Meow - We'd love to share this portion of Catster with you, but first you'll need to login.
If you don't have a Catster account yet, you can register in about 60 seconds. Registering allows you to use all our free features while allowing us to create a safer, more meaningful environment for the community as a whole.
Registering is fast, free and lets you create your cat page(s), find adoptable cats, save your favorites, connect to your Feline Friends and more.
Meow Meow! This forum is a service for cat lovers seeking everyday advice and suggestions on health-related issues. Remember, however, that advice on a public forum simply can't be a substitue for proper medical attention. Only your vet can say assuredly what is best for your cat.
Is it true that in America some cats are de-clawed?
(Page 1 of 11: Viewing entries 1 to 10) Page Links: 1234567891011
Yes, Tambolina, it's true. It's not against the law here and the surgery is very common. Any vet will do it.
Vets even offer special *spay/neuter and declaw* package deals to *save money* for the owner. A previous owner had me and my sister Mittens spayed & declawed at the same time under one of those package deals.
Mommy is dead set against declawing. She calls it mutilation.
My Meowmy was one of the people who had a cat that was de-clawed. Meowmy had to have it done as a condition of being allowed to get a cat. (She lived with her parents) We are not de-clawed, and no plans to have it done (Meowmy's roommate say "NO!") Meowmy now wishes she could have changed her parents' minds, but.....She wanted a cat more than anything. And was that cat spoiled! She lived to be almost 14 yrs. old, so she had a good life anyways!
KC it's not VERY common and not EVERY vet will perform this surgery. In fact I know several off the top of my head that refuse to declaw cats. Most places recommend against it by offering solutions such as soft paws. Unfortunately there are still some landlords that require declawing of cats. (I'd never live in a place that had that stupid requirement).
Another surgical procedure that I see a s a significant problem is ear cropping on dogs. It's unnecessary (unless there is a medical reason for it...such as hunting dogs that could get their ears torn due to the terrain they are in). Most people do it for cosmetic reasons. There are fewer vets performing this surgery which involves chopping 1/3 to 1/2 the ear off a poor pup. Disgusting!!!! Mom had to help the old vet she used to work for do several of these. She 100% against this procedure.
Until the public is dead set against these, vets will continue to perform the surgeries as the demand is there.
Is declawing illegal in some countries? If so that is awesome!
Many people in the U.S. look down on cats who aren't declawed. I remember many friends throughout my life saying "Why isn't your cat DECLAWED???" or "If I ever get a cat that will be the first thing I do..." etc. Some people just don't have a brain of their own.
Many landlords only allow declawed cats, as well! Sometimes if I'm looking for a place and I see that, I tell them I'm a very good pet owner and yes they are neutered, but I don't believe in declawing.
I too am absolutely against this awful, awful practice. It is illegal in MANY other Western countries as cruel or inhumane. I know people who have had it done to their cats, and truly believe that it has not harmed them in any way, and that they were justified in preventing damage to their carpets or furniture. I have also read on here about "laser declawing" which is supposedly more "humane" than the surgical declawing. However, anyone who supports such a thing ignores the psychological effects a cat suffers when it loses claws.
I have also posted in another forum about the physical differences between my cats and my friend's declawed cats. Hers have very thin, narrow shoulders and backs because they cannot properly climb or get good resistance against any surface. Mine have lovely round, muscular shoulders and backs--we call Mueller "grizzly back" because he has such big powerful shoulders. Even my cats' necks and chests are thicker around.
I give "the speech" to just about anyone who will listen. Declawing is an awful and cruel practice. Anyone who says, "better declawed than euthanized" has not paid attention to the number of declawed cats who are abandoned because of their post-surgery "personality" problems or bathroom problems. Thankfully, most shelters include a no-declaw clause in their adoption contracts. Unfortunately, many are so swamped with other things that they never check back with the adopters to enforce the contracts.
Hunter, I'm sincerely happy to learn that declawing is not common in the US and that most vets don't and won't do it. It's progress and I hope more and more vets stop the practice. I'd love to see it become illegal as it is in most other countries. And I totally agree about ear cropping. However, it seems like it's still fairly common in my area. Friends of mine don't have any difficulty finding vets to declaw their cats. Most of their cats are declawed.
One friend recently adopted her first cat ever from a shelter. She said she'd read about declawing and thought it was evil. After having the cat for only 2 weeks she had him declawed because he scratched her when she picked him up to put in the carrier (and -- surprise! -- he was scratching her furniture too -- which I suspect is the real reason).
Sadly, her vet had no qualms about declawing this poor cat and made no effort to dissuade her, as I'd hoped he would. She asked about declawing and he quoted her a price, she left the cat with him and he was declawed the next day. She pointed out that Mittens and me are declawed and we have no behavioral problems. Mommy felt so bad about this that she cried and felt depressed for days.
We have weak shoulders too and our upper bodies sag because our paws are amputated and we don't walk, run or jump normally. It's like having the top joints of all of your fingers removed.
kaya skye not fighting my- demons-we joined- forces
Purred: Sun May 18, '08 8:01pm PST
it's not LIKE having the top joint of your fingers removed, that's what it IS! and yes, it's cruel and yes it causes problems, physical and psychological. but as long as it's an option, people will take it.
my parents, for example...a feral kitten wandered up to their house a few years ago and they took him in. as you know, ferals can be unpredictable. he wanted affection, but would suddenly feel threatened or startled and lash out...he scratched my mother so badly she needed several stitches in her lip. problem was, my dad was on chemo at the time, and his immune system was suppressed. a shaving nick could have put him in the hospital. so, my mother did what she had never done before, and got rex declawed. (no one mentioned soft paws...not sure they had them then?) and...now he bites fortunately, for whatever reason, the only person rex has ever savaged (honestly, not too extreme a word) is my mother-who is also the only person he will allow to hold him. declawing seemed like the only option-but if it had not been an option...?
I was 4 paw declawed by a previous owner and a quack vet. I have long term physical problems from it. I am also an aggressive chewer (but that's not as bad as it use to be).
I can really shock you though. In 2003, I was rescued from a kill shelter in the state of Mississippi. When I was rescued I showed signs of abuse. I waited over 10 months to be hit and over 20 months to be kicked. I thought I was going to be in trouble every time I threw up a hairball. In 2003, it was NOT illegal to use me for a punching bag in Mississippi. This is because there ABSOLUTELY NO laws protecting cats. You could throw a cat out of a moving car going 90 mph and only be charged with littering . They have since given cats some protection in Mississippi but not much
My Account
close
fortunately, for whatever reason, the only person rex has ever savaged (honestly, not too extreme a word) is my mother-who is also the only person he will allow to hold him. declawing seemed like the only option-but if it had not been an option...?
. They have since given cats some protection in Mississippi but not much