Many British people believe that de clawing is also cruel and inhumane and that this should be outlawed. However, there are many Americans who believe this is not the case and that to keep their furniture and belongings from being destroyed, a cat should be put through this surgery. I must point out at this point that the majority of American cat owners I have talked to believe this kind of surgery to be cruel and wrong and that many vets are now refusing to do this, so any British person who believes that it is the norm to declaw indoor American cats, should stand corrected.
Not many of the dangers that face outdoor cats in America are faced by those in England. The UK for example does not have a coyote population, or any deadly spiders or insects. Dogs are kept away from cats and besides, most cats could give a British dog a run for its money! Dogs in the UK are more domestic pets rather than trained guard or attack dogs and most owners train their dogs to be wary of and sometimes friendly with cats. Many households have a mix of cats and dogs as pets who can and do get on very well together, and lets be honest, in those households, the cats are normally the bosses!
Cats can of course get into fights with each other, but most are territorial and stick to their own areas, they then generally learn to get along with each other too. I personally have not heard of many cats who have died as the result of a fight with another cat. If a cat does get wounded, treatment is generally sought from a vet to stop infections occurring.
There is of course always a small chance in the UK that a cat may fall victim to mindless thugs who have in the past done terrible things to them However, this is very rare in the UK and one does not hear, thankfully, of many cases.
The main danger to cats in the UK in most peoples opinion is traffic. Unfortunately, the law states that drivers must stop for dogs and bigger animals but not cats. Most people however, when faced with a cat in the road will thankfully stop or in the worst case scenario, if the cat is hit, will contact a vets, rescue centre or try to locate the owner. The majority of cats are road savvy in the UK, admittedly, many still die from traffic incidents, but most will avoid roads altogether or wait until there is no car in sound range.
And with regard to illnesses and diseases, like humans, any cat can get ill regardless of whether a cat is allowed outside or not. Studies have shown that cats living inside a smoking house are more likely to develop respiratory illnesses and significantly more likely to suffer from feline leukemia. This chance is in essence increased if a cat is unable to go outside and benefit from the fresh air.
AGREE TO DISAGREE?
To sum up this argument, people on both sides of the debate need to understand that there is in fact no right or wrong answer regarding keeping a cat inside or not. The decision is influenced by environmental factors. The outside world in parts of America is massively more dangerous to cats than the outside world in Britain. Cats that are kept inside in America have a drastically increased life expectancy compared to a cat that is allowed outside on its own. However, cats that are allowed outside in the UK already have a very healthy life expectancy (up to early twenties!) and this is not likely to be increased by keeping them indoors with no access to the "wild" that they were born to be in.
