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have you tried spreading cat nip on the cat scratching posts? outside cats claws need to be pretty sharp so they can defend themselves and climb trees to get away from danger. you should change vets if you have one suggesting declawing. don't do it, it is cruel. how would you like to be de fingered?
This topic generates a lot of emotion, which is understandable. Naive persons see declawing as an option with downside consequences. I once thought that too. And, the veterinarian pushing declawing contributed to that. Now, older and more experienced I know that declawing is not an option, it is a mutilation as knowledgable others have said. There should not be a choice of declawing, any more than there would be a choice for amputation of a leg or blinding the animal (which could also be argued to make them easier to manage). Declawing is as much a mutilation as blinding or amputation.
No, there is no case for declawing. Any attempts to make the case are excuses by the guilty or the musings of the uninformed.
Again, everyone had an opinion. If I thought like you do, I would let a cat stay in a shelter and be euthanized insteady of saving it, and making sure it is well cared for. You have almost convinced me no cat is worth saving. Not!
I totally agree. Most vets want even do itanymore and if they do,you have to assure them that the cat is strictly an indoor cat. There is something wrong with this vet and I would definitely find another one immediately.
I would switch vets. It sounds like your vet is NOT a cat person. I wouldn't even use a vet that does declawing I think it is so cruel. Imagine having the last 1/3 section of your fingers amputated. That is what it is like.
There was a cat where I used to live who was declawed and the owner stupidly let him go outside. Without the usual way to defend itself the cat would BITE rather than try to deter with a swipe of his paws. In fact the cat, every chance he got would try to sneak inside my house when it was for sale and the realtor was trying to show it. One time it got on the fridge, according to the realtor, and he tried to get the cat down and it BIT him.
Have you tried finding a groomer? Groomers cut cats' nails a lot more often than vets do. I bet a good groomer could put your cat at ease and get his nails clipped. In the meantime, you should try to do it. I cut my cat's nails on the front feet anyway. I usually only get a few at a time. Anitra Frazier's book tells how to do it.
It makes me so sad that some vets encourage the practice of de-clawing. People tend to trust the advice of their vet, and many wouldn't question it if the vet said it was an a-okay thing to do.
Bums me out.
Almost as sad is they also believe what the vets tell them to feed their cats. Dry kibble loaded with grains such as corn. I'm convinced vets either don't know that cats are obligate carnivores, or they don't care. After all, slender healthy cats don't make them the income fat unhealthy cats do.
I did not read through the entire thread.
The vet *does* sound a bit wacky to me, and I would never declaw a cat.
But just to share:
Their are two adopted cats down the street from us, littermate brothers, who were already neutered and declawed. Their owners tried to turn them into inside cats, but these guys were having none of it. Their housesitter told me that the cats literally destroyed two rooms, clawing (I assume with back legs!) pooping and peeing etc.
So rather than take them back to the shelter, their owners let them out.
They roam all over the place, everybody knows them because they are so friendly. Is it risky? Of course. My husband has rescued one from a roof, but for the most part they seem to be just fine, it's been four years now.
So rather than take them back to the shelter, their owners let them out.
They roam all over the place, everybody knows them because they are so friendly. Is it risky? Of course. My husband has rescued one from a roof, but for the most part they seem to be just fine, it's been four years now.
I don't know who told you that story but it's hard to believe. It would mean someone with outside cats had them declawed and for some reason took them to a shelter. There would be no reason to declaw outside cats. If they were indoor cats they would have been happy to stay indoors in their new home. Something sounds fishy..........
Neither of them can leave my yard and other animals can't easily get into my yard. They are both safe. True, they can not climb trees, but they have a place where they can go where they are safe from larger animals. Dogs can not get into my yard. Deer can, and do, but they don't bother the cats.
This makes no sense at all. Deer are large animals, much larger than dogs, so how are the cats "safe from larger animals"? Most anything that would threaten a cat (other cats, coyotes, dogs, etc.) are smaller than a deer. And, how exactly can deer get into your yard when dogs can't?
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Declawing an outside cat
Bums me out.
