VCA USA takes a stand against "declawing" (carpet, throw, dogs)
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Thanks for coming back. Having any animal has the potential to cause damage in a home. Even a fishtank can leak or smell. Dogs chew things and bite, and their claws scratch floors and walls and doors and people, but most people don't require removing the dog's teeth or cutting off the dog's toes.
All pets require work and management.
Amputating a cat's toes to save a curtain that the kitten is going to be too heavy to climb in a few months is a terrible thing to do. Cats hide pain instinctively and even a cat jumping (from her hind feet) onto the refrigerator may be feeling some pain in her back and legs, let alone her feet, especially as she gets older. She was just doing what cats do, regardless of her disability. What choice did she have after all?
Cats need their claws for many things. They walk on the toes that are amputated. When those digits are burned or cut off, the cat's entire alignment and gait is messed up, forever. She has to walk on her wrists, or on bones that were never meant to bear weight. This causes the joints and muscles to deteriorate in ways they wouldn't normally until old age. Not to mention, cats use their claws for exercising. When they scratch they dig in with their claws and stretch, and this exercises al parts of the body, toning and stretching all the muscles and joints. A "declawed" cat can't even get relief that way.
Their toe pads are usually very rough and calloused. There is often contracture of the tendons,, causing great pain. Bone chips and claw regrowth are very common. Did you know that cats can't limp if both feet hurt?
People like to say their "declawed cat was fine, I never had any problems" but it's not the person who is having the problems is it? It's the cat. Part of the issue here is declawing vets lie to their clients and push declawing because they make a vast income doing it.
This is why when organizations like VCA, with almost a thousand clinics in the USA and 6 times as many vets practicing in those clinics, stop doing it, it is a huge meaningful step in our efforts to ban this mutilation once and for all.
When the vets stop doing it, and start telling the truth about it, the education and understanding about how terrible it is spreads faster.
You can visit the facebook page "New Lease On Life" to find out what cats suffer from this needless surgery. A whole new highly specialized surgery had to be invented to help "declawed" cats.
Thanks for all this new-to-me information. Sorry I was stuck in decades old thinking. I admire your concern for animals, which of course I share, so I was happy to be corrected.
My father is on blood thinners. One time a neighbor's dog jumped on him. Of course the neighbor thought it was "cute", until his dog's sharp claws tore into my dad's arm and blood gushed out. He needed eight stitches for that. I know an elderly lady also on blood thinners who has two beloved cats that are declawed. She wouldn't be able to own them if they weren't.
I suggest you look up the CDC's statement on declawing. They recommend AGAINST it, FYI.
My father is on blood thinners. One time a neighbor's dog jumped on him. Of course the neighbor thought it was "cute", until his dog's sharp claws tore into my dad's arm and blood gushed out. He needed eight stitches for that. I know an elderly lady also on blood thinners who has two beloved cats that are declawed. She wouldn't be able to own them if they weren't.
Dogs should be taught not to jump on people and cats taught not to claw furniture and people. It's one of the reasons when you have a cute little kitty and they use your hand as a scratch and chew toy, you should stop them.
But as long as there are amputees, it's good to know there are people who will give them a safe home.
Dogs should be taught not to jump on people and cats taught not to claw furniture and people. It's one of the reasons when you have a cute little kitty and they use your hand as a scratch and chew toy, you should stop them.
But as long as there are amputees, it's good to know there are people who will give them a safe home.
I love your whole post, but addressing the bolded part..and there will be for a long time to come. There will be thrown away amputees in shelters for people who "won't have a clawed cat".
The difference will be, the people who adopt these special needs cats will be adopting them knowing they are special needs and why. They will know what to watch out for, they will know what the cat may need...and they won't be feeling defensive and guilty, causing them to pretend they don't see "any issues", because they were the ones who had it done in the first place.
Thanks for all this new-to-me information. Sorry I was stuck in decades old thinking. I admire your concern for animals, which of course I share, so I was happy to be corrected.
You, and people like you are what helps keep us going, keeps us from despairing. Even one person reached makes it worthwhile. xx
You, and people like you are what helps keep us going, keeps us from despairing. Even one person reached makes it worthwhile. xx
Thanks! I come to CD to learn new things, see various points of view on interesting issues, not to win arguments. (Well, I suppose I do sometimes try to win arguments when I'm sure I'm right!)
Since I've already admitted I'm decades behind in my understanding of declawing, I'll ask, is there any way the claws could be removed without taking part of the bone? Or would that just be the same thing as keeping the claws trimmed really short? And is a short trim acceptable? I'm just curious, that's all, since as I mentioned before, I can't have a cat because of hub's allergies. (We do have a non-shedding dog, a precious little Maltese).
Thanks! I come to CD to learn new things, see various points of view on interesting issues, not to win arguments. (Well, I suppose I do sometimes try to win arguments when I'm sure I'm right!)
Since I've already admitted I'm decades behind in my understanding of declawing, I'll ask, is there any way the claws could be removed without taking part of the bone? Or would that just be the same thing as keeping the claws trimmed really short? And is a short trim acceptable? I'm just curious, that's all, since as I mentioned before, I can't have a cat because of hub's allergies. (We do have a non-shedding dog, a precious little Maltese).
The claw grows out of the bone. The entire toe digit must be amputated to prevent claw regrowth. Claw regrowth often happens anyway and the cat suffers in terrible agony. Until, when the behavior problems start, the cat is dumped, and someone pays attention and contacts a Paw Project vet for help.
Bone chips left behind are also very common. Again the cat must suffer in silence. Imagine walking with sharp little leggoes in your shoes with every step.
These things are often addressed and posted about in the New Lease on Life FB page I posted the link to. If you have the stomach for it.
Because cats are digitigrade, which means they walk on their toes, when those last digits are amputated, the cat's entire alignment is destroyed forever. Early arthritis and chronic pain in their backs, shoulders and legs is a given. Again..who is going to notice that? Not the person who insists it's their "right" to do anything they want to the cat. Not the vet who insists it's their "right" to amputate the cats' toes if the client asks for it.
Thanks! I come to CD to learn new things, see various points of view on interesting issues, not to win arguments. (Well, I suppose I do sometimes try to win arguments when I'm sure I'm right!)
Since I've already admitted I'm decades behind in my understanding of declawing, I'll ask, is there any way the claws could be removed without taking part of the bone? Or would that just be the same thing as keeping the claws trimmed really short? And is a short trim acceptable? I'm just curious, that's all, since as I mentioned before, I can't have a cat because of hub's allergies. (We do have a non-shedding dog, a precious little Maltese).
Claws grow from the 3rd phalanx bone so, no, there is no way to just remove the claw. One procedure that is done is to cut the tendons in the toes, but that doesn't stop the claws from growing. The owner still has to cut the claws when they get long. Plus I don't think that allows for retraction of the front claws.
Huge news, cat lovers! Yesterday, VCA Pet Hospitals announced that they will no longer provide elective declawing, following the same announcement from Banfield Pet Hospitals last month. Together, VCA and Banfield operate over 2,000 pet hospitals nationwide employing almost 10,000 veterinarians. This is a major step toward eliminating the barbaric practice of declawing!
All the excuses, well, do not own a cat then. At that, the excuses are pretty exaggerated at best, I have no idea where people get that all cats go around clawing up people and things. The lack of training, attention, etc, just like dogs, are usually the cause of it. No scratching posts, no preventive measures, no attention, etc.
If a person cannot/does not want to have a cat without mutilating it, perhaps they should not get one.
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Having any animal has the potential to cause damage in a home. Even a fishtank can leak or smell. Dogs chew things and bite, and their claws scratch floors and walls and doors and people, but most people don't require removing the dog's teeth or cutting off the dog's toes.
