Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That was not my experience. My cat didn't bleed and bleed and bleed, in fact there wasn't even any seepage. The doctor did an excellent job cleaning her up. My cat mewled a couple of times, then fell asleep. I brought her home, she behaved pretty much how anyone would behave after surgery (grumpy and whiny), and the next day she was using the litter box, eating, and experimenting with her changed front paws. Three days later she was back to normal.
She pounces, she jumps, she climbs, she kneads, she pulls the cardboard boxes apart, she splays her front toes (wow - she still has toes - how can that possibly be? All those scary videos insist that they chop her toes off!), and the only thing she -doesn't- do anymore, is cause damage to things with her front claws. She still causes plenty of damage with her back claws and teeth.
She doesn't walk funny, and the only hip problem she's ever had, was when she misjudged a jump onto my lap, from a step-stool, and pulled a muscle. She's made a complete recovery from that.
She may still have toes but she IS missing the first knuckle. De-clawing is an amputation no matter how "cute" your description.
AnonChick, If I had declawed my cat and then read this forum I would feel terribly guilty and regretful, glad your cat is doing fine. It's a normal human response to be defensive when declawing is under such attack, so maybe for the future, you may want to reconsider declawing, it's clear from this forum that you're not alone in declawing, but please don't be alone in learning that declawing is a form of intentional painful surgical alteration of the normal anatomy of a cat, for the sake of the owner's needs, not the cat. There's no shame in learning from one's decisions, the shame is in being belligerently defensive about declawing, like another post on this blog. Please don't go there, and if so, maybe cats aren't for you. We all learn from mistakes we make in raising our human children and we change as we go, learning from our mistakes and capitalizing on the right things we do. Animals are no different. Don't feel obligated to strike back at me or this blog, but maybe consider that declawing might not have been the best option for your cat based on new knowledge, and move on never to consider it again. What's done is done, but you don't have to repeat history should you decide to get another cat, and that you can feel good about.
That was not my experience. My cat didn't bleed and bleed and bleed, in fact there wasn't even any seepage. The doctor did an excellent job cleaning her up.
Of course he did. He or she didn't want you to see the evidence.
Quote:
My cat mewled a couple of times, then fell asleep. I brought her home, she behaved pretty much how anyone would behave after surgery (grumpy and whiny), and the next day she was using the litter box, eating, and experimenting with her changed front paws. Three days later she was back to normal.
That is not always the case and even those who believe in mutilating their cats can't deny that and usually don't. Every vet tech who has worked for a good size practice has seen some of the problems caused by this unnecessary surgery. Everything from permanent limps to the loss of toes and in rare cases, the loss of a paw. If this surgery wasn't cruel and painful, of no benefit to the cat, other countries wouldn't have outlawed it.
Quote:
She pounces, she jumps, she climbs,....
I had a de-clawed cat and know for a fact theycan not CLIMB as they have nothing to hold on with. And this is the reason they can never go outside alone and off a leash.
Quote:
....she kneads, she pulls the cardboard boxes apart, she splays her front toes (wow - she still has toes - how can that possibly be? All those scary videos insist that they chop her toes off!), and the only thing she -doesn't- do anymore, is cause damage to things with her front claws. She still causes plenty of damage with her back claws and teeth.
I haven't seen any videos showing cats with their toes "chopped off" leaving nothing but the main pad. Where did you see this kind of serious mutilation?
Quote:
She doesn't walk funny, and the only hip problem she's ever had, was when she misjudged a jump onto my lap, from a step-stool, and pulled a muscle. She's made a complete recovery from that.
That's your cat. You seem to be trying to speak for all cats that were declawed. Do you actually think others will admit their cat's gate or personality changed? Or that their cat lost a few toes due to infection? I've already admitted I will always feel guilty and bad about having my Siamese cat de-clawed back before I worked for a Vet and knew what it entailed. I was totally ignorant. They made it sound no more serious than a close nail clipping. She was not the same cat after her mutilation but there was no way to have it undone.
Back in the 50's/60's/70's many of us was raised with the old family farm traditions. Now granted.... no farmer in HIS LIFE would pay for the declawing of a cat..... afterall.... their purpose was for mouse/rat patrol. Their purpose was also to die of a young age due to highway or wildlife, or brutal winters.
But as more and more city slicker/apartment type people started taking an interest in cats as pets.... well.... let's face it.... declawing WAS THE RECOMMENDED! Heck.... I can remember a time when LANDLORDS WOULD REQUIRE of their tenents.
I'm partly sick that I'm guilty of being sooooo ignorant about such a subject. But then again... BECAUSE OF DECLAWING.... people became more OPEN ABOUT ADOPTING such pets. Which means they didn't get killed on the highway, or died in a freezing barn in february.
It really is a mixed bag of opinions.
I HATE PUPPIES GETTING THEIR TAILS CHOPPED OFF..... it's my personal "pet peeve".
I wish I had the answer???? Do we let the feral wild kittens DIE on a farm to Mother Nature? or do we subject them to de-clawing that gives them a life of maybe 10 yrs? or 15 yrs or 20 yrs? (and very very happy because of the family that they loved and loved them back?)
My current 10 yr old cat is declawed in the front, but still has her back claws. Do I really suspect this has CHANGED HER LIFE??? Sorry.... NO!!!!
I'm still not seeing the devasation that is claimed by some. Shes still alive. She hasn't been killed by a car. She hasn't been killed by a coon or badger or dog or whatever.
My husband is CONSTANTLY telling me to get our cat declawed because she's "tearing up the furniture". She has plenty of scratchy posts and mats but I still can't keep her entirely off the furniture.
I'm sticking to my guns though- she's got beautiful little claws. It's not her fault she needs to stretch them out! (She never purposefully scratches either my husband or I).
It's an awful, awful argument to have though. My sympathies with everyone here who has to suffer the same declaw/ not to declaw argument
P.S. Springazure- when I lived in Australia they were trying to outlaw tail docking on puppies- I'm not sure whether it went through or not but either way, the U.S. needs to follow suit! I think that anything like tail docking, ear clipping etc is straight up CRUEL. The only thing I've ever had done to my animals is get them spayed/neutered!
You should not have a pet if you have to hack off body parts to get the creature to suit your life style--so..the cat wrecks your couch hugh? I wonder if you had a dog - would you have it's teeth yanked out to make sure a pup does not chew on a table leg...Leave the animal in one peace...a cat has to have claws...the same way you have to have fingers
You should not have a pet if you have to hack off body parts to get the creature to suit your life style--so..the cat wrecks your couch hugh? I wonder if you had a dog - would you have it's teeth yanked out to make sure a pup does not chew on a table leg...Leave the animal in one peace...a cat has to have claws...the same way you have to have fingers
Then watch HOW MANY MORE cats end up in "kill shelters". Damn??????
There''s an old saying.... pick and choose your battles.....
Which battle would you like to pick? Declawing? or "being put down in kill shelters"????
I'm sorry but I'm an old farm girl used to 50+ cats for rat patrol. I'm also a multiple 25+ yr owner of cats.... just maybe some of you city slickers are a tad bit naive to reality???
I got half a dozen 2ft lengths of 2X4 and screwed em in everywhere the cats liked to scratch and claw so now they scratch and claw the 2X4 instead of furniture and door frames.
I'm not a big animal lover but declawing one of them is a procedure i find inhumane and will never happen to any of the cats we own.
Then watch HOW MANY MORE cats end up in "kill shelters". Damn??????
There''s an old saying.... pick and choose your battles.....
Which battle would you like to pick? Declawing? or "being put down in kill shelters"????
I'm sorry but I'm an old farm girl used to 50+ cats for rat patrol. I'm also a multiple 25+ yr owner of cats.... just maybe some of you city slickers are a tad bit naive to reality???
This is an old old old argument. Declawing does not save lives. Declawing does not keep the cats out of shelters. People who declaw cats are just as quick to dump them when the behavior problems start. Or when the cat becomes inconvenient. Or when they move. Or when the boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't like the cat. Or when the new baby comes. Or when the cute kitten comes, and the old cat gets dumped and the new kitten loses her claws. Or when they tire of the cat.The lucky ones get taken to shelters. The rest get pitched out the door.
Cats who do not have their front claws cannot walk properly, they cannot stretch properly, they live all their lives in pain. Cats HIDE pain, so unless the pain is severe most people aren't going to notice it. People who declaw and intend to do so again are defensive and dishonest. They are not going to admit there is a problem, ever.
"My cat is fine". Sure. You cut off your heels and toes and walk on them and scratch them in sand or gravel four times a day, and tell me how it feels. Imagine never being able to stretch your back properly. Imagine never being able to walk with the gait you were meant to walk with. A backache that goes on forever. Imagine waking up with your feet on fire, and that fire never goes completely away. "it's just a cat" right? Who cares if it hurts?
The declawing issue has raised it's ugly head in my home, I have so much love for our girls that I'm refusing to consider declawing them because I think it's unethical and harmful. They need their claws to climb, jump and stay, and it cushions their front paws when they jump down, they're meant to have them, and I ask my family, how would you like to have your finger nails ripped out never to grow back? Our furniture is "getting raggedy" they say from their claws which is an exaggeration, but I wouldn't care if it was getting raggedy. "People think our house is a dump". I could care less what visitors say, put a throw over the chair if you're embarassed, and we have a beautiful home thank you very much. Our entire house is hardwood and tile and throw rugs because we've always had dogs, now we have cats as all the dogs have passed over the years so it's easy to keep the place clean. The battle of outside priveleges rages on too, I've refused them outside priveleges despite all the blogs about "being kept captive" inside, they're not going outside and that's that, they don't want to go outside, they're never tried to run outside, and indoor/outdoor cats aren't for me, they get hurt, pick up disease, get lost or hit by a car, climb/get stranded in trees, they require toxic flea treatments year round and on and on, I've been there, done that, I'm not letting these girls go out and that was the stipulation when we decided to get these cats, so not only am I a meany, I'm letting the cats destroy the house [which they're not], next I guess I'll become a hoarder. Ya'll can move out, everybody is all "yes yes yes" let's get kitties, then all is forgotten and it's all about "me,me,me" sorry, felines are precious animals that deserve the best treatment and they get it, and I'm happy to fight the fight to keep it that way. I get so mad at even my own family for disrespecting and devaluing animals for their own perceived needs. That's why I like animals better than people anyday, they're not selfish, they give you unconditional love, they're innocent and I just plain love these cats. Anybody else have these kinds of disagreements at home? Yikes.
Hooray for you! We have two cats and I have refused to declaw them. Our Vet says that it is NOT healthy for them and can leave them with infection and later on in life arthritis. What happens if the cats get outside by mistake? How do they defend themselves or climb a tree to get away from a predator. Our furniture is a tad raggedy..so what?? When people choose to have animals then there are consequences. Right now as I type this, my Pit Bull is on the bed behind me and has wrapped herself up in the bedspread and sheets..made one hell of a mess and probably there is now hair everywhere. I really don't care that much. Oh, the Pit, she also gets on our couch and puts nose prints all over our big picture window..have to wash it daily. The kitties?? They have their own room with a huge chair, a bench to scratch, a big basket with blankets I wash at least once a month, a rocking horse made of wood they scratch and a new pink house I just bought them. Spoiled..YUP. All our animals are rescues..people dumped them for no reason. One of our cats was tossed out a car window at a shelter when she was 4 wks old. She was lucky to survive. Our pit..left tied to a dumpster and only weighed 24 lbs when we got her. They pretty much do what they want and I pick up after them..WILLINGLY.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
