Thoughts on declawing a cat?

[Imp]

I have never declawed a cat, but was given one a few years ago. Jake was more destructive than any of my clawed cats. If he didn't get the attention he wanted, he'd get up on the closest table or counter and start pushing things off. Sometimes I hated that cat. lol
He was great to play with, so much nicer to not get scratched up.
He never had any problems walking, never seemed to be in pain.
He was also a miracle cat. He got cancer in his face, looked like a monster, a completely distorted head. The vet gave him a few months at best. Later that day I was picking up some steroids and the clinic owner asked what they were for. He said they were a waste of money and told me to run home and bring Jake back in. He gave Jake a shot of something, and a few hours later the golfball sized tumor started shrinking. you could actually see it shrinking. Well in about a day it was gone and Jake went on to live another 5 years, before the cancer came back in his bowels.

Imp- I have 7 cats and buy new furniture regularly.

 

[KDbeads]

Quote:
yeah..thats it! I dont want to take the time to train my cats! You nailed it!

Please think before you accuse people of things you really know nothing about .....
please dont get this thread closed...

I did not intend to attack anyone, my apologies.
Declawing is an owner's CHOICE but should not be the only option given when first adopting a cat. Though if that's what it takes to keep another cat from being put down so be it.
That being said, some cats are harder to train, some are easy and trust me I've had serial scratchers, that were tossed out of homes due to their scratching, in this house for years and still have my nice wool couch, my mattresses, my clothes hampers, my sewing room, garbage cans, door frames, doors, carpet, and pant's legs intact.

I didn't post on here with graphic pictures of the procedure and claim everyone who does this to a cat as barbaric people. I posted an opinion based on 10 years worth of cat rescue. Take it or leave it.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
yeah..thats it! I dont want to take the time to train my cats! You nailed it!

Please think before you accuse people of things you really know nothing about .....
please dont get this thread closed...

I did not intend to attack anyone, my apologies.
Declawing is an owner's CHOICE but should not be the only option given when first adopting a cat. Though if that's what it takes to keep another cat from being put down so be it.
That being said, some cats are harder to train, some are easy and trust me I've had serial scratchers, that were tossed out of homes due to their scratching, in this house for years and still have my nice wool couch, my mattresses, my clothes hampers, my sewing room, garbage cans, door frames, doors, carpet, and pant's legs intact.

I didn't post on here with graphic pictures of the procedure and claim everyone who does this to a cat as barbaric people. I posted an opinion based on 10 years worth of cat rescue. Take it or leave it.

I understand..

and i have also raised/rescued cats for many/many years.. And i'd never do anything to hurt a cat. Its all a based on personal opinions , no one is right..IMO.

 

[lurky]

Quote:

Agreed.

I would NEVER declaw a cat!

I agree with NOT declawing. I have been told by a vet that they hurt for a long time after too.
There are many declawed already if you search on petfinder.com, that need a home.
But it sure sounds like a painful ordeal for the poor kitty

Imagine if someone could make that choice to do to you? And you were helpless, voiceless to the idea?

 

[Beekissed]

Can you imagine how sensitive and painful that would be? Having one's nails removed.....

I think I'd rather have shredded furniture than do that to an animal. Furniture can be replaced but those nails are gone forever!

 

[Katy]

I've got 6 house cats who are indoor only. Four were orphans that I rescued and raised on the bottle. They are all declawed...front only. Is it painful for a time? Yes, it is but that doesn't....or at least it shouldn't last forever. None of my cats walk like their feet hurt, nor have they had any personality changes. They play and run and jump just fine.

 

[buck-wild-chick]

A declawed cat is in no more danger of being outside then an clawed cat.A coytote doesn't see a clawed cat and think"hmm thats risky" Its just by chance that he would actually get the cat.If you don't have any experience with a declawed cat then you shouldn't be posting on how "BAD" it is.Just because you can spent lots of time training your cat not to scratch,doesn't give anyone the right to bash someone if they choose to declaw.

I don't know about yall's declawed cats but mine climbs trees and catches lizards. she didn't act like she was in pain.She was our first cat and was originally an strictly inside cat.But after a year or so she started going outside.She is now a 13yr old ,fat, spayed, indoor/outdoor cat.Heck she even has a collar on thats 5 years old.

 

[Akane]

I didn't read all 6 pages of this but I've seen some cats declawed. Absolutely never I would rather find them a new home or have them pts. The cats can't move the same or live their lives the same. Many don't even seem to want to try to jump. They acted so different and just were not typical cats. I did some vet classes in school and we had an entire class on judging for lameness in livestock and pets. I also have been very active and do martial arts. Watching those cats move and the way their weight was shifted made me cringe. Their balance was way off compared to how a cat would normally move. That's not even discussing the pain of the surgery and the fact it truly is an unnecessary surgery. Well over half the time the problem could be solved by better, different, or better placed scratching posts and a few weeks spent training. Have we also covered soft paws?

As an example. I got a kitten when I was in highschool and left her with my mom when I went to college. Carmel did about $300 in damage to the wood door frames in the house during that time and my mom kept threatening to declaw her but having seen declawed cats she had much the same opinion I did. When I moved into a house 2 years ago I brought Carmel with me. She shredded a couch but I didn't care cause it was free and pulled the weather stripping out from under the exterior door cause I wouldn't let her out once. This is a spoiled cat that has been destroying things for 8years. Then I got married and we moved my husband's good couch in to the house. I knew Carmel's scratching would have to end. We put soft paws on and religiously checked her paws daily to replace them. We also started disciplining her for scratching and squirting her with water when she ignored noise. A few months later we'd gotten lazy and forgotten about her paws until one day I realized all the soft paws were gone. There is not a mark on the couch or a single item destroyed since in the house. Really a little time can make all the difference and avoid a painful surgery and altered lifestyle. We're talking a couple weeks or months versus the rest of the cat's life. My mom also saved all her furniture by simply placing a scratching post at the corner where the cats liked to scratch. No time required just $30 to get a nice looking scratching post so it wouldn't look too out of place. Personally I think if you aren't willing to spend a couple weeks or a little money on such issues you shouldn't have a cat. Same as I wouldn't get a puppy if I couldn't take time to housebreak it and tell it not to chew up everything in sight.

 

[Beekissed]

Well, the thread title is "Thoughts on declawing a cat?" and she did ask for opinions about the pros and cons......

One doesn't have to have a declawed cat to know they don't like the practice of declawing. I don't like the idea of docking tails and ears either but I've never had an animal that's had either.

Opinions on this type of thing are always going to be pretty strong, so it would be nice if folks would not get so defensive and get the thread locked.

 

[KDbeads]

Quote:
Exactly, there is no wrong or right for this. I've had declawed rescues that were more destructive, meaner, more withdrawn, major issues with walking, etc and I've had declawed rescues that were perfectly normal lovely little monsters,... ahem... cats, like my permanent cats. I think it depends on the cat itself as to how it reacts to the procedure and the vet on whether they know what they are doing to begin with. Though I do wish there was a better way to do it that didn't involve removing a bone.
But it's not for me.