A Question About Declawing Cats

[Logan]

Spencer, I just read your reply about Butter not being a good candidate for a nail clipping....I see I have given you a very good understanding of Butter's personality!! I actually couldn't clip either of their nails, Mimi or Butter, neither one of them handle being in my lap very well, especially when they don't make the decision, and certainly not for something like that!

This is off the subject a bit, but sometimes I think I don't paint the prettiest picture of Mimi and Butter. They are truly fun, beautiful animals, who happen to hate each other, but love Helen and me. They are just atypical of some of the cats who enjoy having their bellies rubbed, tolerate a bath, etc. If I have the urge the scratch someone's belly, I'd better go find my dogs, who love it!

[4 feline house]

First of all, Ben, I would assume that when your vet told you that most cats don't "know" they've been neutered, he was probably speaking to most human men's fears of castration that they so often transfer to their pets. Your cat does not "know" that he will no longer have a sex drive, that was probably what he was referring to. By the same token, your cat probably does not "know" he ever had a spermatic cord, either. But I would think a cat's toes are a way different matter, as they use them everyday to walk, manipulate items, and defend themselves. I can't help but think they "know" something is amiss then. Of course, this is something that can only be speculated on our parts; none of us knows truly how a cat thinks are what they are aware of.

My first cat, Zebo, now at the rainbow bridge, was declawed. He was a large, powerful cat when he was young, and I lived in rental housing and had a baby beginning to crawl. Zebo never had a vicious bone in his body; in fact, he was quite the wuss. But he still could inflict nasty wounds by not even trying. I decided to get him declawed. I knew nothing about the procedure, and did not receive anything from my vet until AFTER I picked Zebo up. I cried for three days when I read his toes had been amputated. I cried as I tried to help him use his letter box. I also cried each time I had to take him back to the vet in the ensuing years for abcesses he would get when the neighborhood cats attacked him and he was defenseless (yes, I tried to keep him inside, but since he was already an inside/outside cat, he was constantly escaping).

Of course, this is a very personal choice, and I think most people would agree amputation still is better than euthanasia, but I think most peoples' concerns on this board is that there are still too many people like me, who are not fully educated on the procedure, its risks, and alternatives before deciding to declaw. If I had it to do all over again, I would just put my furniture in storage and put armor on my baby, but leave Zebo's toes alone!

[annibale16]

As you all know, I just adopted Maddie, a 5 year old persian. She was declawed. I had no idea what declawed meant other than that they didn't have their nails. It sounds like a horrible procedure. But, Maddie seems fine and she uses her front paws all the time.
But, she is strictly an indoor cat! What happens to these poor cats that are sent to the pound with declaws. I guess the workers note all this stuff and make sure they go to indoor homes, but how can they know for sure.
I would hope that someone would ONLY declaw if they were sure that they were going to own the animal for its life or if they had to give it up to make sure that it went to an indoor home ( like Maddie's situation).

[kgeorge]

I have a 9 month old cat that I got a 5 months old from the breeder, Sundance was trained only to use a scratching post and he does, just as a precaution before I brought him home I covered the corners of the furniture with double sided stick tape, works great!

Declawing is a very painful traumatic experience, they are kept at the vets for at least 2 days in case any complications develop, I would never, never declaw. With training your kitty can learn what not to scratch, good luck.

[AvaJoy]

Wolflady's post with the vet's dissertation on the evils of declawing truly says it all! I would like to suggest that when trying to teach an armed cat to use a scratching post, do offer both vertical and horizontal options. This may hasten their adaptation, as some have specific preferences.

Kudos to the vets that refuse to perform this surgery. It seems akin to removing a dog's vocal cords because it barks too much.



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Regards ~ AvaJoy
=^.".^=

[4 feline house]

AvaJoy-

You are so right on the position of scratching posts - some even like them on an incline!

[nsweezie]

Currently we have 5 cats.
4 are not declawed.
1 is, and he is the last one to have that surgery. He was in terrible pain after the surgery, had blood all over his bandages. It changed my mind, and the rest of the families minds as well.
For the most part, with proper training, the cats with claws do not scratch anything but the scratching post.

[I_love_cats]

I am against declawing, it should be ban in every country. It is vey painful on the kitty and afterwards, it is a long recovery. I nevr get my cats declawed, two of my cats have their claws but my last cat I adopted from my shelter, was declawed on all four paws and had a broken foot. I am glad I adopted him because he might of got home where they let him and which he would survive from other animals. I heard they only supposed to do 2 front paws and that is it.

[maxx's mom]

I have also seen softpaws, and mentioned them on another post before I saw this one. Although I have not used them myself, I do know people who have, and I have heard nothing but praise for this product.

I am also against declawing, for the same reasons already mentioned.

[Uabassoon]

The only experience I have had with delawed cat is my roommates. The previous owners had her declawed and would let her roam outside. I'm glad they gave the cat to my roommate so she can be kept inside all the time. Her cat is terrified of mine, if mine get anywhere near her she growls and waves her paws everywhere. I wonder if maybe other cats attacked her when she was outdoors. Luckily after a year my cats still haven't realized that she has no claws. The big fuss she makes is enough to scare away Zasper an Corkscrew.

[khoyman]

I do not feel the same as most other cat owners. Yes, I love my cat dearly and just spent $300 to save his life after being poisoned by flea treatment. I don't see anything wrong with declawing a cat. My cat has been strictly indoors since I first got him 10 years ago. I tried many different kinds of scratching posts. However, he still caused a great deal of destruction at my parents house, where I lived until a couple of years ago. When Squirt, my cat, was about 9 years old, I got him declawed. I was moving out and didn't want him to cause the same kind of damage as he had in the past. I knew I would be renting an apartment for a while and could not allow him to destroy someone else's property. Squirt had the laser surgery done, which is safe. The vet in Edinboro, PA who declawed him did an excellent job! Squirt was sore for a short period of time, but is the same cat he was before this. It did not change his personality or aggressiveness at all. Squirt has always been afraid of the outdoors, and his declawing did not cause him to fear it. I feel that a surgery on a pet is just like a human who gets surgery. Of course, there are always risks with anesthesia. But even knowing the risks, I will receive anesthesia if it is necessary for a procedure. I guess I just don't believe in sheltering and overprotecting pets. My cat does not like having a new puppy in the house. But, yes, I let my puppy investigate Squirt and find out for himself that he cannot mess with the cat. I just do not think that declawing is cruel to a cat. I would rather keep my cat inside and be declawed. Even if a cat has his/her claws, there are still dangers to being an outside cat. Feline leukemia is extremely contagious in cats and poses more of a health risk than declawing.

I really think that some pet owners and animal activists go a little overboard with these issues. I did not see any negative effects to declawing my cat and would do it again.

I trust my veterinarian to do the best job he/she can. Now that I am outside of PA, I still found an excellent vet who I owe everything to for saving Squirt's life. I would trust her with my cat and my dog for any procedure.

Ultimately, this is your decision. If you feel that, for whatever reason, it would be best for your cat to be declawed, then find a reputable vet to do the procedure. If you feel that your cat's personality is too sensitive to be able to handle this surgery, then maybe you need to decide not to go through with declawing. Just base your decision on your own feelings and reasons. All cats and all situations are different.

I did try scratching posts with my cat, but was unsuccessful. He was squirted with water when he scratched other things. He just has a very strong, stubborn personality and really nothing worked to get him to scratch only his post. He did a lot of damage to my parents home due to his scratching. Even trimming his nails regularly did not stop him.

And by the way, my cat was a biter before I had him declawed. He only used his teeth as a defense anyway, so it made no difference. And let's also just clear up that I am not a horribly mean person just because I'm not against declawing.

[mruffruff]

Could you please describe the laser method? I'm not familiar with it.

What exactly does the laser do differently? I think most people are concerned that bone is removed in the usual declawing. Is the laser surgery less invasive?

Mary

[khoyman]

I think they still remove the bone, but it heals faster and reduces scaring. I guess I just feel that for my situation, declawing my cat was best. I first got my cat at the age of 13. At the time, I was living with my parents and didn't give his destruction too much thought. Now that it is my house and my things that would get destroyed, I really felt that my cat could handle this procedure. He has a strong personality and does not let pain or other things get in the way. My cat's personality is much like mine, which is why I felt that he could handle it. And he did fine. It all healed after a week or two, and he was back to his old self.

I don't know the exact specifics of the differences in laser vs. traditional declawing. It was much easier on his healing though.

[aly]

Just because a cat has claws does not make it an outside cat. My baby has all of her nails and is 100% indoors. All my furniture is also intact. She knows to only scratch on her scratching post or she'll see the super soaker come out of the closet. I also rent but would rather pay any amount of money for damages than amputate my kitty.

Most of the main points about declawing have been brought up in the thread but another thing is it can turn them into biters since their first defense is removed. Trust me, you'd rather get scratched than biten by a cat. At work when a cat gets really tempermental with me, I usually correctly assume that it is a declawed cat. Yes, it can happen where there are no behavioral problems but not always.

I have scratches up and down my arms and legs from my foster kittens but the thought has never crossed my mind that I should cut off their toes. Would you debark your puppy if he barked too much?