Apples and Oranges really. It should be obvious that cats use their claws to escape impending danger. If they ever get outside they deffinately need them to fight off feral cats amonst other things, climbing and so on.

While dog’s don’t necesarrily need dew claws and cropping ears can have a health benefit. Just my thoughts first post on here.

The explanation that really convinced me that declawing is inhumane was in an article where a vet described how a cat’s claws are the equivalent of a human’s fingers. So, by declawing them, you are basically removing their fingers and leaving them with only palms for hands. Not a pretty image…

In fact, the US is behind other civilized countries in its attitude towards declawing. Declawing has been illegal in England for several years. Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Wales, Finland and Brazil, among many other countries, either consider declawing illegal or inhumane, and only allow it under extreme circumstances. But, hopefully, the US will be catching up! Just a couple weeks ago, a bill was proposed in Connecticut that, if passed, would make it the 1st state to make declawing cats illegal.

As far as the scratching that people site as a reason for declawing – there are many other alternatives to avoid it. First of all – simple training can often do the trick – and, yes, cats can be trained! Otherwise, regular nail trimming is a safe and easy alternative. Also, there is a product called SoftPaws that is a set of nail caps that fits over your cat’s nails and prevents unwanted scratches. I’ve never tried these, but would be very interested to hear from anyone who has…

I do not believe in declawing, due to the problems I have heard, and that it’s amputating a whole knucke of the cat, basically.

To answer “So on another thought, perhaps cropping a dog’s ears, docking their tails and removing their dew claws can be considered inhumane as well?”

No, it is NOT inhumane IMO to dock tails, ears, or remove dewclaws. It is a personal decision. If we are going to say that’s inhumane, then isn’t spaying and neutering inhumane? It is also removing a body part that nature intended the dog to have. Tails and dew claws are removed when the dog is only a few days old. Ears are done at different ages, depending on the breed, but let’s say 4 months. There are not really any health benefits to it, despite the persistent belief that it’s better for ear health that is anecdotal and not proven. It can be uncomfortable for the dog, if you ever see a Dobe pup with taped up ears you know it’s no fun for the dog, but I do not think it’s cruel. Nowadays, it’s just about looks. It is also illegal in parts of Europe, but that is also thanks to the AR people who seem to want to end the ownership of companion animals. In the states, how often do you see a Rottweiler with a tail? If I were a breeder, I would look at the trends going on in my breed, attitudes of show judges also affect it, as people don’t want to lose a show just because that judge favors cropped dogs. I would see if possible if I could leave my dogs natural, as I prefer that for most breeds.