I've whipped up 2 examples in 10 minutes in the shower to illustrate my point.
The hormone alteration theory:
It's been shown that the hormones of a mother affect a baby's development. In humans the level of testosterone affects the development of the fingers in the womb. And once the fingers are developed they maintain a level of development regardless of their DNA. If a cat were de clawed it could be a very natural reaction for it's hormone balance to change as part of it's survival skills. A wounded cat in the wild probably shouldn't be attacking everything it sees. As a result of this hormone imbalance, the baby cat's claws may be stunted in growth.
The nutrient theory:
Cats consume food just like any other animal to maintain their bodies. Many of the resources in the food they eat are to support the growth of claws. If a mamma cat no longer had claws to maintain of her own, perhaps more of the nutrients she ate would go to building her baby cats claws while in the womb. This baby cat would get a super boost of claw building nutrients which would allow it to be born with larger than normal claws.
I've given you two possibilities of how de clawing a cat could affect the claws of a kitten. Neither of them have to do with DNA.
Would I have to be an idiot to believe in either of these?
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