I'm not really sure I buy the theory that declawed cats are more likely to have behavioral problems. I've seen a lot of cats, both clawed and declawed, and behavioral problems seem to be about the same in both groups. We currently have a 12.5 year old declawed cat who is probably the sweetest cat ever. Similarly we have fully clawed cats who have had terrible behavioral problems. It just seems to be pretty random to me.
Nationally, about 25% of cats are declawed. I'd be interested to see the studies that purport that they are turned in to shelters in disproportionate numbers. If this is the case, it doesn't seem to be the case locally. Also if they are turned in to shelters in disproportionate numbers, I'd like to know if the clawed cats are just turned loose somewhere, as opposed to being turned in to a shelter. I did speak to my vet about it and he says there is no hard evidence of any correlation between behavior and status of claws. Lots of people I really like have declawed cats, including my vet's receptionist. I continue to believe that cats are better off declawed than dead, and if you have to make the correlation YES I would rather have the tips of my fingers chopped off than be killed. -- Rescuties - Saving the world, one cat at a time. http://www.rescuties.org Vist the Rescuties store and save a kitty life! http://astore.amazon.com/rescuties-20 Please help George! http://rescuties.chipin.com/george I GoodSearch for Rescuties. Raise money for your favorite charity or school just by searching the Internet with GoodSearch - www.goodsearch.com - powered by Yahoo!
