What happens if you cut off the top joint of all your fingers? Pain? My dad is one of the people who can probably get us to the closest approximation to this question as he neatly sliced off three of his fingers on his left hand while building a coop house for the chickens a few winters ago.

For one, he said it was the worst pain he has ever felt (and he has experienced multiple accidents, like accidentally letting a tractor run him over while doing the oil change on it). It took years for my dad’s hand to get some semblance of normalcy, but at least he had his other finger and thumb to help him get along.

Why do we mutilate our cats?

I understand that there are many reasons why. I’m not going to go into all of them as I believe that there is a main reason. The main reason is because it’s legal. We think that if something is legal, then it must be OK. If it weren’t OK, then it’d be illegal…right? No.

Whatever’s legal or illegal at this moment is just a reflection of how the groups making the rules for our society feel. For example, slavery is now illegal, whereas it was legal not too long ago. Marijuana wasn’t always legal in Colorado, but it currently is. You get the idea. As we evolve (or sometimes de-evolve), rules change.

Banned

Some places have banned declawing their cats. Only one state fully bans declawing and that is New York. Other states do have some local bans, but their states do not fully condemn this practice.

Here are some of the countries that ban and consider this to be an inhumane, animal cruelty act:

England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Slovenia, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, Australia, Bosnia, Portugal and New Zealand.

Israel will fine you up to $20,000 and up to a year in jail if you mutilate your cat by declawing it. They passed this law in December of 2011!

The United States of America should be one of these countries. However, we have a long way to go.

Why shouldn’t Iowa be one of the very first states to join the fight against such atrocious and horrendous practices.

So, what exactly is declawing?

If you read over the first sentence/question of this article, then you already understand what declawing is to an extent, with the exception that humans don’t walk on our fingertips, nor do we need our fingertips to stretch muscles in our back as cats do.

Here is a quote from a vet describing the operation:

“Declawing is actually an amputation of the last joint of your cat’s ‘toes.’ When you envision that, it becomes clear why declawing is not a humane act. It is a painful surgery, with a painful recovery period. And remember that during the time of recuperation from the surgery your cat would still have to use its feet to walk, jump and scratch in its litter box regardless of the pain it is experiencing,” according to Christianne Schelling, doctor of veterinary medicine.

Anyone that says it is just the removal of the nails is just scientifically wrong. There are various methods used in declawing such as scalpel blades or CO2 lasers. No matter the method, they basically end up doing the same thing.

A picture for reference.

If you are interested in getting into the details, here is a link to a more technical description.

Cats are our family

Cats are complex individual life forms. They have emotions and needs like we do. They want to be loved and cuddled, or some prefer to be left alone and just fed. It varies so much because just as our human personalities differ, so do cats. 

No two cats are the same. After going through a major surgery, of course, they are going to have problems. They just lost a crucial part of themselves. 

Imagine never being able to scratch an itch again! Imagine never being able to feel with your fingertips but having the feeling of knowing what it felt like before.

I have a family member who wanted to get a cat for her kids. She had him scheduled to get declawed; he was 5 months old at the time. When I found out, I texted her. I wasn’t even sure she would read the text, but I thought saying something was better than not saying anything. I sent her links to what declawing was and what it did to the cats.

She didn’t reply.

The day of the surgery came and went. I later found out that she chose not to do it because of how cruel it was. After finding out what declawing entitled, she opted to cancel the surgery. I’m happy to say that Tiger is now living his best life using his claws to stretch to his heart’s content.

Take action

If you are wondering about what happened to the chicken coop my dad was building that fateful winter morning, it got finished a few years later. Thankfully, Dad had his right hand, the use of his thumb and index finger on his left hand to see him through the healing process. Cats that get declawed don’t have that luxury.

I have two cats. Even as I type this, they have come into the room to watch me do my work, as they often do.

They both are beautiful and brimming with personality. They are bossy, sassy, moody, cuddly, funny, observant, curious, sometimes a little too crazy and they are full of love and endless mischievousness. 

Although their free-spirited ways are sometimes hard to understand for our human brains, I believe that they would much rather keep their claws. Declawing is inhumane, brutal, and it frankly needs to stop. I started an online petition to help bring awareness to this terrible practice and, hopefully, help end it here in Iowa. I can’t do it alone, though. So I’m asking you to please sign and share it.