I am from the UK, so my answer is fairly obvious. Declawing at owners request is illegal over here (it is considered cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act and carries a maximum penalty of £20,000 and 51 weeks in jail), and also prohibited by veterinary guidelines with an exception for emergencies or medical use. I know of one cat who has had a claw removed, but it was malformed and in-growing which caused him a lot of pain and infections, and the rest of his claws were left completely alone.

The UK and US do have very different views on cats though. For example, in the UK cats have the right to roam partly as a tradition of pest control through barn cats, most cats are outdoors and adopters usually have to confirm they have outdoor access, and black cats are viewed as lucky. In the US, as I understand it, most of these views are the opposite.

I really have no idea why this was even a thing. It is extremely selfish to remove what is essentially an important survival tool of an animal just because the owner is too lazy to train the cat. To remove ones fingers because you scratch is a stupid thing. It is insane how little people know about declawing. A cat without claws can no longer "hold" or "grip." Makes me so sad.

I didn't even know that some places allow that. It is horrible! You should never take away the only way a cat can protect himself, never. For me that is just an insane idea that people even think about it for real and do such things around the world.

I was not aware that it had been made illegal in the UK. I live in The USA and It is still legal here, but I think it is becoming a lot less popular. My own cats a rea all indoor/outdoor with their claws. I would never think of declawing a cat. If you can't provide a cat with things to mark and space to roam, you should not have a cat.

If they are socialized properly, cats do not scratch people. None of my current cats scratch or bite. We have had cats that scratch in the past, but they were feral rescue cats. If you respect that they are wary of people and are not looking for your companionship you will drastically reduce scratching incidents even with feral cats.

I think it should definitely be kept illegal and not an option for cosmetic purposes. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that some people would do this to preserve their furniture or whatever. Part of cat ownership is that your house will never look picture-perfect and pristine - same with any other pet or even children.

It's not that difficult to get a scratching post and put it in the corner of the room for the kitties to enjoy.

I would say it depends on how the cat is declawed. If you declaw to the point of injuring it, then that should not be tolerated. Leave the declawing to the experts. Pet grooming centers have specialists who can declaw cats without injuring them. There are really times when you need to shorten their claws (not necessarily get rid of them completely) particularly if they're just house cats who are not permitted to roam outdoors. When the cats learn how to behave, then you can let them grow their claws back again.

I would say it depends on how the cat is declawed. If you declaw to the point of injuring it, then that should not be tolerated. Leave the declawing to the experts.

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I'm not sure it you are familiar with declawing. Declawing refers to a specific operation, which removes a cat's claws by removing the first joint of the paw. In a human it is the equivalent of removing your fingernails by amputating your finger from the top joint upwards. There are details here: http://www.declawing.com/

Manicures and trimming are very different and often suggested as alternatives to declawing, but I do agree unless you have a very understanding cat giving one a manicure is best left to a groomer or expert.

I definitely think it should be illegal. It's incredibly selfish to cripple an animal just because you want to protect your precious material things. I never understood how one could value objects over a living creature. Any pet owner should consider the risks of owning a pet before even adopting one. It especially disgusts me that someone would cripple such a fine, and graceful creature and cause it to be in pain for the rest of its life. Also, declawing has so many risks it's not even funny. We have many cats, and even though they claw our things, we love them all the same because they are living creatures.

I am not a fan of cat declawing and don't think it should be legal. There is really never a reason to declaw a cat. Cats need their claws to defend themselves. To take an animal's only means of defending themselves is just so heartless to me. I don't understand why someone would want to take the only weapon an animal has to protect itself from danger. If a cat is having an issue clawing household items, it's time to take different measures, but not declaw the cat.

I honestly wish it were illegal here in the states. We haven't had one of our cats declawed in years; as soon as we learned about how harmful it was, we stopped having it done. I'm pretty sure my parents used to do it because they didn't want to risk the cats scratching or clawing at me when I was just a little kid, but they also didn't know why it was a bad thing at the time. If it were more widely known that it was a terrible thing to do to a cat, I think cat owners would have it done a lot less.

It should be illegal. I don't have a cat but I think as a human being we should consider their feelings because I believe animals have their own emotions. We should treat them not only as pets but also as friends. If your cat should really be declawed for health purposes and also for your cats own good, then maybe it could be considered. But declawing a cat because the owner just wants it, then it should really illegal.

I know it is illegal in some other countries however I think it depends on the owner and the behavior of the cat. There are cats who tend to be very aggresive even causes harm to their owners. That is mostly the reason why other pet owners would consider declawing their pets. However the well being of the cat must also be considered on the first place as always.

I think that declawing should definitely be illegal since it's rather cruel to cats. It can be a little tough to deal with a cat scratching furniture or other things, but removing what is essentially their fingers for it is too much. There's plenty of other solutions like consistent nail trimming, providing scratch pads or posts, or even basic training. I've also seen some pet-safe claw caps that you can use for your cat.

If you looks closely at a cats claw you will notice a pinkish film inside the nail. This is a blood vessel in the nail.
It is part of the nerve system. It is what helps the cat to retract and open up the claws.
And when declawing you are basically removing important blood vessels which bleed a lot if it is cut. It could effectively cripple or paralyze the cat in the long run.
So my answer is a definite NO. It should not be legal to declaw a cat.