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Hence why cats with any chance of going outside should not have this procedure done.
I agree but many cats, especially today do not go out of the house ever!!!!! My daughter has 2, one is declawed, the other has made a mess out of her, very expensive furniture: anyway they could go out if they pushed it hard enough, but she has even watched them. If they as much as wonder out for a minute or 2 they coming running back in.
Neither of our cats are declawed, both were indoor until we moved here about a year and 1/2 ago: one has now decided a couple of hours a day, in the the forest is pretty cool, the other thinks outdoors means go out at 6am, eat enough grass to come in and throw up all over the bed and then to lay around the rest of the time. They are both 11 years old.
So you advocate putting down cats over declawing them and adopting them out?
Oh yeah, my Mom has had over 10 cats, all declawed, and they use the box just fine. I have two cats, both declawed, and they use the box just fine. All of them walk just fine, and not a single one has ever had any "psychological" trauma. On the other hand all of the cats between both houses are spoiled rotten, and live very good lives indoors.
You would rather have seen those 12 cats be put down?
they could be rehomed to homes where owners will allow them to keep their digits
they could be trained to scratch in appropriate places
they could wear Soft Claws and other similar products
there are other options besides declawing. your mom didn't (or at least shouldn't have) gone into these operations w/ the assumption that the cats would come out of it 100%. many cats don't. it's a major operation w/ many complications that can occur before, during, or after.
so yes, it's sad to think of it, but better a cat be put humanly to sleep than potentially suffer through a lifetime of pain. and again, a lot of cats w/ botched surgeries are dumped at the shelter and put to sleep anyways. what was the point? if you declaw, be prepared to keep that cat FOREVER, regardless of what happens afterward, if the cat becomes a biter or refuses to use a box anymore. too many lazy owners give up on their pets when it gets to hard to care for them, hence why all the physically ill, deformed, and emotionally scarred pets dying in shelters
I've had cats most of my life and never had one declawed. And I never will. Yes I have them spayed and neutered. My experience volunteering at the Humane Society is that most cats that are turned in because they "won't use the litter box" are cats that have been declawed.
I actually rescued a cat that was declawed by a former owner and he has a litter-box problem (the cat, not the former owner) - due to the sensitivity of his front paws on many types of litter (says our vet, describing essentially "phantom pain" where the digit once was, feeling somewhat like walking on knives). I wonder how many cats are given up and then put down because they've been declawed and have a potty problem vs. for ruining furniture. BTW, I have another two cats that do have all of their claws and they've never scratched our furniture. I'm of the "if you are going to declaw, then maybe you should consider another type of pet" school of thought.
Either way, I think the local government getting involved in this issue is a little nanny-state-esque.
Cats don't seem that dismayed about it really, it's not some sort of psychological torture.
Cats are fun pets IMHO, I have spent more then half my life with cats as pets. As nice as they are, there are numbers of people who won't have them with claws to destroy anything in the house that can be used as a scratching post. Without that many people would not have them as pets, and many now get destroyed every day because they can't find homes. It would just increase that amount.
The bigger question is more of pet ownership rather then being a pets "guardian". As much as I love my dog, he will never be able to function without my care and my resources. I have no desire to abuse him, and I think that inflicting pain on animals for no reason is inhumane. However using procedures that would make it so I can keep the pet without destroying my other objects and resources is beneficial. He is alive and cared for in a good home, if I had not adopted him the next day he would have been put down. Pets are not children (an example of guardianship), they will never grow up or become self sufficient. I need to make the decisions that will let me keep my pet, and on the grander scale to be able to have enough resources that I can survive 30 years after the pet is gone...and support my children. Having a cat that rips apart a $1,000 couch (or dining room set, or bed, or whatever) every couple years will seriously cramp my resources and ability to support the humans in my family.
Human family are my priority, and if I can't do what I need to do to keep the pet...it will go rather then pissing my resources down the drain due to destructive behavior. Most likely never adopted in the first place, and will be destroyed due to overcrowding.
they could be rehomed to homes where owners will allow them to keep their digits
Are you kidding me? Do you know how many cats get put down per day? Nobody wants cats. The animal shelters are full of them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eevee
they could be trained to scratch in appropriate places
Cats do what they please. Any one who has had one knows this. It they choose to obey what you want them to do, youre pretty lucky.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eevee
they could wear Soft Claws and other similar products
Which are absolutely worthless, and extremely expensive to be so worthless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eevee
there are other options besides declawing. your mom didn't (or at least shouldn't have) gone into these operations w/ the assumption that the cats would come out of it 100%. many cats don't. it's a major operation w/ many complications that can occur before, during, or after.
10 cats atleast, and if you add my 2, that is 12 out 12 with no complications. The reality is that a small minority of cats have major issues with this surgery, and many of those are because the veternarian messes up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eevee
so yes, it's sad to think of it, but better a cat be put humanly to sleep than potentially suffer through a lifetime of pain. and again, a lot of cats w/ botched surgeries are dumped at the shelter and put to sleep anyways. what was the point? if you declaw, be prepared to keep that cat FOREVER, regardless of what happens afterward, if the cat becomes a biter or refuses to use a box anymore. too many lazy owners give up on their pets when it gets to hard to care for them, hence why all the physically ill, deformed, and emotionally scarred pets dying in shelters
Here I will agree with you. If either of my cats developed some issues after declawing, I wouldnt imagine dumping them off. The minute I got them as kittens, they had a life home, period. One of them has been sickly most of her life and has cost me at least $4000 in her 4 years on the planet, and needs a special prescription cat food, but I suck it up and get it for her, because I think of her as my daughter, not a "pet". However, with the declawing thing, I have to draw the line, as horrible as that surgery actually is. I cannot deal with being a giant scratch from head to toe constantly, and it saves me a whole lot of getting frustrated at them, and them getting upset as a result.
Are you kidding me? Do you know how many cats get put down per day? Nobody wants cats. The animal shelters are full of them.
Cats do what they please. Any one who has had one knows this. It they choose to obey what you want them to do, youre pretty lucky.
Which are absolutely worthless, and extremely expensive to be so worthless.
10 cats atleast, and if you add my 2, that is 12 out 12 with no complications. The reality is that a small minority of cats have major issues with this surgery, and many of those are because the veternarian messes up.
Here I will agree with you. If either of my cats developed some issues after declawing, I wouldnt imagine dumping them off. The minute I got them as kittens, they had a life home, period. One of them has been sickly most of her life and has cost me at least $4000 in her 4 years on the planet, and needs a special prescription cat food, but I suck it up and get it for her, because I think of her as my daughter, not a "pet". However, with the declawing thing, I have to draw the line, as horrible as that surgery actually is. I cannot deal with being a giant scratch from head to toe constantly, and it saves me a whole lot of getting frustrated at them, and them getting upset as a result.
I've had my cat for a little over 7 weeks. when I first got him, he started scratching up our couch. now he doesn't and uses his post almost 100% of the time. on the rare occasions we catch him flexing his claws on our couch, a simple "no" makes him stop. I'm sure that in a few more weeks, he'll use his post 100% of the time. now granted, our cat seems more dog-like than the average cat and could likely be trained a lot easier than most, but it is possible to train a cat to scratch in an appropriate place, no matter what some may think (lord knows it's harder than training a dog, but again, an owner's laziness shouldn't cause a pet to suffer. some people don't even try and just automatically think of declawing)
yes, cats are plentiful in a shelter, so I don't understand the folks who go into a relationship w/ a cat w/ the idea of declawing it right off the bat. It's one thing if a cat comes to you and you've developed a relationship w/ it and then come to this decision. but I've worked at a shelter and have seen people come in looking for a cat w/ the complete intention of declawing it soon after. why bother getting a cat then? why bother getting a cat that doesn't have a history of using a post properly (sometimes shelters get this info from owners or pick up on it over time and know which cats are more likely to use a post consistently)? why bother getting a cat that plays too roughly w/ its claws, especially if it's an older cat that hasn't grown out of this behavior (shelters do allow people time to interact w/ a cat before adopting it, and shelter workers can point out which ones ply roughly)? why bother adopting a cat w/ claws when declawed cats do exist in shelters (yes, there are declawed cats w/o issues at shelters, some rehomed for allergies or due to landlords)? these are the people that really annoy me.
it's great you're so intent on keeping your pets no matter what, and that your cats made it through a major operation w/o lasting issues, but this is not the case w/ everyone. it isn't even the case w/ the majority of people. a lot of cats end up w/ issues post-surgery and a lot of people dump these cats
I've had my cat for a little over 7 weeks. when I first got him, he started scratching up our couch. now he doesn't and uses his post almost 100% of the time. on the rare occasions we catch him flexing his claws on our couch, a simple "no" makes him stop. I'm sure that in a few more weeks, he'll use his post 100% of the time. now granted, our cat seems more dog-like than the average cat and could likely be trained a lot easier than most, but it is possible to train a cat to scratch in an appropriate place, no matter what some may think (lord knows it's harder than training a dog, but again, an owner's laziness shouldn't cause a pet to suffer. some people don't even try and just automatically think of declawing)
yes, cats are plentiful in a shelter, so I don't understand the folks who go into a relationship w/ a cat w/ the idea of declawing it right off the bat. It's one thing if a cat comes to you and you've developed a relationship w/ it and then come to this decision. but I've worked at a shelter and have seen people come in looking for a cat w/ the complete intention of declawing it soon after. why bother getting a cat then? why bother getting a cat that doesn't have a history of using a post properly (sometimes shelters get this info from owners or pick up on it over time and know which cats are more likely to use a post consistently)? why bother getting a cat that plays too roughly w/ it's claws, especially if it's an older cat that hasn't grown out of this behavior (shelters do allow people time to interact w/ a cat before adopting it, and shelter workers can oint out which ones ply roughly)? why bother adopting a cat w/ claws when declawed cats do exist in shelters (yes, there are declawed cats w/o issues at shelters, some rehomed for allergies or due to landlords)? these are the people that really annoy me.
it's great you're so intent on keeping your pets no matter what, and that your cats made it through a major operation w/o lasting issues, but this is not the case w/ everyone. it isn't even the case w/ the majority of people. a lot of cats end up w/ issues post-surgery and a lot of people dump these cats
My two cats have their claws and are trained not to use them on the furniture. They are six years old.
I think that many people do not recognize the psychological effects of declawing on cats, and think that their behavior is normal. I thought my previous two declawed cats were normal for a long time, and then found out that what I thought were personality quirks, or the results of mistreatment by visitors actually were declaw aftereffects.
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