not trying to start a fight but..

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Originally posted by Cataholic
All six of my cats are declawed, and it was completely my choice to do it (I mean that they didn't come to me that way, I made the decision to have it done.).

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wow, I did not know that!

I have had other cats that were declawed prior to them living with me, and I have not had problems with any of them. But I do know that 2 things are common in declawed cats 1) biting and 2) not using the litter box. The second reason is seen all too often in shelters.
(now I say common as in likely to happen, not definite as in these things WILL happen)
I would like to repeat that at work we get a lot of declawed cats and the owners do not have problems with them.
BUT, I'd also like to say how many vets will really say "don't do this" when it is income for them?

My best friend had her first cat declawed and she regrets it so much. (She was uneducated on what it was) When he got home from his surgery he was in a ton of pain. Now....he bites everyone is a really skittish.

Just throwing in my two cents.

All of mine are declawed. Bach and Mozart were my husbands choice to do so. Mozart had a tougher time than bach did with the procedure.. but I can tell you that they are happy, playful, CRAZY kitties, that climb over everything and ANYTHING. It has not hurt them in the least..

Of course all of mine are INSIDE only and we don't have a dog.. so the defence issue was not an "issue" for us.

Eliza however..well when we got her ALL FOUR of her feet are declawed. We are unsure why this was done to her (my husbands parents got her that way)... She is inside with me, but with his parents (before they got rid of her) she was outside, which was BAD BAD BAD.. she got hurt a couple of times.

As for biting and not using the litterbox.. all of mine use the litterbox (they just prefer to let me cover up their jobs!), and biting I haven't seen much MORE of a tendency than they had before hand (in the two boys). Eliza doesn't bite often period unless she's playing rough with you.

So... I think it's just a matter of will that cat ever be outside, is there a need for it to have claws? blah blah blah. I don't know if I would have personally had Mozart and Bach declawed, because I don't mind kitty scratches. My husband was the one that said it was a must do. :rolleyes:

*edit: I know I won't make a lot of friends with this post. I am sorry but it is the way I feel*

Declawing is a horrendous act. And I do not say this without being educated. I've done the research and I've seen the poor babies coming out of the surgery (on video). It makes me want to throw up. I've also first hand met hundreds of declawed cats through my shelter work over the years. I can almost always predict a declawed cat from their behavior alone. Sure, your cat can end up with no biting tendencies or aggression problems after the surgery, but consider yourself lucky.

One reason they may stop using the litter box is beacause of the PAIN. Also, since they have no defenses, they could start marking.

A cat's natural instinct to scratch serves BOTH physical and psychological needs. Cats can be trained to satisfy their desire to claw without damaging valuable property. Sprinkle a cat post with catnip. Squirt the cat with a water gun when he/she chooses to try to scratch the furniture. Most importantly, never give the cat an opportunity to be alone with valued furniture while you are still training the cat where to scratch. Sure, that means the cat would have to be confined to a room every time you're out of the house for a month or less. I think that is much better than amputating the toes though.

Here is an exerpt from a declawing site about the effects of declawing:

Pain. While the immediate post-surgical pain that the cats suffer is obviously severe, it is impossible to know how much chronic pain and suffering declawing causes. However, one can consider similar procedures in people. Many human amputees report life-long, painful "phantom" sensations from the amputated part. Declawing is ten to eighteen separate amputations, so it is not unreasonable to believe that declawed cats experience phantom pain in one or more toes. Cats typically conceal pain or illness until it becomes unbearable. With chronic pain, it may be that they simply learn to live with it. Their behavior may appear normal, but a lack of overt signs of pain does not mean they are pain-free.

Declawing can also cause arthritis because they shift the weight backwards onto the center of the paw rather than the toe after the surgery. I would never want my baby to go through this.

Some vets recommend the procedure because it brings money in. Sad but true. My vet refuses to even do it and offers many educational materials on why not and on how to handle a cat with claws. Surgery brings a quick result with no work requred by the "owner". Why get a cat if you're not willing to spend time training? Baffles me. And the training usually does not consist of much effort.

If you are considering declawing, please watch a cat coming out of the surgery. Watch how they can't walk and have to keep picking their paws up really fast as soon as they put them down because of the immense pain :(

My final thought: If I were to consider mutilating a cat, I would seriously NOT even get a cat in the first place.

Here's my two cents worth on the declawing issue ...

First of all, I don't own any cats. Never have, never will. I'm deathly allergic to cats.

My niece owns seven cats, all of which are declawed. They are all perfectly happy, healthy indoor cats. They do not bite, they are not aggressive, they don't have trouble walking, jumping, balancing, etc. They act exactly the same as any cat with claws does. I also own a boarding kennel, and I board hundreds upon hundreds of cats every year. I have never noticed a difference in the clawed and declawed cats as far as behavior goes. So, sorry, but I don't buy it that declawed cats are so traumatized by declawing. I've never seen any evidence of it.

And, most importantly, I have been involved with humane societies and shelters in three different states for over fifteen years. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that declawed cats are far, far more adoptable than clawed cats. If there are twenty cats in the intake room of animal control, and there are only five open spaces in adoptions .... I can almost guarantee you that the five spaces will be filled with declawed cats, and the clawed cats will be dead.

At our humane society right now, we have four PAGES in our referral book filled with people wanting declawed cats, and willing to be put on a long waiting list to adopt one. A declawed cat stays about one day at our shelter before it is adopted. On the other hand, dozens upon dozens of clawed cats are euthanized at animal control every week, because we don't have space to take them, and they are not in demand. A plain orange tiger cat? They're a dime a dozen, and it is going to be gassed at animal control. A plain orange declawed tiger cat? There's a waiting list, and it's going home today.

So ...you tell me ... what's better? A declawed cat in a loving home? Or a clawed cat dead on top of a pile of clawed cats in the city landfill?

The reason declawed cats go faster is not because of behavior. It is because they come already mutilated and the people don't have to deal with getting their toes amputated and watching them go through excruciating pain.

I've been working in adoption at shelters for 3 years now. People DO take declawed cats faster regardless of temperament. I've seen people fighting over a declawed cat we had because each family had just bought new furniture. None of them had even visited with the cat or any others. They then each visited with the cat and were bitten by the cat. The cat cowered in the corner of the room and wanted nothing to do with them. Guess what? They both still wanted the cat.

I'm not trying to argue with you because I almost always really agree with everything you say. I am just saying that I have had experience with hundreds (maybe thousands) of declawed cats also and I am not making up what I said in my previous post.


(Opps, I wrote this when I was in a hurry. Although declawed cats do go pretty fast here, it is nowhere near the rate how you say it is where you are. Regardless of the fact, if declawing were illegal, all the cats would be on an equal playing field and maybe people would judge on PERSONALITY and not mutilations).

Wow, this has become heated.

I just find it unfair that people who want a cat will only want that cat should it be surgically altered to suit their needs/lifestyle. It seems rather selfish to me.

I figure that there's no way a human will be able to transport into a cat's body post-declawing and know every inch of their post-declawing experience. But why risk it? If you really love cats and really want one, why not just train it to use its claws on a post? Or why not use SoftPaws?

I don't see the need to potentially inflict pain on an animal because of my pretty furniture.

Very well put Soledad.

When we go to the shelter and see that a newly arrived cat is declawed (and at least 70% ARE) I get really sad. I feel so badly for the poor animal. And I can honestly say that I wouldn't want to adopt a declawed cat and bring it into my home with four cats that DO have claws. I think that would be really cruel.

Maybe if there weren't alternatives to declawing, there would be SOME validity to choosing to mutilate your pet. But there are so many alternatives...there is NO excuse.

Out of our four cats, the only cat that went near furnature was Noah. As soon as we got Sticky Paws, he stopped.

personally, i dont like the idea of declawing...but thats just my opinion, and i dont think that declawing is wrong at all...i think it can be helpful in some cases...there is a new surgery called laser declawing which does not cause pain at all....
my only problem with declawing is the fact that the cats now have no natural emergency escape routes, persay...they now cant climb trees to flee dogs or other animals...or use their claws in defense if another animal is trying to hurt them, or someone is trying to steal them...thats my reason for disliking thprocedure...but i know a declawed cat...he is wonderful :) they declawed him because he kept attacking the dog lol....the dog is still afraid after all these years :rolleyes:

I was thinking back on my original post about a "stray cat" in my yard. You can find it here on Pet Talk. I thought this cat was declawed and I felt so terrible about that and the fact that he was outdoors. It was my Butter, who we all know now is definitely NOT declawed!!!! :)

I have only recently realized just how awful and cruel declawing is. I understand how people that don't realize what is involved can have it done to their cats, but I would never do that. I have one cat that is declawed, before I got her, and it is so sad to see her trying to scratch her scratching board! and it is very painful for them , takes along time to heal. there are so many solutions to the scratching problems. a little patience and love is all it takes, in fact I have a cat that that has been with me for over 2 years that was always good about where she scratched but is now having a problem, she is being naughty and scratching on the couch, but I will work with her and she will never be declawed!
I wish it was not painful to them, then it would be an easy decision. but it is so I could never do that.

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Originally posted by wolfsoul
there is a new surgery called laser declawing which does not cause pain at all....

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Just because the surgery may be easier, it'd still have to cause pain. There's no way the cat could have the tips of its toes removed and not have pain afterwards.

I don't have a cat, so I don't really know. Actually, until I read a post on here earlier, I didn't even know it was removing part of the toe.

From what I have read, it does seem very painful. :( I think Soft Paws would be a much better alternative.

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Originally posted by wolfsoul
there is a new surgery called laser declawing which does not cause pain at all....

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There is still discomfort and pain with this procedure. Yes there is less pain and less blood loss during the few days after the surgery, but the long-term declawing effects are still the same.

After researching and talking with the vet, I would never declaw a cat. My bf's sister wants to get a cat and have it declawed because she has a leather couch :mad: I made my bf send her an email link with pics of the surgery being done (yes I'm sneaky ;)) Personally, I think it's mutilation. Unlike spay or neuter (which could be seen as altering a pet for our own needs) it doens't have any long term health benefits. The only declawed cats I've ever known were extremely skittish, or, if you could get near them, agressive.

And, even though people are very passionate about this topic, it's great to see that the converstation has stayed nice :) Thanks for that :)

Maybe the only thing I take exception with is that a person couldn't really love a cat if they got it declawed. While no one on here knows me personally, I don't think there is a person that does that doubts my love/dedication etc. for my cats. I really don't think it is so black and white.

As to mutilating an animal for one's own pleasure...I think that is an inaccurate way to state it. I am also reminded of those that dock/crop dog's tails/ears for standard purposes. Really, an argument could be made any way one likes it. As to the statement that the cats that come into shelters declawed are more easily spotted as behavioural issues, etc., one must look at the higher chance of behavioral issues that might exist which is probably the reason they were taken to the shelter in the first place.

I have six cats, have had cats always (and I am old), and can say without trepidation- my cats do not bite...in fact, have NEVER bitten, and I do mean never...(excluding play), use the litterbox faithfully (for which I am grateful), and couldn't be more affectionate if they were dogs! I have had service men ask me to put my cats away because they get in the way. So, while we all have opinions, they are just that. I might be the exception...maybe my cats are the only ones that fully recovered, and haven't suffered any trauma...I can't really know that. But, I will stand by my right to choice, and appreciate the opportunity to defend my position.

As to the pms...I appreciate that I haven't been feathered and tarred (yet?)...