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I have a confession to make. Please keep in mind that this was LONG before I knew how the procedure was done or any of the other gorey details.
I had just gotten a new livingroom set. First one in 25 years. At the time I only had 2 cats, Mollie Rose and Casey. They had been using an old beat up chair that I didn't care about. My landlord at the time was doing repairs in the bathroom and said he noticed my cats scratching my new couch. I called my vet and told her and she said that cats don't know the difference between old furniture and new furniture, and suggested that they both be declawed. In a panic, off to the vet they went where they were both declawed.
When I picked them up, I was horrified!!!!! My precious babies paws were bloody and I could see they were in alot of pain!! I was up all night crying at what I did to my babies. I promised myself I would NEVER EVER do it again, and I haven't. I have never forgiven myself for hurting Mollie and Casey. But I learned a HUGE lesson.
I now have 7 cats and they all have their claws. I took the time to train them to scratch the scratching post and that's what they do.
I hope you'll send your friend that link so she can see EXACTLY what is involved in the procedure. Not only that, but cats who are declawed may have litterbox problems, resort to biting because that is the only defense they have left, and may develop arthritis in their paws because of it. I was one of the fortunate people in that none of that happened to either of my cats.
I only wish I had learned 9 years ago and had saved my babies the pain and agony. It's a lesson I will have to live with for the rest of my life.
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Sorry if one of my last posts is a little hard to read. I had alot I wanted to say and my fingers just work at random I guess.
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A touchy subject...
If I had to choose between having Pixel put down, or declawed, I'd have her declawed ... but the decision would not be made over my furniture! Thus, it would only be necessary if the rules of our body corporate were changed to state that cats must be declawed. Highly unlikely ... it is illegal in this country.
People who value their furniture and want their house looking like an Ikea catalogue or Home Beautiful magazine should not own pets anyway. Those type of people are too shallow to love their pet!
At any rate, knowing that I was going to have a cat, I made sure that I purchased a new couch that would stand up to scratching. I made the perfect choice - you need to avoid the coarse fabrics that look like carpet, or they end up looking like an overused scratching post (like the one in my Mum's study), but you've also got to avoid the flimsy fabrics too. The fabric I've chosen is extremely sturdy and has stood up to the test of the kitty claws! She also has a lovely scratching post and only scratches the couch when she wants our attention :rolleyes:
She soon meets with Mr. Water Spray bottle :D
As for those of you who have declawed your cats - don't feel bad, many of you would not have made the choice if you had have known the ramifications of the surgery. The veterinarians should have explained it to you! :mad:
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Kylie was declawed when I got her, if I would have gotten her as a kitten I probably would have done the same thing b/c I didn't know any better. I wouldn't do it now. But I got her when she was a year old, so it wasn't my choice.
She has a very sweet disposition, and is very loving, I just hope and pray that litter box issues don't become a problem b/c of this.
I hope your friend looks at these websites before she makes this decision. If it was her getting her fingers cut off or her child's I don't think she would be to hasty in doing it.
Good luck.
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I'm also against declawing but I had my RB Pepper declawed when he was about 4-5months old. :( I didn't know any better and my Mom had suggested it because he was scratching up everything. If I had known more about the procedure, I would have never done it. Before the declawing, Pepper was a very friendly cat to everyone and after the declawing he became much more shy. :( He even had to wear a splint on one of his front paws for a few days because he didn't want to walk on it. :( He must have been in a lot of pain. I feel so bad now when I think about it. :( :( :(
I think that if more people were educated about the procedure,then most of them would change their minds and realize that it's very cruel. I sure hope that the link that you e-mailed your friend will change her mind. I wish that I had a friend like this to give me this information before I declawed my RB Pepper. Good luck and please keep us updated.
