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 8 of 11: Viewing entries 71 to 80) 1234567891011
I grew up with cats and my parents had them declawed. It wasn't until I adopted my two kitties from an SPCA that I found out what declawing really was. I've opted to use Soft Claws on my cats and I think they work great. You can get them at Petsmart and online and they last for a while. My kitties didn't like them at first and would bite at the nail caps as soon as I put them on but they eventually got use to them. They now know they get treats afterwards and so they even get excited about them. The caps do come off at different times though since it is when your cats outer nail sheath sheds that the cap comes off. All of your cat's nails don't shed at once. I just check my cats' nails once a week and add one or two new nail caps when needed. The only issue I have is that Mezzanotte is a Hemmingway and her extra toe claw is a fused double nail that the nail caps won't fit over. Its always that one deformed nail that catches the couch fabric.
I didn't read through everything but Hunter on the first page is right, some vets don't do this procedure. Some will though. We do it at my clinic even though we don't like it and try to get the owner to try every other option first, including soft paws. One reason we do it at all is that we don't want the owner to take the cat to the humane society or abandon it because they can't control it's scratching. I know it would be really stupid of the people, but some would do that. I personally feel (and think most of us there do) that if the owners feel that way they shouldn't get the cat in the first place. But once it has a home that would be otherwise loving, we don't want to see the cat out of a home because of scratching. However, de-clawing IS amputation of the last digit of the "finger" and is an extremely painful procedure. It's hard to stop the paws from getting infected, the cats need special litter for a while because the regular kind will hurt their paws at first, plus you try walking with the tips of your toes gone! Not cool. I would have my furniture in shreds before de-clawing my cats!!!
when i first brought my boys to the vet, one of the first things out of his mouth was asking me if i wanted them declawed! needless to say, my boys still have their fur covered razorblades, and i have the scatches to prove it. there was also a woman that i saw with a kitten, andas i was talking to her, she had commented that the first thing she was doing was declawing the poor baby, and no matter what i said would dissuade her! the didn't care that she was amputating his/her toes, all she cared for was her precious furniture.
...(I started this thread because I had never heard of de-clawing until I joined Catsters and I was horrified) From all the posts I have read here there seem to be many, many people in America who try to stop this barbaric practice and also try to educate other people into stopping it.....it is really quite heartening........
Last night my Grandad Conrad walked across my human person's face while she was lying down....his foot slipped and she now has a deep scratch all down the side of her face.......she is quite proud of it - it looks like a dueling scar!!!!
I agree with whoever said that people who declaw are lazy owners. There are very few reasons for cats to claw inappropriately. They're either (a) bored because no one will play with them, (b) marking territory if they are stressed, (c) trying to self groom their nails, or (d) lacking appropriate places where they can stretch and scratch.
All those things can be solved by giving your cat interactive playtime, figuring out how to get them to relax around others (it can be done with patience - mom is getting me to a point where nothing really fazes me), learning to trim the nails properly and frequently (mom does front claws every two weeks, and back claws every four), and buying a tall scratchpost or a cat tree.
Another thing that owners don't keep in mind is that moving or other changes in household means you have to train your cat all over again. We just moved, and the first thing I started doing was attacking the furniture. Mom had to use catnip and aversion therapy (making loud noises when I was caught in flagrante delicto) to redirect me to my scratching surfaces. So if your cat all of a sudden starts to claw at furniture after a move or if you get married, have a baby, or get a new boyfriend, you have to make sure you still make time for your cats.
Declawing is barbaric and inhumane. I'm the proud owner of 13 cats (8 of which were adopted when a rescue organisation closed down). They brings lots of joy to my life, wreck my furniture with their scratching, click my clothes etc. but all I do is buy more (usually from charity shops) and I wouldn't have it any other way. Cats do scratch and it is their instinct to do so! If people want the joy of having cats in their lives they have to put up with their habits and ways.
This is not a controversial subject...de-clawing a cat is flat out cruel. Vets should not be allowed to do it and ones that do, diminish their reputation and call in to question their ability to be advocates for animal welfare.
I believe the state of Massachusetts just passed a law making de-clawing illegal. Hopefully more states will follow suit.
People need to understand the reasons why cats scratch, and know that it is part of their genetic makeup. They need to engage in marking behavior. Flawed attempts at resolving that, such as de-clawing, generally cause a cat to exhibit other negative behaviors such as biting or spraying. Additionally, the cat will likely not develop a stable and interesting personality, generally seeming "neurotic" after the de-clawing procedure.
A cats personality will do best when they remain indoors, keep their claws, have interactive playtime, multiple litterboxes, a playmate and lots of scratching posts.
As owners, we must be willing to accept material damages to furniture, shoes, carpet and other things while the cat figures out it's environment. Those are the hallmarks of a GREAT cat owner.
Crash - I love you........that is how cats ARE....
The thing you said that interested me, though, was that cats do better indoors and develop their personalities better....do you think this is so? My four cats are indoor/outdoor cats and seem to go through phases .....my youngest cat (Miss Tambolina) is out all the time and only comes in to eat and to sleep although she is very friendly....but my oldest cat (Grandad Conrad) used to be out all the time but now (because he is very old - 16 years) he loves me and wants me all the time....he has a wonderful personality (although not everyone would think so)...he pees everywhere and fights anything that moves...except me (he adores me and looks into my eyes with great love)....
I don't know......that is another question, isn't it? Or another thread......indoor or outdoor cats.......?
My Account
close
there was also a woman that i saw with a kitten, andas i was talking to her, she had commented that the first thing she was doing was declawing the poor baby, and no matter what i said would dissuade her! the didn't care that she was amputating his/her toes, all she cared for was her precious furniture.
