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#11
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I need your sagely advice and wisdom again, people. Declaw or not declaw, that is my question.
Response from "cybercat" :
"-Lost" wrote Your friend is no friend. Do not mutilate your cat. I figured that would be the general response. I wonder why it is recommended at all? It is recommended for human convenience because many people cannot be bothered to provide things cats like to scratch better than furniture and rugs, and so that vets can make money. Ignorance or pure cruelty can be the only reasons anyone would recommend it. Pfft. I have learned there is no such thing when you CARE for animals. Either you love 'em or you do not. I always try to make sure I pay attention to the ones who are in it for the loot as well. That is partly why I ask so many questions. I KNOW I need help! Hahaha! I was a kid (maybe 23) when I took my first cat in to be spayed, and they said, "Do you want her declawed too?" She was a hellion, and I was thinking, just the claws themselves taken out--I never thought surgical hacking off of the bones in her toes. I said yes. They ruined her beautiful little feet, she became anxious, stopped covering her poo, and became a biter as well. It is horrible, one of the worst things I have been responsible for in my life. I have two cats now, and provide scratchers and trim claws--just the tips--monthly. That is all you need to do. Ugh, I am sorry you AND your kitty had to go through that. Did you understand the procedure when you asked this question? Nope. And after reading everyone's post it almost made me cry. I have known a few declawed kitties in my time and never knew it was like that. And will you voice your opinion about it to the shelters? Well, this is going to sound pretty dumb I am sure, but what should I say? I mean, call back and go, "Hey by the way, the lady who runs the refuge should stop declawing the cats! It is cruel and not only physically scars the kitty, but does psychological damage!" I just do not want to go to jail for threatening/stalking/whatever. And I have got a temper so if they were to get mouthy about it instead of talk about it, I would most likely end up cussing them out. Maybe I should call from a payphone... Anyway. The choice was already made, but now it will NEVER have the possibility to change. Gabby keeps her claws. -- -Lost Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am kidding. No I am not. |
#12
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I need your sagely advice and wisdom again, people. Declaw or not declaw, that is my question.
Please read this before making a decision:
http://www.maxshouse.com/facts_about_declawing.htm Hugs, CatNipped "-Lost" wrote in message ... After talking with my friend at the animal hospital for the thousandth time today, they started mentioning some other things that I should have done before officially calling Gabby "good to go." 1. Get her spayed - of course, this is already planned. 2. "ridder of critters" they said. Done. 3. Tons more general how to take care of a cat tips. Done. .. 19. Maybe not 19th, but the last thing they said was, "And make sure to get her declawed." Not so sure about... Forgive my ignorance on this one, and cat lovers please don't bounce something off of my head, but I thought as long as you were... 1. Not in fear of your life. 2. Your other animals got along fine with kitty. 3. Kitty uses her abundance of play things and scratching posts, walls, climbs, and other assorted cat approved claw-holders. 4. Kitty eventually stops chasing you down and attacking you from behind. ...that you did not have to get a cat declawed. My friend made it out like it is a must along with spaying an animal. What's the word cat people? -- -Lost Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am kidding. No I am not. |
#13
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I need your sagely advice and wisdom again, people. Declaw or not declaw, that is my question.
Response from "cybercat" :
snip Assuming this is incorrect, I will explain "shed their claws" to avoid further confusion. I was told that cats claws were similar to dogs in that they eventually flake or grow like exoskeletons, whereby the newer nail underneath pushes the older one off. Or in the case of a scratching post, helps remove it. Is that correct? Just the sheath comes off. You want to get clippers and clip just the sharp tip so that when you play with your cat, or he/she walks on carpet etc. the claws don't catch you or it. It is easy and simple--if your cat does not like it, get a friend to help you. We used to roll Boo up in a beach towel, I would hold her with just one foot at a time sticking out, and soothe her while my husband clipped. Now she just lets us do it--because she gets a treat afterward. Ooooh, OK. Just the tips, got it. Definitely going to try the towel method. When Gabby first came to us we had to bathe her a time or two to rid her of paint, pests, and poo (literally). Anyway... after the bath she would literally fall slick out wrapped in a towel. So she definitely digs it! -- -Lost Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am kidding. No I am not. |
#14
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I need your sagely advice and wisdom again, people. Declaw or not declaw, that is my question.
Response from bobblespin :
With a claw trimmer, just clip the tip of each claw, before the pink part. Get kitty used to it asap my touching her paws gently every day so she gets used to her paws being handled. Praise and talk sweetly the whole time so it becomes a nice experience. If you don't clip the claws, they can become very long and very sharp and will hook into everything as they walk and play. Even our outdoor cat needs to be clipped because walking on grass doesn't stop them from growing too long. Do you have a recommendation for one? I was recently reading an article about using a dremel on doggy toe nails, but I imagine that Gabby's are too small to use a dremel on. PLEASE DO NOT DECLAW YOUR CAT. They suffer horribly, even with pain medication. Fine by me. Thanks for the feedback, Bobble. -- -Lost Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am kidding. No I am not. |
#15
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I need your sagely advice and wisdom again, people. Declaw ornot declaw, that is my question.
-Lost wrote:
After talking with my friend at the animal hospital for the thousandth time today, they started mentioning some other things that I should have done before officially calling Gabby "good to go." 1. Get her spayed - of course, this is already planned. 2. "ridder of critters" they said. Done. 3. Tons more general how to take care of a cat tips. Done. .. 19. Maybe not 19th, but the last thing they said was, "And make sure to get her declawed." Not so sure about... Forgive my ignorance on this one, and cat lovers please don't bounce something off of my head, but I thought as long as you were... 1. Not in fear of your life. 2. Your other animals got along fine with kitty. 3. Kitty uses her abundance of play things and scratching posts, walls, climbs, and other assorted cat approved claw-holders. 4. Kitty eventually stops chasing you down and attacking you from behind. ...that you did not have to get a cat declawed. My friend made it out like it is a must along with spaying an animal. What's the word cat people? No, no, no! Don't do it! For some reason, my vet suggested that when I got Mingy neutered. I was pretty ignorant about cats then, but I am really happy I read up on that and didn't allow it. -- Jean B. |
#16
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I need your sagely advice and wisdom again, people. Declaw or not declaw, that is my question.
Response from "CatNipped" :
Please read this before making a decision: http://www.maxshouse.com/facts_about_declawing.htm Darn you, CatNipped. I already felt like crying... Seriously though, thanks for that information. I have already now made the decision that my kitty keeps her claws, but now I have the reason why to show my family and my friend who have bad news about (I am going to post a reply to the main thread about what they said). Thanks again, CatNipped. -- -Lost Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am kidding. No I am not. |
#17
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I need your sagely advice and wisdom again, people. Declaw or not declaw, that is my question.
Response from "Jean B." :
...that you did not have to get a cat declawed. My friend made it out like it is a must along with spaying an animal. What's the word cat people? No, no, no! Don't do it! For some reason, my vet suggested that when I got Mingy neutered. I was pretty ignorant about cats then, but I am really happy I read up on that and didn't allow it. Oh man, same here! I am so glad I checked with you all first. I have bad news... see my reply to this thread. -- -Lost Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am kidding. No I am not. |
#18
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I need your sagely advice and wisdom again, people. Declaw or not declaw, that is my question.
Well as promised I called today and talked to my friend. The doctor
does in fact recommend getting them declawed. Instead of piece it together for you, I am going to clean up and copy and paste what I was able to type out while we talked. "Hey, Friend. How are you?" Them: "Good -Lost, you?" "Ah, so-so. I had a few more questions for you if you do not mind." Them: "Shoot!" "I was reading up on some different methods to stop kitty from clawing everything in sight..." Them: "Right, I remember..." "Well, could you explain the entire declawing process and do you recommend it or does the animal hospital recommend it?" Them: "Well, first off... how old is kitty?" "About 3 months give or take a month." Them: "Well that is the best time to get kitty declawed. In fact, we have a spay and front claw declawing program with a sterile scalpel that runs $128. However, we HIGHLY recommend the laser which seals nerve endings and cauterizes blood vessels. There is no bleeding, it is less painful for kitty, they have a quicker recovery time and the risk of infection is drastically reduced. That runs about $205, but does not include pain management or vaccinations." "Wow. So, do you recommend I do it? And what does the doctor feel about it?" Them: "Well, actually the administrator of both sites recommends it as does the doctor. I recommend it too if kitty is being destructive and you simply cannot break her from being destructive. Have you tried shaking a piggy bank at her or squirting her with a spray bottle full of water?" "No. She is not destructive in my opinion." Them: "Oh. Well, why do you want to get her declawed then?" "I don't! I was asking if it was recommended." Them: "Oh, well, yeah, we recommend it. Also, the sooner the better. We have found that kitties respond much better when they have it done early on rather than later in life." "How so?" Them: "How so what?" "How do they become used to not having toes?" Them: "No silly, it does not cut their toes off, only the tips of them that contain the nail. A lot of people think it cruel in fact to do it, but then you have some people who have nice things or leather furniture and whatnot and they do not want their things ruined. So, what were your other questions?" "To be honest, I cannot remember what the others were." At this point I just wanted to get off the phone. Them: "Well if you are worried about kitty's health afterward we provide lint-free, dust-free, shredded newspaper-like litter for you, in fact we call it 'Yesterday's News', so she'll be covered there. Do you want to set up an appointment?" "I need to talk it over with my spouse first. I'll let you know." Them: "OK, -Lost. If you have any other questions feel free and give us a call." "All right. Bu-bye." Them: "Bye." Also, when I first asked actually, they said "Well, we DO offer the service." But it quickly went from me thinking, "Oh, maybe they do not recommend it actually." to "They recommend the hell out of it." They also mentioned that if she was to be an indoor kitty that I need not worry about things like her being able to defend herself. I am seriously disappointed in this animal hospital now. -- -Lost Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am kidding. No I am not. |
#19
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I need your sagely advice and wisdom again, people. Declaw or not declaw, that is my question.
Response from "-Lost" :
Well as promised I called today and talked to my friend. The doctor does in fact recommend getting them declawed. Instead of piece it together for you, I am going to clean up and copy and paste what I was able to type out while we talked. "Hey, Friend. How are you?" Them: "Good -Lost, you?" "Ah, so-so. I had a few more questions for you if you do not mind." Them: "Shoot!" "I was reading up on some different methods to stop kitty from clawing everything in sight..." Them: "Right, I remember..." "Well, could you explain the entire declawing process and do you recommend it or does the animal hospital recommend it?" Them: "Well, first off... how old is kitty?" "About 3 months give or take a month." Them: "Well that is the best time to get kitty declawed. In fact, we have a spay and front claw declawing program with a sterile scalpel that runs $128. However, we HIGHLY recommend the laser which seals nerve endings and cauterizes blood vessels. There is no bleeding, it is less painful for kitty, they have a quicker recovery time and the risk of infection is drastically reduced. That runs about $205, but does not include pain management or vaccinations." "Wow. So, do you recommend I do it? And what does the doctor feel about it?" Them: "Well, actually the administrator of both sites recommends it as does the doctor. I recommend it too if kitty is being destructive and you simply cannot break her from being destructive. Have you tried shaking a piggy bank at her or squirting her with a spray bottle full of water?" "No. She is not destructive in my opinion." Them: "Oh. Well, why do you want to get her declawed then?" "I don't! I was asking if it was recommended." Them: "Oh, well, yeah, we recommend it. Also, the sooner the better. We have found that kitties respond much better when they have it done early on rather than later in life." "How so?" Them: "How so what?" "How do they become used to not having toes?" Them: "No silly, it does not cut their toes off, only the tips of them that contain the nail. A lot of people think it cruel in fact to do it, but then you have some people who have nice things or leather furniture and whatnot and they do not want their things ruined. So, what were your other questions?" "To be honest, I cannot remember what the others were." At this point I just wanted to get off the phone. Them: "Well if you are worried about kitty's health afterward we provide lint-free, dust-free, shredded newspaper-like litter for you, in fact we call it 'Yesterday's News', so she'll be covered there. Do you want to set up an appointment?" "I need to talk it over with my spouse first. I'll let you know." Them: "OK, -Lost. If you have any other questions feel free and give us a call." "All right. Bu-bye." Them: "Bye." Also, when I first asked actually, they said "Well, we DO offer the service." But it quickly went from me thinking, "Oh, maybe they do not recommend it actually." to "They recommend the hell out of it." They also mentioned that if she was to be an indoor kitty that I need not worry about things like her being able to defend herself. I am seriously disappointed in this animal hospital now. And to boot... they told me to check out the Web site for the animal hospital (just noticed I have been calling it the animal hospital when it is the veterinary clinic) and when I clicked on services, I am fairly certain I saw a picture of them actually performing the laser onychectomy. -- -Lost Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am kidding. No I am not. |
#20
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I need your sagely advice and wisdom again, people. Declaw or not declaw, that is my question.
Response from "Sheelagh o" :
De-clawing a cat is like chopping each digit off @ the first knuckle. Whoever told you it is a must, is either ignorant, or cruel, yet handing out advice on something they are not fully informed about. We have endless questions about declawing, & it is always a passionate subject! I see that! CatNipped gave me a wonderfully informative article on it that brought tears to my eyes. I expect it will do the same when I show the rest of the family when they get home. I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but if you are worride about clawing, Actually, was not REALLY worried about, only slightly. But I do not consider her destructive in the least. I was however under the false impression that it was healthier (for lack of better word) for the kitty. there are two products that will help your cat. 1: Lots of scratching posts to stretch out their full body length, Done! I have provided her a scratching post, a portable scratching wall, and also a scratch/climb. 2: & also there is a new product on the market, that evades me right now (It will come to me @ 4 am no doubt!!), but it is like a rubber substance that you can paint on all claws, that will stop the effect of side swiped by your cat who might be waiting to play pounce with you. You just paint it on like nail polish. I hear it is very effective. Perhaps someone else could provide a link to the product I am referring to if they can remember the name of it? I hope this helps, Is it this? http://www.softclaws.com/ This looks promising. Thanks for the help, Sheelagh "o". -- -Lost Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am kidding. No I am not. |
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