Issuing an open challenge to pro- declawers

[cubby31682]

Cubby you responded at the same time I did! I hope you know that in no way am I referring to you.

I figured you weren't aiming it at me. Your statment was about people who don't love their cats like we do. They love them yes but I don't think they love them as much as we love them. We see how special each and every one of them are. We try to be their voice.

My aim is to prevent FUTURE declawing, not to bash people who have declawed cats

I understand. I know this topic wasn't aimed towards me in any kind of way. I was stating my reasons for declawing. I wish so badly that I had another choice besides the one that I was givin. I didn't mean for my post to sound like I was taking it out on you, I wasn't trying to at all. I would love to take it out on my land lord, but for fear that we will be kicked out if I do, I will keep my mouth shut for now. I will complain here in this thread.

The important thing is to learn and go on from there right? Nobody has any right to make you feel bad. You did not do anything wrong! You had a decision to make and did what you had to under the circumstances. We have happy and spoiled kitties !!! (((((HUGS)))))

My mother who is against it more than anyone I know, agreed with me. Which was a first for us. She taught me from a young age that cats are priceless and that they need to be treated as such. After her knowing him and me well enough she knows I would never do it under normal circumstances. She never told me what they did. She knows that if she did I would have been sick. She also knows that she is never allowed to take me to a shelter where there are cats with in my sight. She knows that I woudl try to adopt every single one of them.

Again I'm not trying to place blame at all. I feel guilty about what I have done, but it isn't because of anything any of you have said. I agree with PIF and everyone else. Ok it's time for me to go get my baby and try to give him kisses.

[QueenScoopalot]

I am totally against declawing cats, but I do have one kitty Abagail who actually NEEDED to be partly declawed as a tiny kitten. I rescued her and her two littermates (and sweet mom) seven or so years ago, and Abby was badly injured on one of her front feet. After numerous vet visits it became apparent that her crushed foot was never going to heal properly. It was sutured, bandaged, you name it....it was all tried but still it never healed. I brought her in for her spay etc. when she was around five months and actually requested that they do a partial declaw on her badly injured paw! (That was sooooo hard to say to the vets). That did the trick, and Abagail has one funky claw sticking out of the middle of her multilated paw, but she finally stopped bleeding after all else failed. A month ago she started limping for no apparent reason, so I started her up on some antibiotics and all was fine a week later. I'll try to get a picture of a much needed partial declaw....it sure looks funky! But she gets her isometric excersizes and is generally a very happy goofy girly! I'm happy her little paw finally healed up, but I cannot see any logical reasoning behind declawing as a routine. Jan

[QueenScoopalot]

Originally posted by PayItForward
Yes, I will be bringing it up from time to time, until it is banned

And please keep shouting it from rooftops! I posted earlier, but then started reading the thread, and it's starting huh? All things get ugly over time I guess.*sigh*I have rescued several declawed and dumped cats, and my biggest beef is their lack of isometric excercising! Yes they scratch the post, yes, it looks like they're having a fine time, but what about the push/pull motion that God/Mother Nature intended? They are releasing scents while doing these motions, but at the same time their muscles are not getting what they're supposed to get. When I rescued Woody who I got a call about roughly 2 years ago, he was living in the woods behind a hospital a half hour away from me. Nurses were feeding him for a while and then he got hurt. No one knows if it was a car or animal that ripped his (formally gorgeous plume tail) off, but it was only an infected stump when I mangaged to rescue him. Six months quarantine, and a tail amputation later Sweet Woody was never claimed, but was adopted by his sponsers who cherish the dear boy. I showed Jan& Doug (his adopters/sponsers) how to stretch his front legs out so he could at least feel the enjoyment of the push/pull as nature made him. And he is living soooo loved in a condo with 6 clawed kitties. I see him every two weeks, and cat sit..lucky me! Luckier Woody the Pooh!

[guster girl]

My cats have always been declawed. I'm not pro-declaw, but, I'm not anti-declaw, either. I'm not sure where my vet stands on the subject. I know she's not anti-declaw, obviously. I plan on talking to her about it, and, asking her how many declaws she's done that have led to problems. She's always been really honest with me about pros and cons for any procedure. She's also not money driven, and, I know that for sure, just because she's a raw diet advocate even though she could make more money selling the commercially processed foods she has there at the hospital. She's constantly studying and doing research on nutrition, and, will fully admit she didn't learn anything about it in school. She's also embraced a lot of holistic practices, while keeping western medicine open to her patients. She's an amazing woman, and, really cares about her patients and their people. Like I said, though, I plan on asking her when I take Finn in to be neutered, what her thoughts really are about declawing. I'll post her comments when I hear them.

[carole]

So far this has been a very positive thread, it appears most of you who had your cats de-clawed regret it, and would now make a different choice, that in itself is good to read, some of you are happy with your decisions and have no problems as such with your cats.

I have not really heard of de-clawing in NZ, and I hope it is illegal, I would have to check on this, but maybe it does go on., because of this I have never even considered it, as one just does not ever hear of it being available, I certainly hope it stays that way.

I have always accepted that cats will from time to time scratch your furniture or whatever, it is just part of owning a kitty, Ash has always been great, never bothered but madam Lexie is a different story, she is forever scratching at the couch, carpet, whatever she can find, even though she has great huge scratching post outside TREES, she gets a growling, but thats about it, it is just something i have to live with, as my love for her is much more important than the furniture.


when I think of de-clawing it makes me shudder, it is like pulling out my fingernails to me.

I agree no-one should be berated for choosing to declaw and this is not Payitforwards intention, I appauld you Jenny for raising the issue again, if it helps to ban it , then I for one are all for it...!!!!!

[AmberLee]

Well, as I've mentioned previously when declawing comes up, I'm personally opposed to it and have refused to have it done to my cats. But... I'm diabetic and my doctor is urging me to have it done. I don't heal well after clawing accidents. Since Cassy and Livvy are maturing they happen less and less, thank heavens.

A neighbor is also diabetic and for some reason their cat would claw him while he was sleeping. He too was having trouble healing and they got Melissande (sp?) declawed. It's not ideal, but it's a huge improvement over rehoming a cat that you can't heal from...

[krazyaboutkatz]

Ever since I've been educated about declawing, I've been against it. Before that I also thought it was okay and just something that you do when you're a cat owner. I've only owned one cat that I had declawed and it was my RB Pepper. I had him declawed when he was about 4 months old. My mom talked me into it and unfortunately there was no one to educate me about declawing.

I know that this surgery was very painful for Pepper because he didn't want to use his right paw so the vet had to put a splint on it. He had the splint on for a few days and the vet said that he had never had a cat need this before. I felt so bad for Pepper. I also noticed that his personality changed from an outgoing kitten to a much shyer reserved kitten. He was now terrified of going to the vets too. I'll never ever declaw another cat again. I sure wish that they'd make it illegal to declaw in the United States.

He did get along with all of my cats that had claws because I think that he thought he still had them. I also noticed that it was harder for him to climb and to keep his balance than for his brothers Sunny and Storm. I'm so sorry Pepper. Can you forgive me?

[krazyaboutkatz]

Here's a picture of baby Pepper with his splint on his right paw.

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by AmberLee
Well, as I've mentioned previously when declawing comes up, I'm personally opposed to it and have refused to have it done to my cats. But... I'm diabetic and my doctor is urging me to have it done. I don't heal well after clawing accidents. Since Cassy and Livvy are maturing they happen less and less, thank heavens.

I know being diabetic can make things more difficult but if your cats start scrtching you again, please PM me OR post there are several things that can be tried including soft paws.

Or only playing with fishing rod toys (toy on a string) means they can not get close enough to you to accidently scratch you.

Although I am very anti-declawing, I have spoken privately to a couple of people about their cats and I will spend time explaining how to train they cats to posts OR stopping them from climbing curtains. I will help if I can.

This is an open plea please ask me or someone else on pet talk for advice BEFORE you declaw your cat. That is all I ask that everyone makes a effort to train. I won't get mean if you decide to go ahead with a declawing, though I'll be upset for the cat.

[PayItForward]

I am trying to write a middle website about declawing. It is hard a I need to reach those you declaw and will do again.

So all stories that are written here or PM'd all help me to pitch a discussion level about the alternatives.

[catmandu]

RB Cats Mister Scrappy , and Fluffy were declawed , whenthey came to me , and when they got lder , they had such a hard time , cleaning , and keeping the backs , of thier tails , clean! I would never do that , to any new Residents!

[jenluckenbach]

Please do not mistake this post for a pro-declaw!!!!

BUT

Soft paws are not the end-all-be-all solution to scratching up your belongings. In theory they are effective, but I personally did a trial period on 5 cats and I was not overly pleased with the outcome.

1 out of the 5 kept them on for a good amount of time with no problems.

4 out of the 5 shed their nails at intervals of about 1 per day and replacing them was a constant battle, 1 nail at a time.

and TWICE I needed to rescue a cat from a potentially dangerous situation!

(explaination) as the nail grows the cap moves along with it forming a ridge between the cap and the cat's cuticle. This allows the cap to become caught by loose strings or other such material. Both the times my cats got caught it was by the very strong "fishing line" type of thread that does not break. One time this thread was from my bed's box spring (which had no cover on it) and once it was attached to their very own scratching post (part of the carpet used). If I was not present to release them I fear they would have injured themselves trying to escape (because there was no way that the string would have broken).

I only post this because I think you should hear ALL sides of an argument and you should know ALL there is to know about an item that you are endorsing. Soft paws scare me after witnessing these events.

[PayItForward]

Thanks Jen, that is valuble information to consider before trying soft paws.

[Cataholic]

Maybe it is because I feel so guilty about what I have done in the past that I am so adamantly opposed/reluctant to hear the 'it was the only choice' debate. There aren't many people more stubborn and hard headed than I. For YEARS...I said all the stuff I hear people say over and over again about why to do it. I can tell you from first hand experience with Monte..a 9 month, nearly ten month old kitten- it really isn't an issue for us. I think if one tries, is consistant with disclipline/constructive re-focusing, education and persistance, one would see the hype is way more than the harm. Does Monte ever scratch/claw? YES! Is it sometimes on my things? YES!

But, without doubt, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't EVER do it again to another kitty I live with.

[Nomilynn]

I'm a diabetic too, and I have NEVER heard of getting cats declawed because of scratches to diabetics. I have a scar on my arm where Tilly got me once.. why? Because I was stupid and didn't disinfect it immediatly. As a diabetic, I just make sure that whenever I get any kind of scratch, I wash it out with hot water, treat it with peroxide and polysporin and I'm done. It takes MAYBE an extra 4 days to heal. I have only been diabetic for 10 years, but I really think it has more to do with taking care of ourselves rather than making the cats pay for being lazy.. I could have got Tilly declawed when she scratched me, but I didn't.. it was my own fault that the scratch got worse before it got better. I know if my doc told me to declaw my cats because I was diabetic I would tell him to take a flying leap!