Getting a cat declawed?

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Flared Hicks said:
I don't get this whole house cat thing personally. Surely that's on the same track as declawing the thing, albeit less drastic?

Cats are supposed to be outside hunters not locked indoors unable to go out and claim their territory. Surely you're denying the cat its instinctive lifestyle purely to keep it as a vanity project.
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I know what you mean, but some breeds of cats are unsuitable to living outdoors for lengths of time. WE have long-haired persians, and their hair alone means it would be a nightmare to let them out - they'd come back a mess every day.
Because of this, the urge to go out and roam has been bred out of them. Ours somewhat like the garden, but get spooked very easily and run back in the house.
They have the whole house to play in - its not a bad arrangemet.
 


Flared Hicks said:
I don't get this whole house cat thing personally. Surely that's on the same track as declawing the thing, albeit less drastic?

Cats are supposed to be outside hunters not locked indoors unable to go out and claim their territory. Surely you're denying the cat its instinctive lifestyle purely to keep it as a vanity project.
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There are mixed views from vets on house cats. House cats are less likely to be injured, contract diseases and die early. Average lifespans of house cats are in the teens, outdoor cats live on average something like 3 years (presumably car accidents and foxes etc bring the age down). Some vets therefore say house cats are more humane. It's a matter of opinion.

Depends on the breed I'd say. Like dogs, some cats are more hunter-like. Ours aren't. They're not jumpers and won't jump very high like breeds such as Siamese. Ours goes out in the back garden for a snooze in the sun if she likes but she's happier on the back of the settee to be honest.

I've watched her watch a spider run across the carpet and then look at me with disdain. She's not much of a hunter, that one.

Edit: rspca guidelines:

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats/environment/indoors

Basically depends on the breed/amount of energy.
 
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PTR said:
I know what you mean, but some breeds of cats are unsuitable to living outdoors for lengths of time. WE have long-haired persians, and their hair alone means it would be a nightmare to let them out - they'd come back a mess every day.
Because of this, the urge to go out and roam has been bred out of them. Ours somewhat like the garden, but get spooked very easily and run back in the house.
They have the whole house to play in - its not a bad arrangemet.
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This is basically like my cat, he'll have a sniff about the front garden and back yard but he gets spooked easily and runs in every time - he prefers a nice cosy couch to kip on rather than anything else (he also loves to chill on top of the fridge freezer and kitchen cabinets :lol:). He loves to dart up and down the stairs (the only off limits places are mine and my sons bedrooms, as he moults and I don't want to be breathing in cat hair when I'm kipping ;)).
 
HellsBells said:
There are mixed views from vets on house cats. House cats are less likely to be injured, contract diseases and die early. Average lifespans of house cats are in the teens, outdoor cats live on average something like 3 years (presumably car accidents and foxes etc bring the age down). Some vets therefore say house cats are more humane. It's a matter of opinion.

Depends on the breed I'd say. Like dogs, some cats are more hunter-like. Ours aren't. They're not jumpers and won't jump very high like breeds such as Siamese. Ours goes out in the back garden for a snooze in the sun if she likes but she's happier on the back of the settee to be honest.

I've watched her watch a spider run across the carpet and then look at me with disdain. She's not much of a hunter, that one.

Edit: rspca guidelines:

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats/environment/indoors

Basically depends on the breed/amount of energy.
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3 year average lifespan for an outdoor cat? Where did you get that from utter bollocks.
 
My cat has the outhouse kitted out to live in. Two nights ago she jumped in my bedroom window and decided to kip next to me on the bed. Usually not allowed but I was half asleep so I allowed it. Got up the next morning and she had fucked off but not before pissing all over my dressing gown. What a feeling hoying your dressing gown on and wondering why it's soaked and you now stink of cat piss.

I'm going to chop her bladder off to rectify this issue.
 
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Our lass clips our two dogs and our cats claws without any dramas. The cat has a couple of scratching posts which he loves, he had a go at the furniture when he was a kitten but we bought some spray used it once and he's been fine ever since. I can't believe this woman got a cat without suspecting it might like to scratch something. Having the poor little bugger mutilated to protect the furniture is bloody horrendous. There are any number of repellent sprays made to stop cats scratching furniture. Much cheaper, and more importantly kinder to the animal.

Mick Dundee said:
My cats will actually come in to use the litter tray if they are outside, the weird little shites!
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Ours does that, cries to be in when he wants a dump.
 
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BigPete said:
Hmm I don't agree with that but the article itself also says there's so many variables.

I would say a cat would live longer by being allowed outdoors to exercise and be a cat apart from if it was killed which must drastically put down the average number.
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Obviously Indoor cats are more prone to being obese as the article and rspca says but you can account for that by giving them indoor exercise. The reason lifespan is so much lower is down to accidents, wildlife (e.g. foxes) and outdoor diseases that indoor cats won't come across.

You can disagree if you want but those are the averages, anyway. It's like dogs - they all need exercise but some breeds need more than others as they are bred to have more energy or have more hunting instinct. Same with cats, they're not all the same.
 
HellsBells said:
Obviously Indoor cats are more prone to being obese as the article and rspca says but you can account for that by giving them indoor exercise. The reason lifespan is so much lower is down to accidents, wildlife (e.g. foxes) and outdoor diseases that indoor cats won't come across.

You can disagree if you want but those are the averages, anyway. It's like dogs - they all need exercise but some breeds need more than others as they are bred to have more energy or have more hunting instinct. Same with cats, they're not all the same.
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Aren't there also likely to be other factors such as the types of breeds typically kept as indoor cats having longer life expectancy anyway? A lot of the decorative breeds, the Burmese, Persians etc are quite long lived iirc?
 
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