in ma opinion i would have to say its cruel..ma mami doesnt like to c doggies w/o tails n their ears cut like some ppl do to pitties..we think natural looks is they way to go...

yeah, the ears are there for a reason, to help them hear, and to keep the inside of there ears clean form everything. it looks like it hurts to have ears that short. it's like if you see someones arm bent at am impossable angle, even if it doesn't bother the person, it hurts to look at somtimes

I have a chip and it never has bothered me...it's like a piece of rice under the skin....and I'll never get lost or put to sleep at the pound cause of it...I think it's a great thing.

Although I know some people do, I would not pierce a baby's ears either.

That is essentially what they do when they tag some wild animals for study, but for fashion ... I just worry about it getting caught on something and ripping out.

You can get "jewelry" for you cell phone and "jewelry" for you pet.  Humans are weird that way.  They like to put stuff on other things, and that includes Dog and Cat Beans.  I don't think it right, but you know...

I have cat jewelry I wear on my collar.  I rather not wear collar, but she says I have to if I want to go outside so that someone will not think I stray can and try to take me.  It small thing, it make her happy. 

I do not know about this other stuff, but declawing a cat is mean.  It is like if humans amuputated their own fingers. As they don't do that, they should not declaw cat either. 

Thats just dumb!!!Dogs+ear piercing= PLAIN WRONG!!!!!

My brothers and I are declawed...it was a necessary evil for my mommy to keep us. When mommy was young and out on her own for the first time, she lived in a really bad neighborhood because it was all she could afford. When her lease was up, she had an opportunity to share a townhouse with her brother and split the rent, but he said she couldn't move in unless I was declawed. I was just over a year old, and I was sore for a few days but I bounced back. Once my brothers came along, Mommy lived with Daddy, who thought since I was declawed they should be too. If we went outside, Mommy NEVER would have done it!!!

Also, mommy doesn't think surgeries should be done simply for cosmetic reasons (like ear crop or tail dock).

Seems silly, like plastic surgery for doggies! 

My auntie had a cat when she was a young girl. He was supposed to be indoor cat, so aunties Mom & Dad decided Tiger should be declawed. Ends up Tiger refused to be indoor kitty and spent great amounts of time outside...chasing dogs, climbing trees, beating up stranger cats, killing critters of all ilk. He had very strong front legs and he lived to be 18 1/2 years old. He didn't seem to suffer from it.

I'm not declawed and refuse to have anyone touch my feet with clippers or those weird rubber things you can put on claws...and the furniture, carpet and skin show that I am not declawed. And I'm constantly getting claws tangled up in stuff and freak out when auntie or mum try to help me.

Actually, yes, she would have made that sacrifice on herself to get out of the situation she was in. She had been broken into twice-once someone followed her home and forced his way in behind her and attacked her...she was able to struggle and get to the phone and call 911 and escaped with her life and only minor injuries. Next time she wasn't home, but when she came home the window was broken and her TV and some jewelry were stolen. Of course with the broken window her biggest fear was that I would be gone..but once I heard her calling I emerged from my hiding spot in the kitchen cabinet.

So before you pass judgement, understand that she would have cut off her own fingers if she had to at that point. She was 21 and scared and given an opportunity to live in a place where we would be safe.

FYI-we don't bite either, we stay indoors and are not threatened in any manner that we feel the need to bite.

I'm sorry if I seem defensive, but my mommy loves us so much and didn't declaw us for cosmetic reasons or to keep her furniture nice. Given the choice, I would do it all over again to live in a home where I'm loved so much.

No one has to explain their self here. A cat can either be declawed and live in a loving home, being taken care of or they can keep their claws and live in a shelter or on the street. Those two lead to deaths. An indoor cat doesn't need claws, it needs a good momma, a good family.

I had a declawed cat once, many years ago, one of the first pets I owned when I got out of high school.  She was kept safely inside and was treated well and loved.  But she would bite to defend herself if something scared her.  And often, since she was seeking me for safety, I was the thing that got bit. 

I am told that many cats that have been declawed, do turn to biting. 

I would never declaw a cat.   When they declaw a cat, they take the bone up to the first joint.  Look at your finger and think about that for a while.  

Furniture is replacable and there are so many alternatives now, that I see no reason for what I consider a barbaric practice. 

If you think ear cliping and tail tucking is cruel, isn't declawing?  Not just are you physically maiming your cat, but you stand the rist of psychologically maiming him or her as well.   

Bigworm, they MIGHT not "need" them in a house, but that doesn't mean it still won't hurt like hell to get them yanked out. You don't NEED your finger nails, either.