kat says, "Getting a vasectomy or tubal ligation, or having a hysterectomy is a bit different than having one's first joints broken and cut out, which is really what declawing is all about." Absolutely true, though I was under the impression that in neutering the testicles were removed entirely (which is also a bit different than getting a vasectomy). Am I mistaken about that procedure?

I totally agree that NOT spaying and neutering one's pets contributes to the pet overpopulation problem. Keeping a pet indoors exclusively, and isolated, would keep it from procreating just as well but would be uncomfortable for the pet and for the owner who has to clean up after the pet, listen to the yowling, watch the pet under stress, etc. There's ample testimony that an altered pet is a happier, calmer pet.

Is a declawed pet a happier, calmer pet? Well, calmer, certainly. Chester missed his claws at first because long-standing habits had to be altered, but I'm not sure cats have the kind of brain that would be reminded of the absence of claws on a daily basis. My other cat, Artie, who was declawed when he was neutered, doesn't seem to miss the claws at all and may not even remember having had them in his kittenhood.

Weepiper: Nope, I'm not frivolous where my cats are concerned; I'm painstakingly deliberate! I'm the one who took Artie to a clinic in another state last fall and plunked down $1100 for radiation treatment for his thyroid tumor! He was a scarecrow then, but the picture of health now!!