea rope. All of which is biodegradable and reusable.

Declawing should be nonexistent, it should be considered animal cruelty and punishable if done/practiced by any person.

We the undersigned request for the prohibiting of declawing cats.

Petition: Outlaw Cat Declawing