De-Clawing

[brandy101010]

I dont' disagree with you...(there are "designated scratching areas" for them...which buie uses regularly...she just sometimes scratches whenever and wherever she happens to stretch as well...lol)...I was just saying that there are cats who scratch for the sake of scratching and sometimes you can't train them not to (especially if you have a time consuming job or smt that keeps you gone most of the time). As far as marking goes, from what I've seen cats use very specific places to mark and will mark the same locations over and over, which should be easy to control b/c you can just put scratching posts in those locations.

That is exactly what I have been trying to explain.

 

[techgirl]

I have both declawed and non declawed cats. I know what's involved because I assisted in the procedures myself. With proper pain management most cats recover without incident. We had them pre-medicated before we anesthetized them and then would apply a pain patch before they woke up that would deliver it continuously. We kept them for 4 days(the day of sx, 2 days bandages on, one day bandages off and then would remove the patch) and then sent them home with anitbiotics and with the option to continue pain meds at home if they felt it was necessary. Most never needed it. Most clients never mentioned them being uncomfortable. We did send them home with instructions to use yesterday's news paper litter and to keep the running and jumping to a minimum. I have seen few reactions to the sutures, anesthetic drugs of the antibiotics. I have only declawed my cats if it was necessary. My kitten now is becoming used to the soft claws and as long as he tolerates it well, he will not be declawed at the end of this month.

 

[eyelids]

Sorry guys I didn't mean for this to turn into war. I tried swaying it away from being so serious with the laser claws, but...

 

[robin]

its ok micheal . every thing is all good :thumbsup:

 

[eyelids]

Nice!

 

[SteveB]

Sorry guys I didn't mean for this to turn into war. I tried swaying it away from being so serious with the laser claws, but...

It's clearly not your fault, bro. No worries.

 

[KelliH]

No worries Michael.

 

[StinaKSU]

They said it

 

[LadyGecko]

See, I don't have the facts like you guys do, but all I can say is I HATE seeing the cat running around in -25 wind chill and 7 inches of snow.

This past Sat. a man knocked on my door and asked me if I was missing one of my cats (I have several) I replied no and asked why-he said that there was a cat about 2 blocks over that had been hit by a car and was wandering around in the snow
I got dressed grabbed a pet carrier and walked down to where i found the cat dazed and completely confused and wandering in circles
I picked him up(he was a beautiful orange/yellow long haired Tom) and wrapped him in a towel and put him in the carrier and brought him home
His face was bloody and he was bleeding from the mouth
I cleaned him up and made him a comfortable as I could and put him back into a larger pet crate
Unfortunately I found out that the only open vets were at least 60 miles away and I don't drive so I had no way to get this animal to a vet

My bf was stuck up north where he works-he had had a small accident at work and had to go to the hospital-but that's another story

There were people driving by this cat and no one picked him up including 2 women that did call animal control (they refused to come out and get him) and the man that came to my door
I had 2 choices-leave him there to most likely wander out into the street to get hit again and possibly cause an accident or bring him home and not be able to take him to a vet
I brought him home with the small hope that he wasn't as bad off as I thought he was and unfortunately he didn't live through the night
I am still very upset about the whole thing and I hope that I made the right choice -from a humane standpoint
I just couldn't leave that animal where he was -with it being apparent that
no one else was going to at least bring him in out of the extreme cold and snow

I have people that drop off cats on my front porch-cats that show up out of nowhere

My latest is a big neutered black and silver tabby that is a moose
He is the sweetest cat and fit right into my household-dogs and all
I couldn't find his previous owner so I kept him

I don't know how it is else where but i live in a semi-rural area that seems to have the general outlook that cats are easily replaceable pets and it saddens me to see so many that do get hit/run over by cars

All of my cats are indoor cats-the last one that insisted on going out-a 7 yr old neutered male named Scruff-got run over by a kid speeding down our side street a few years ago
I usually brought him back into the house but this particular summer afternoon he was looking so content just laying in the yard in the sun that i left him out while I was outdoors
A decison that I will regret for the rest of my life
He must have seen something across the street and took off just at the wrong moment to get hit by a car
I didn't see it happen (thank God) but my bf did
I had the experience of going and picking him up and having him die a few minutes later in my arms
I dug him a grave in the backyard and buried him
I am still not over that
The kid never even stopped and it was bad enough that the cat got hit-but I did have to think at the time-what if that had been a small child in the street?
The street that I am speaking of only runs one block (connects 2 main streets) and kids do play in it quite frequently

After all of this rambling- I don't declaw my cats but I do agree that if it saves the life of a cat and paves the way for a good home for them then I see it as an acceptable alternative to people that don't want shredded furniture
Also- some people are highly to allergic to cat scratches-not cats in general -just being scratched by them

Sandy

 

[BalloonzForU]

Sandy, Thank you for being so caring and loving to bring that cat in from the cold and give him a nice warm place for the last moments of his life. Not many people enjoy cats, because they are independent animals. They are too smart to be trained in anything other than using a litter box, and makes them unappealing to most dog lovers. I love all animals, so this is something that has taken some time to understand.

My girls are getting up there in age, and the thought of them passing has crossed my mind a lot in the past few months as they both were born in March and will be 13 & 11. The 11 year old has had a few emergency's in her live since she's one of those cats that doesn't land on her feet when she jumps. She had her ACL repaired a few years ago. The 13 year old has had seisures in the past, and we finally figured out after a year what was causing them, and she hasn't had any since. However since she's a persian she's had many issues with her sinuses and teeth. I've had to have all 4 back teeth removed and she no longer has all her little teeth in the front. It will break my heart when they are gone, but the love they have given me will last a lifetime.

 

[brandy101010]

Sandy, you did the right thing bringing the cat in. I would have done the same thing. at least it was in a warm bed when it passed.

Felicia, I know how you feel. I have a kitty that was full grown when I got him and have no clue how old he is but I have had him for 9 years and he is starting to look like he is going blind and is not himself lately. I get very sad when I think about him passing.

Cats normally can't be trained that well (well to do tricks anyway) but I have a cat that my husband has taught how to sit, stand, come, and box (stand up on hind legs and through punches in his face lol), on command (with a treat in hand of course lol) This cat is unlike any I have ever known. He follows my husband around like a puppy and sleeps with him every night. He greets him when he comes home. They are inseparable. Is it normal to be jealous of a cat? lol

 

[BalloonzForU]

aawwwww Brandy, Both my cats play fetch!

 

[brandy101010]

LOL! I had a cat that played fetch when I was a kid. And one of my friends had a cat that would do back flips in the air.

 

[GoGo]

My friend lives near a lady with many cats. Recently, after having one totally declawed, back and front, she decided she had too many and threw the cat out on the street. WITH NO CLAWS. Im against declawing because not only is it painful and inhumane, but the fact is if your cat escaped, or you had to abandon the cat for some reason(which is never really justified), and it encountered a street cat or dog, or someones outside cat, the cat would be DEAD if the other animal was vicious.

 

[PaulSage]

A stray cat showed up on my mom's farm two years ago and hasn't left. He has no claws. He has no problem catching mice. Despite coyotes, raccoons, foxes, opossums, etc. being very common in the area, he's still around (not dead).

 

[LadyGecko]

It's a real tough call -this whole subject is such a sensitive one
I am not really FOR declawing cats BUT I still stand by that many cats have been rescued and given good homes for their entire lives because of their owners declawing them vs having them tearing up everything in the house
Many people simply will not stand for that and i do not care how well trained that your cat is-He/She is still a cat and with claws it will do what cones naturally and scratch somewhere other than where you want it to

I have many cats-most of them with claws and I have to buy"new" second hand furniture once every couple of years because of their claws

Yeah-I know that I am crazy but the cats all have a good home and I never want for company
:main_rolleyes:

Sandy

"TheKrazyCatLady"

 

[brandy101010]

Yeah-I know that I am crazy but the cats all have a good home and I never want for company
:main_rolleyes:

Sandy

"TheKrazyCatLady"

LOL! you sound like me! I have a freaking zoo here. Only 3 cats though.
If you are having behavior problems with your cats there are a few great books I can recommend. The only one I can remember the name for right now is "How to Be a Cat Detective" I can't remember the author but I'm sure if you do a search it will pop up. Multi cat households tend to have a lot of behavior problems and this book gives you a lot of insight as to why and little things you can do to help fix the problems. Some of it is information most cat owners already know but it does have some good info and tips in it.