This is a very controversial topic which has a lot of emotion behind but it needs to be looked at. As a cat owner who has experienced difficulty dealing with cat scratching issue in my home it is difficult not to be biased but let's give issue of declawing its due and see what exactly pros and cons are.

There are 2 types of surgical procedures which are commonly done to eradicate this problem. One involves cutting tendon that attaches claw to bone in a cats foot. The claw stays intact but cat can't use it at all because it is no longer attached to tendon that works it.

The second procedure employs use of a laser for cutting. This procedure removes lateral attachment. The claw is then removed.

Proponents of both these procedures claim there is minimal blood loss and discomfort. They also state that most cats are up running around in no time after surgery. Great!

However, what they fail to mention is that both procedures are invasive (any surgical procedure is), both require general anethestic, and both can result in complications especially for older cats. The second procedure is quite plainly amputation. They also fail to mention what many people have stated - that post-surgery their cat developed a biting problem that was not prevelant prior to surgery. What I have read also doesn't account for many reports of people's cats undergoing drastic behavior changes afterwards.

One such advocate I read about stated that "there will be medical reasons and other circumstances where this procedure will be necessary." But it fails to cite any of those reasons.

...or at least pay a fine. That's goal of animal welfare activists who announced recently that they are seeking state and federal restrictions on small but growing pet-cloning industry.

The effort has been spearheaded by American Anti-Vivisection Society [AAVS] (in suburban Philadelphia), and takes aim at companies such as Genetic Savings and Clone Inc., California company that began to fill orders for cloned cats last year. The clones - which have sold for $50,000 each - are genetic duplicates of a customer's deceased pet and represent leading edge of an emerging sector that advocates predict could eventually reap billions of dollars for corporate cloners. The movie, 6th Day , starring erstwhile governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, features pet cloning businesses in a shopping mall during its opening sequences. It may soon be case that life imitates art in this respect and pet cloning franchises may start popping up in common shopping venues. But not if AAVS have their way.

Should Cloning Be Allowed?

Several companies are racing to compete with Genetic Savings and Clone, current industry leader, which has produced about a half-dozen cloned cats and aims to achieve more difficult goal of cloning a dog this year. Some companies are already selling fish genetically engineered to glow in dark, while one has said it will soon produce cats engineered to not cause reactions in people allergic to them.

The AAVS petitioned Department of Agriculture to regulate pet-cloning companies as it does other animal research labs under Animal Welfare Act. The act demands minimum standards of animal care and detailed reporting of fates of laboratory animals. They have also been working with a California lawmaker to introduce state legislation that would ban sale of cloned or genetically engineered pets.

Are Grieving Pet Owners Being Taken Advantage Of?

"Pet cloning companies offer false hope of never having to let go of a pet and are causing harm to animals in process," AAVS concluded in a report, "Pet Cloning: Separating Facts From Fluff."

Managers of Genetics Savings and Clone denied emphatically that their enterprise takes advantage of grieving pet owners or harms animals. "We bend over backwards to make sure people are doing this for right reasons," said company president Lou Hawthorne. Nonetheless, he said, "we're open to additional oversight, provided it makes sense."

The Risks Involved For Cloned Animals