Dilema should I rehome Star?

[Cataholic]

Gosh, king, I sure hope you can talk some sense into your sister with the declawing of her cat! The cat will likely stay far away from a baby as it will make sudden and startlingly noises. No need to declaw it!! Is she planning on removing all the cats teeth, too, in case they bite?

[carole]

well King you had better never come to New Zealand, and yes i have to agree with Johanna,i think declawing is absolutely barbaric,and it is illegal here, i hope she rethinks her decision.,like you I am firm with my opinion on that subject.

[king2005]

Gosh, king, I sure hope you can talk some sense into your sister with the declawing of her cat! The cat will likely stay far away from a baby as it will make sudden and startlingly noises. No need to declaw it!! Is she planning on removing all the cats teeth, too, in case they bite?

The cat has mental issues, & he spazzes out randomly with just the claws. One attack nearly sent my sister to the hospital for stitches, it was THAT bad. We are both very much against declawing (why we've put it off for so long), but this cat has major mental issues & the vets have no idea whats wrong with him. So Declawing him is for everyones safety, including the other cats, as he has randomly spazzed out on them & sent them to the vets. Hes a good cat & a cuddle bug, but it takes 1 second for him to be a totally different animal. Thats why it's only HIM & not the other 2. Sure my sister & others have been nicked by the other cats, but they are mentally stable.

Before my sister got Pluto he was in & out of the shelter for his spazzes. He would have been put down long ago if it wasn't for my sister taking him in & trying to deal with his crazy spazzes. He is a lot better then he was, but he is still very much dangerous (not his fault).

I've had to deal with him when he was spazzing out & it was scary & hard. I didn't want to hurt him, but he was totally out of his mind. I tried pushing him away, then it was gentle tosses. After I could get him to snap out of it I scuffed him hard & tossed him onto my sister's bed & closed the door, he tried to go through the door. he was crazy mad for no reason.

Trust me, neither of us want to do this to him, but its better then the alternative (if he goes back to the shelter he has a death sentence waiting for him, & no one out there wants him, her friends don't even want him, they watch him like a hawk when they visit).

Neither option is good, but at least this one will allow him to be alive.

[carole]

ok well you do have special circumstances here,have you explored every other alternative though, like meds etc.

I guess it must be very hard to go ahead and do this when you are against it yourselves, so i do understand,thanks for explaining the situation further.

[king2005]

ok well you do have special circumstances here,have you explored every other alternative though, like meds etc.

I guess it must be very hard to go ahead and do this when you are against it yourselves, so i do understand,thanks for explaining the situation further.

Shes had him for 3yrs & we've been putting it off for that long cause we just couldn't do that to him, but with the baby on the way... its not an easy decision by far.

He's been in & out of the vets office (several different vets) since before she got him. They've tried many things & nothing seems to work, or they make him so ill he can't move (far more cruel then declawing him IMO). We all love him, he IS family so he wont be going anywhere, but the declawing has to happen now. I told her to get it done before the move & LONG before the baby is due so he doesn't associate those things with the operation. It should be done within the month, but she wants to research more on how to keep it clean & to ensure it gets done the best way possible.

[king2005]

oh, she has a really good vet, so it wont be done in the back alley sort of operation. This is the only vet that understands Spliff's vet issues (she was horribly abused by a vet several yrs ago, my sister is still traumatized by it too, & I still want to hunt him down). Spliff seeks comfort with dogs, as she use to run to my old dog for comfort when scared & he would protect her. So when Spliff goes to the vet they bring her to the dog room & do everything with the dogs barking at her. She calms right down & lets the vets touch her & she doesn't pee in fear, nor does she attack anyone (she was gentle as a mouse before she was abused). When she has to stay for the day, shes in a kennel in the dog room. My sister is also banned from being in the same room as Spliff at the vets cause she saw the abuse & the second Spliff meows or cowers my sister cries uncontrollably & shakes like a leaf.

My sister loves those cats just like children, if not more then many parents I've seen.

[moosmom]

King2005,

Your story reminded me of when I was helping foster a Siamese cat (older) for the MI Meezer Rescue. When I tell you this cat had ME cornered, I'm not kidding. She would not let me anywhere near the door to get out. I finally distracted her long enough to get to the other door before she came after me, so I know what you're talking about.

Meezer Rescue took her back and put her in another foster home. They renamed her Sybil. Gee, I wonder why??

[Cataholic]

King- I knew one person that had nearly the same description of the cat as with your sister's. It was horrific, and she was beside herself with what to do. I think she finally had him PTS, rightfully or wrongfully, it wasn't my position to judge, as I had never experienced what she had.

So, my thoughts are with you and your sister. Sometimes....sometimes...you have to look at the whole picture. My best to you guys with this.