Cats

[kittygrl]

actually out vet didnt do that he lazered off the nail and put something there to prevent it from growing back it was weird

 

i wouldnt mind amputating the kids arms shes so much trouble

Edited June 7, 2012 by kittygrl

[7Deadly$ins]

actually out vet didnt do that he lazered off the nail and put something there to prevent it from growing back it was weird

 

i wouldnt mind amputating the kids arms shes so much trouble

Lazer is just the tool he used. It's the same operation, just supposedly less "painful" during the process. Still an amputation, still barbaric, still unnecessary. The only way to prevent a nail from growing back is to remove the entire digit.

Edited June 7, 2012 by 7Deadly$ins

[kittygrl]

I just dont see how its barbaric, cats dont really seem affected by it, theyre still happy cats that wrestle and cause mayhem. yea it is lasering off a knuckle but we can live without limbs and they still have a finger. its safer for us and for them in many ways

 

yea there are some cons that isee like its taking an instintcual thing away but its safer for us and them. My cat got an infection from a cut caused by his back nails and it crippled his left ear. and vet bills cost an arm and a leg

 

but i see oyur point too deadlysins. not causing any trouble, but if the cats claws are causing issues there is that alternative

[7Deadly$ins]

Some cats live in lingering pain every single time they walk. Cats are excellent at hiding their pain so you might not be able to tell, but that doesn't make it acceptable.

 

My view is that if someone cannot handle a cat with claws they shouldn't have one. If I could get them illegal like in Europe, I'd do it in an instant.

[kittygrl]

how do you know theyre in pain? the only pain my cat every has had from walking was when he jumped on a stove eye while it was cooling down

[Nine]

well we had to declaw them because well we have a toddler around that loves to abuse our cats. we got it for safety reason but we only declawed them half way. they still have their hind claws.

(and they hurt a lot if they decide to run off of your lap and youre wearing Pjs)

Double you tee eff. You have a child who enjoys abusing animals, so you alter the cats instead of teaching it to respect and treat the cats nicely? Yeah, that's totally what a sensible person would do, lol.

 

By the way, they sell rubber covers for cat claws just so you don't have to go through with a major surgery to declaw them. Also clipping them isn't that hard, trimming a parrot's nails is more of a hassle than doing it to a cat.

[TikindiDragon]

I just dont see how its barbaric,

Did you miss the part where it's illegal in most of Europe because of cruelty laws? What does that tell you?

[DarkVoodoo]

I have 1 cat of my own, but Im currently bottle feeding 3 and fostering 6, so I have a full house of cats,lol.

[DarkVoodoo]

well we had to declaw them because well we have a toddler around that loves to abuse our cats. we got it for safety reason but we only declawed them half way. they still have their hind claws.

(and they hurt a lot if they decide to run off of your lap and youre wearing Pjs)

Kittygirl-I found so many things wrong with what you said.

I have a toddler as well, but I sure as heck would declaw my cat becouse my toddler "abuses" the cat. There is no reason for a toddler to be mean or abuse a cat. Its not cute or funny. As a mother, you are suppose to teach your child its not ok to abuse an animal,not to allow it to happen.

There is no halfway declaw, you either removed the nails or you didnt.

 

 

The only way to declaw a cat is to remove the nail. A laser is a tool that can be used. To declaw a cat you cut into the toe and remove the whole nail (which to a human wuld be to the knuckle.

 

cats have the natural need to claw, but if given a safe/proper palce to do it, it shouldnt be a problem. Plus you can always trimm the nails or put nail caps on them.

[kittygrl]

it was more of a joke really. she doesnt really abuse she them she just plays with them and they dont like it. Sorry if i worded it wrong. and its my neice. im only 17 =P

 

it was called a halfway because only the front paws were declawed... its hind paws stilln have claws

Edited June 8, 2012 by kittygrl

[Drachenlied]

It doesn't really matter if it's just the front or all 4 paws - they lose a lot when it comes to defending themselves.

 

I had 2 cats declawed, Skotty and Tommie. My mother insisted on getting it done because - A ) She didn't want the cats to hurt the kids, and B ) because she was concerned about the furniture. I really didn't want to do it, but she gave me the ultimatum of keeping them and getting them declawed, or not getting them declawed and getting rid of them. I was very selfish and wanted to keep the cats because I'd grown so attached to them, so I opted to get them declawed.

 

When we got them back, I felt terrible for what I'd done to my cats. They looked pitiful, and they were in so much pain. Skotty normally had to claw his way up onto my bed because of how small he was, and he tried to after we got home. Not only did he go through the confusion of wondering where his claws were, he went through the pain of slipping and falling and injuring his foot further because he couldn't get on the bed. It also didn't help that we got them neutered at the same time, and that made it even harder for them to cope with the loss of something so natural to them.

 

It was after I realized how stupid and selfish I'd been that I promised the cats that I'd never do anything as terrible as declawing another cat in my life. And I intend to keep that promise. Darrow, my new kitten, will not have to go through the agony of being declawed. Instead, I'm clipping both his front and back nails, and I will be getting Soft Paws (a type of nail cap for cats) for him soon. I'm not so sure I want to put the caps on his back feet, simply because I want him to be able to scratch himself properly. (Does anyone put Soft Paws on their cat's back feet? Can they still scratch themselves properly? I'd like to know.)

 

The whole thing of it is, nothing is more important than a cat's safety when you're a cat owner. This means furniture, bedding, clothes, and, yes, even toddlers. Scratching furniture or ruining bedding or shredding clothes or scratching children is NOT a viable reason to declaw a cat. Furniture, bedding and clothes can be replaced (even though it doesn't need to be if you cut their nails once every one or two weeks, because they cannot properly claw the furniture or bedding or clothes anymore), and children learn to not pull on the cat's tail and respect its space after one or two good swats. There's also a whole slew of products for cats out there to help manage their nail growth (such as EmeryCat, which DOES work, and very well, scratching posts, etc. The list goes on) and thus no need to ever declaw a cat.

 

If you're reading this and you've got a kitten or a cat who hasn't been declawed, and you're thinking about declawing them, I implore you not to. It IS cruel and it IS abuse. Declawing should be an illegal practice in America, as it is in Europe. It's painful, unnecessary, and it's also ridiculously expensive. (It cost around 150$ to get each of my cats declawed!) If clawing is a problem, visit http://www.catscratching.com/ for solutions.

 

Sorry if that last bit seemed like a bit of an advertisement, but I really just want to get my point across - DON'T DECLAW YOUR KITTIES!

Edited June 8, 2012 by god.ofthedead

[crazyflower]

My dad is rather "house proud" and insisted on declawing our cats. =/ I told him that there is a large variety of scratching posts. He really doesn't understand that scratching is a natural behaviour. He usually seems to ignore my suggestions. When I move out I will not declaw them. I will just fill the place with scratching posts and cat trees. Our oldest cat is currently standing on my shoulders.

[Kiran]

I love my kitties.

 

I currently have three cats, and five kittens, who are about five weeks old (I think)

 

Although I'm not very happy with my kitties when a poor little songbird slams into our window, is still alive but can't get more than about an inch off the ground, and they kill the poor thing before I can save it. I really hope it's mate will be fine and not to depressed... (He/she was hopping around the one that hit the window until I scared it away when I tried to go help the one that collided)

 

 

[Kelkelen]

It doesn't really matter if it's just the front or all 4 paws - they lose a lot when it comes to defending themselves.

 

If you're reading this and you've got a kitten or a cat who hasn't been declawed, and you're thinking about declawing them, I implore you not to. It IS cruel and it IS abuse. Declawing should be an illegal practice in America, as it is in Europe. It's painful, unnecessary, and it's also ridiculously expensive. (It cost around 150$ to get each of my cats declawed!) If clawing is a problem, visit http://www.catscratching.com/ for solutions.

 

Sorry if that last bit seemed like a bit of an advertisement, but I really just want to get my point across - DON'T DECLAW YOUR KITTIES!

Thank you, gotd. I agree with the entirety of your post. I would absolutely BEG anyone who is considering declawing to read this page in its entirety before going through with the amputation:

 

http://www.declawing.com/htmls/declawing.htm

 

It cites a wide variety of veterinarians, veterinary associations, and animal advocate associations. It also has drawings which clearly depict the nature of the declawing procedure (drawings from veterinary textbooks, they're not some kind of scare propaganda, and they're not gory photos, only line drawings).

 

Though, I have to say, the most effective anti-declawing argument I've ever seen was a photo of the pile of severed kitten toes after the surgery. I'd seriously like to know if there are any dog owners who advocate amputating the dog's toes. Why don't we just extract cats' and dogs' teeth so there's no risk of them biting people, either? Grrr.

Edited June 9, 2012 by Kelkelen

[Nine]

I'd seriously like to know if there are any dog owners who advocate amputating the dog's toes.  Why don't we just extract cats' and dogs' teeth so there's no risk of them biting people, either?  Grrr.

I do believe there are people who surgically remove a dog's dewclaws for breed standards and hunting. And unfortunately, the practice of removing an animal's teeth-- mainly canines-- used to be really common for people who owned dangerous, exotic pets like big cats.

 

Not sure if you knew about those, but yeah =S

[Kelkelen]

I do believe there are people who surgically remove a dog's dewclaws for breed standards and hunting. And unfortunately, the practice of removing an animal's teeth-- mainly canines-- used to be really common for people who owned dangerous, exotic pets like big cats.

 

Not sure if you knew about those, but yeah =S

That's awful! Well, it certainly doesn't make a good argument as to declawing *not* being mutilation and cruelty to animals.

 

What anyone is doing attempting to own a huge wildcat is beyond me. We *have* domestic cats -- lots of them! -- in need of homes. Stop being exotic, stupid millionaires. >

[7Deadly$ins]

I have no problem with people owning exotics if they can take care of them and provide them with quality lives. That said, I was having this discussion on an exotic pet forum I visit about defanging... we all agreed it was useless and cruel. Usually, however, they only remove the canine teeth. Not only does that not really make it better, it just makes it more useless. If you get your arm stuck in a lion's mouth, it'll do some damage, canines or no canines.

[Silence2]

For those in countries where declawing is illegal, I do have a question. Is it totally banned, or do you know if it can be done if medically warranted (trauma, cancer, cutaneous asthenia)?

[MysticTiger]

Not sure if this is common practice, but when I adopted my cat Edward from Petsmart, I had to fill out a contract that stated I could have the cat taken away from me and/or Fined if I ever declawed him. Not that I ever would, but I thought that was interesting. That was the first time i've ever seen something that extreme about Declawing.

Edited June 10, 2012 by MysticTiger

[TikindiDragon]

For those in countries where declawing is illegal, I do have a question. Is it totally banned, or do you know if it can be done if medically warranted (trauma, cancer, cutaneous asthenia)?

In the UK it can be performed if it is considered by the vet the be a medical nescesity, yes. It would be unusual for all the claws to be removed in those cases, though. The vet would only remove the claw (or claws) affected and would leave the others in place.

 

The same would apply to tail-docking (which was banned by the same law). If it was deemed medically nescesary - eg, broken and gangrenous, cancerous, etc, - then the tail could be removed.

[Silence2]

In the UK it can be performed if it is considered by the vet the be a medical nescesity, yes. It would be unusual for all the claws to be removed in those cases, though. The vet would only remove the claw (or claws) affected and would leave the others in place.

 

The same would apply to tail-docking (which was banned by the same law). If it was deemed medically nescesary - eg, broken and gangrenous, cancerous, etc, - then the tail could be removed.

Thank you. As you said, it would be uncommon for all claws to be removed with trauma or cancer. However, I saw it was recommended for cats with cutaneous asthenia to be declawed likely on all four feet, so I was curious. Hopefully it stays rare.

[TikindiDragon]

Thank you. As you said, it would be uncommon for all claws to be removed with trauma or cancer. However, I saw it was recommended for cats with cutaneous asthenia to be declawed likely on all four feet, so I was curious. Hopefully it stays rare.

I'd not encountered that before you mentioned it (have now researched). I would think it unlikely that de-clawing would be the first option in such an instance in the UK - I imagine they'd try other treatments/approaches first and only resort to de-clawing if the cat couldn't be prevented from injuring itself.

[OceanSong]

I have a lot to say to do with cats.

My first pet was a cat called cookie, left behind by the previous owners of the house we'd just moved into, saying she could find her way to them if she wanted. After about a week she set off, we wetrenever told if she made it.

A few months later, we got a lovely doggy Kendra from the local rescue centre, broadwater kennels and cattery. She is very big and wolflike, but friendly.

Soon after, at the cattery, kittens are born from a tortoiseshell moggienamed abbie, on the 12th of sept 2008. The only gfirl of the littler was immediatley reserved, so all cats mentioned from now on are male. At first, my sister chose a white one, favorite of the owner so it had recieved lots of cuddles and was vety friendly, and decided to call him snowball. I chose a grey and white one (I think- it might have been just grey) and, as I was currently obsessed with harry potter, my dad wanted me to call him Nimbus (Nimbus 2000, harry's 1st broom..) but I decided patch. Later, I was annoyed at how timid patch was, and chose the helper's favorite, black and white with a lil' purple nose. I named him blackie- I just remember they had this giant strawberry thing they all squished in...

We had to wait longer than normal to get them, so they could defend themselves against Kenny- just in case- which turned out to be unncessary, after a little bit of hissing and spitting, they began to share kendra's basket, and snowball even thought he was a dog I tell you! Sadly, sometime in september 2009, snowball was run over *sniffles* I won't go into details, but we sat with him while he died.

Later in the year, we moved and my dad became a housemaster at a boarding school. Only the day after his 2nd birthday, Blackie vanished. I am still wondering what is worse- If he;s dead, or alive perfectly happy with someone else.

At christmas, my sister got a terrier- J.D., we took him to a friend's house, and their dad jokingly remarked "J.D. Is for Jack Daniel!" And he's now Jack. I couldn't have another pet becaause of him, and I learned to live with it. Recently, though I have become obsessed with cats, the russian Blue in particular. One night, I checked out ALL the breeders on the RBBA breeders list. We are now moving out of the boarding house, and I am determined that despite Jack, I WILL have a cat. I want it to be an indoor cat, as I don't want it to die. Am now saving up 450 pounds for a kitten.

 

To Be continued...

[Mommy_Kitty]

I plainly love cats, well i love all animals, but kittycats have the top spot in my rankings. When i was litle i used to have a cat that was a mix of persian and domestic european cat with a sweet name Lili, she was such a litle noughty, woke me up every morning by climbing on top of bunk bed and playing with my nose till i opened up my eyes. One time she was realy noughty and did a masacer on my mothers plants that she had on window ledge, sadly only half of the poor green things lived from that day forward. My favourite cat is Tiger, and if it wuld be posible to keep them as small as baby tigers i wuld totaly want to have a young white bengal to cuddle with.

Edited June 10, 2012 by Mommy_Kitty

[Kelkelen]

In the UK it can be performed if it is considered by the vet the be a medical nescesity, yes. It would be unusual for all the claws to be removed in those cases, though. The vet would only remove the claw (or claws) affected and would leave the others in place.

 

The same would apply to tail-docking (which was banned by the same law). If it was deemed medically nescesary - eg, broken and gangrenous, cancerous, etc, - then the tail could be removed.

Just in case anyone was curious -- seems to be the same in Spain. I have friends whose cat was found as a kitten in the airport, and his tail was broken. They couldn't save the tail, and eventually had to amputate it, which they were willing to do (and it was legally permitted in that case).

 

He's a totally happy and healthy cat, now.