Relative Pushing For Declaw

[Gulf-Coast-Gatos]

A relative has recently gotten a three month old kitten. Over Thanksgiving, naturally, she and I talked about her kitten and my two new kittens, the toys they like, the silly things they do, etc.
However, she then asked if I was going to declaw my kittens. I said absolutely not, and left it at that, thinking she would get the message. She apparently did not.
She told me proudly that she was going to declaw her kitten, and suggested I do the same. Unsure of what to say, I repeated that I was not going to declaw my kittens. She looked at me like I was crazy.
The rest of the week she pressed about it, making subtle remarks like “ouch those claws!” and “you’ll have to buy all new furniture, do you really want to do that?” I tried to dodge these remarks, as I felt if I tried to educate her on how horrible declawing is, she’d get upset.
The last day, right before leaving, she pushed again, hard. She flat out told me I should declaw my cats. I began explaining that the procedure was inhumane and can cause numerous issues for cats, but she cut me off before I’d even finished my first sentence. “My cat was declawed and he lived for 12 years! He was fine, it’s not bad for them.” Before I could respond, she’d again told me that I need to get them declawed when I take them to be neutered.
At that point I was exasperated. I’d avoided confronting her the entire week and held my tongue, but in that moment I had had it. I looked her straight in the eye said I’d rather cut my own fingers off than do something that would harm my kittens.
She again looked at me like I was insane and waved me off dismissively before leaving.
Since then, I’ve felt conflicted. I just can’t stand the thought of this darling, outgoing, friendly little kitten being put under and waking up mutilated.
On the one hand, I don’t want to upset her, or make her feel like I’m getting in her business. On the other hand, she had no problem getting into my business... Instead of telling her what to do, as she did to me, I would provide facts to help her understand. I don’t think educating someone rude or intrusive, if done politely and in a nonjudgmental way? Thoughts?
If I were to try to talk to her, I know I’d have to do so carefully and eloquently. I’d have to explain how horrible declawing is while not making her feel attacked/blamed (Rogerian argument, for my fellow English nerds).
I wanted to ask, how would you handle this? What reasoning, facts, and proof would you present? Would you link her to the Paw Project? Write a persuasive essay? I’m trying to figure out how to communicate with her in a way to where she can understand how terrible this procedure is, and hopefully at least reconsiderer her decision. I know I may not be able to change her mind, but she has no idea about how harmful declawing can be, and I’d like her to at least be aware of that before she has her kitten declawed.

AMPUTANDO LOS DACTILARES DE UN MININO NO ES RECOMENDABLE.
Por favor no ampute los dedos de vuestro gato, de experiencias previas personales, eso no es bueno para el pobre gato, eso no ayuda al problema de mantener vuestro living o muebles sin danos.por experiencia propia lo mejor es proveer un arbol o cat tree ideal para el minino. Es natural que todo felino tenga que afilar las garras para defensa, imagine usted sin dedos.Gracias y por favor haga al minino un favor. dele amor incondicional.
declawing is awful degrading and seriously painfull,that means amputation of their fingers, so please don't do it, there are many ways to help kittie to stop scratching your precious furniture, I done losing great furniture until I personally saw the inhumane cruel way to declaw. Thanks nd good luck, I know this post is old but thought to share this with other cat lovers.

 

[AmyTheKittyMommy]

Gulf-Coast-Gatos
Hola, gracias por tu mensaje. No hablo español muy bien, todavía estoy aprendiendo, pero yo entendí tu publicación. Lo siento por mi español malo, pero quiero decir que yo aprecio su mensaje y lo diré a mi pariente. Es terrible que la gente lastime a Los Gatos, pero pienso que nosotros podemos cambiar esto.
En inglés:
Hello, thank you for your message. I do not speak Spanish very well, I am still learning, but I understood your post. I am sorry for my bad Spanish, but I want to say that I appreciate your message and I will tell it to my relative. It is terrible that people hurt cats, but I think we can change this.

 

[Gulf-Coast-Gatos]

Gulf-Coast-Gatos
Hola, gracias por tu mensaje. No hablo español muy bien, todavía estoy aprendiendo, pero yo entendí tu publicación. Lo siento por mi español malo, pero quiero decir que yo aprecio su mensaje y lo diré a mi pariente. Es terrible que la gente lastime a Los Gatos, pero pienso que nosotros podemos cambiar esto.
En inglés:
Hello, thank you for your message. I do not speak Spanish very well, I am still learning, but I understood your post. I am sorry for my bad Spanish, but I want to say that I appreciate your message and I will tell it to my relative. It is terrible that people hurt cats, but I think we can change this.

I truly think your espanol is Good Keep doing what you doing, for some reasons my thought come genuine and on point when I think in my native South American Spanish, Hope this helps we love Gatitos y Gatos of all kind and truly understand what is like to go through this experiences of having to take certain decisions, unfortunately there is lots of misinformation and misconceptions out there, we are glad that there is some voice of reasoning out there, Disculpa por mi imperfecto grammar, work always in progress. Thanks and Diosito la bendiga.

 

[Norachan]

We have lots of article on the dangers of declawing on TCS, but if you think she'd be more likely to pay attention to research done by qualified vets I found this.

Pain and adverse behavior in declawed cats. - PubMed - NCBI

Results Significant increases in the odds of back pain.....increased odds of biting and undesirable habits of elimination.....The use of optimal surgical technique does not eliminate the risk of adverse behavior subsequent to onychectomy

https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/LiteratureReviews/Documents/declawing_bgnd.pdf

A very long document, details Acute pain, Chronic pain, Hemorrhage, Wound dehiscence, Paralysis, Disease and the effects of stress on cats that can no longer scratch surfaces as they would do naturally.

Declawing linked to aggression and other abnormal behaviors in cats

declawing increases the risk of long-term or persistent pain, manifesting as unwanted behaviors such as inappropriate elimination (soiling/urinating outside of the litter box) and aggression/biting. This is not only detrimental to the cat (pain is a major welfare issue and these behaviors are common reasons for relinquishment of cats to shelters), but also has health implications for their human companions, as cat bites can be serious.

Declawing of Domestic Cats

there are inherent risks and complications with any surgical procedure including, but not limited to, anesthetic complications, hemorrhage, infection and pain......Pain management is necessary (not elective) and required for this procedure. Multimodal pain management is recommended, and there should be a written aftercare plan