So what makes pet retail sector so unique? Well, in generational marketing terms, it’s one of few retail sectors that appeals to each generation. Spoodles (0 – 4 yrs old), Juveniles (the Pester Power group, 5 – 14 yrs old), Generation Y (15 – 24 years old), Generation X (25 – 34 years old) , The Jones’ Generation (35 – 44 years old) , Baby Boomers (45 – 59 years old) and Greying Tigers (60 years and older) are all fascinated by pets.

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.