Pros And Cons Of Declawing

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Kimberly Tinoco Professor Staley English 103 14 December 2009 Cats, Claws, and Controversy It was about 10 years ago when our family cat, Sebastian, went missing. He was a beautiful, long haired, black and white male cat that had a dominate alpha male personality. He was an indoor cat and loved to look out windows and sometimes tried to sneak out to the front yard. One afternoon he was successful and went missing for days. My family and I grew weary as each day passed, hoping for the best but fearing the worst. As we were on our daily walk looking for Sebastian we saw by the side of our house a small white paw sticking out of the dirt. I later found out, when I was older, that Sebastian had been attacked and mauled by a neighbor’s doberman…show more content…
Because Sebastian had been declawed, he was stripped of his natural ability to defend himself. My parents, along with the vast majority were never informed of the cruelty and inhumane procedure of declawing. From that day on I believe that declawing is unnecessary and it should be mandatory to educate people about the declawing procedure before the adoption of a new cat. The declawing process is quite extensive. Most veterinarians perform this procedure on a daily basis and fail to inform their clients of the seriousness of the procedure. My parents were uninformed and told by their vet that it was an “easy and everyday surgery.” I believe most veterinarians do this because it is a quick way to tack on to the already high vet bill, and maybe simply because they do not want to take the time to explain the process. According to Veterinarian, Dr. Christine Schelling, she explains that, “Declawing is not like a manicure. It is serious surgery. Your cat's claw is not a toenail. It is actually closely adhered to the bone, so closely in fact that to…show more content…
Before a person could adopt a cat they would be given information, via video or pamphlet, about the intense and complicated process of feline digital amputation, also known as onychectomy. They would then be given time to absorb what they have learned and decide whether or not they still want to proceed with the surgery. This type of bill would not make declawing illegal, but would provide people with the knowledge they deserve. Although a good number of Countries, such as England, Scotland, Australia and Brazil, either outlaw declawing or highly frown upon it, it is believed that passing a law in America would be too large a feat to conquer (Shelling par. 2). However, progress is being made right here in Southern California. According to a recent press release from Dailynews.com, the City of Beverly Hills is considering outlawing declawing to raise awareness of this cruelty (“Beverly Hills” par.

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