How declawing saved my cat's life and gave him 6 more years (and counting)

Understandably so, but who is to say that the cat wont be taken care of? I
am presuming that since the cat has been in the ownership of the poster for
six and a half years, that he or she has become somewhat attached to the cat
and wouldn't "dump" the animal because of the reasons you indicated. I don't
essentially agree with declawing. There are statistics that are being
compiled by the local University (in my area) regarding how many felines are
declawed yearly, opposed to how many declawed cats turn up in shelters and
the humane society on a yearly basis. The University is doing this research
in an unbiased manor as a pledge to community service. Since there are so
many people that are against the procedure of declawing, the hope is to
finally have a resolution on the subject (in my area). These are due to be
published soon. I'll email you when they become available.

"Luvskats00" wrote in message
...
"Wendy"
writes
.... I have heard of other cats apparently doing
fine after a declaw. The problem is I've heard of declawed cats
who have
larger problems because of the declaw then the owner would have
had if they
hadn't done it. My niece adopted a declawed cat who had one toe
that just
wouldn't heal///

...the problem I had with the poster is apparently no
effort was made to adjust the scratching behavior before the
:kitty ended up
declawed.

Evidently, you and I (and a very large group of people who are
informed about
the issue) support the no-declaw position and believe of the
horrific cruelty
of the procedure. However, there is another very large group of
people who do
not yet believe or are unaware of the steps constituting a declaw
and that is
is perceived/it is cruel and inhumane. Both groups are cat lovers
and both
groups do much to improve the lives of strays, cats waiting for
adoption,
and/or family pets.

I just want to say, again, that I am someone who has seen both side. I
adopted a pregnant, semi-feral stray at six months old, and had her
declawed because

1. She destroyed everything
2. I had no idea it was mutilation'
3. I was young and ignorant and had no idea I could train her.

Once I saw her after the operation I felt like some kind of Nazi. She
was in pain and her formerly beautiful little front feet just looked
like dustmops. Never the brightest kitty (but I loved her just as she
was!) she had always been easily frightened and aggressive, sometimes
for no reason. This got worse after the declaw--she became a biter,
and I mean to the bone. How did I get her to stop? I lightly smacked
her, said "no" and isolated her in a time-out room. Eventually she
stopped breaking the skin and would just bite me lightly and then lick
me.

She stopped covering her poo in the box after declawing and stopped
being as playful, too. I did right by here, kept her safe and indoors
and took good care of her. She lived to be 20.

When I adopted my current two cats there was never any question about
declawing. I would never do it again. Cats who feel helpless get mean
and are easily frightened. I think declawing my first cat made her
already mistrustful and fearful personality worse. It is one of the
few things in my life that I truly regret.

Just my 2 cents.

"Luvskats00" wrote in message
...
"Wendy"
writes
.... I have heard of other cats apparently doing
fine after a declaw. The problem is I've heard of declawed cats
who have
larger problems because of the declaw then the owner would have
had if they
hadn't done it. My niece adopted a declawed cat who had one toe
that just
wouldn't heal///

...the problem I had with the poster is apparently no
effort was made to adjust the scratching behavior before the
:kitty ended up
declawed.

Evidently, you and I (and a very large group of people who are
informed about
the issue) support the no-declaw position and believe of the
horrific cruelty
of the procedure. However, there is another very large group of
people who do
not yet believe or are unaware of the steps constituting a declaw
and that is
is perceived/it is cruel and inhumane. Both groups are cat lovers
and both
groups do much to improve the lives of strays, cats waiting for
adoption,
and/or family pets.

I just want to say, again, that I am someone who has seen both side. I
adopted a pregnant, semi-feral stray at six months old, and had her
declawed because

1. She destroyed everything
2. I had no idea it was mutilation'
3. I was young and ignorant and had no idea I could train her.

Once I saw her after the operation I felt like some kind of Nazi. She
was in pain and her formerly beautiful little front feet just looked
like dustmops. Never the brightest kitty (but I loved her just as she
was!) she had always been easily frightened and aggressive, sometimes
for no reason. This got worse after the declaw--she became a biter,
and I mean to the bone. How did I get her to stop? I lightly smacked
her, said "no" and isolated her in a time-out room. Eventually she
stopped breaking the skin and would just bite me lightly and then lick
me.

She stopped covering her poo in the box after declawing and stopped
being as playful, too. I did right by here, kept her safe and indoors
and took good care of her. She lived to be 20.

When I adopted my current two cats there was never any question about
declawing. I would never do it again. Cats who feel helpless get mean
and are easily frightened. I think declawing my first cat made her
already mistrustful and fearful personality worse. It is one of the
few things in my life that I truly regret.

Just my 2 cents.

Cat Protector,





Then let me pose the question (and don't bend what I type). Would you rather
the cat (from the original post) be "FULLY CLAWED" in a cage at a shelter,
humane society or otherwise, waiting to be adopted (which presumably may
never happen). OR, would you rather the cat be declawed (as is currently
is), residing in a seemingly well taken care of environment, where it is
most probably fed on a regular basis, and given what special needs it has to
have by, an owner who may be uneducated and unconcerned about the procedure
of declawing, but otherwise cares for the cat? Which would you choose?



In my previous post to you, I never attempted to "sugar coat" the idea of
declawing. Your understanding of declawing comes from you educating yourself
about the matter and making your own decision regarding the issue. My point
is that the majorities of first time cat owners don't bother to do the
research on the topic of declawing, and fail to seek to resolve the matter
using other methods. Just because this particular cat is declawed, doesn't
specifically indicate that it will become another declaw statistic in a
shelter for cats that are abandoned. Not every cat that is declawed is
abandoned later in life. This cat may be exception!

Cat Protector,





Then let me pose the question (and don't bend what I type). Would you rather
the cat (from the original post) be "FULLY CLAWED" in a cage at a shelter,
humane society or otherwise, waiting to be adopted (which presumably may
never happen). OR, would you rather the cat be declawed (as is currently
is), residing in a seemingly well taken care of environment, where it is
most probably fed on a regular basis, and given what special needs it has to
have by, an owner who may be uneducated and unconcerned about the procedure
of declawing, but otherwise cares for the cat? Which would you choose?



In my previous post to you, I never attempted to "sugar coat" the idea of
declawing. Your understanding of declawing comes from you educating yourself
about the matter and making your own decision regarding the issue. My point
is that the majorities of first time cat owners don't bother to do the
research on the topic of declawing, and fail to seek to resolve the matter
using other methods. Just because this particular cat is declawed, doesn't
specifically indicate that it will become another declaw statistic in a
shelter for cats that are abandoned. Not every cat that is declawed is
abandoned later in life. This cat may be exception!

I would rather see the cat get a good home from the shelter and still be
fully declawed. I don't believe in de-clawing period. Your theory is pretty
week because I never felt the need to declaw my cat Isis when I first
adopted her. Isis to this day still has all her claws. Isis BTW, is the
first cat I ever adopted. Your whole reasoning for declawing is really not
of sound basis since their is no excuse for mutilating a cat, period. BTW,
what makes you think that a cat in a shelter is always in a cage? There are
at least a coupld of shelters I know of here in the Phoenix area that have
cat rooms where the cats can freely mingle with both humans and the other
cats up for adoption.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"Iso" wrote in message
om...
Then let me pose the question (and don't bend what I type). Would you
rather
the cat (from the original post) be "FULLY CLAWED" in a cage at a shelter,
humane society or otherwise, waiting to be adopted (which presumably may
never happen). OR, would you rather the cat be declawed (as is currently
is), residing in a seemingly well taken care of environment, where it is
most probably fed on a regular basis, and given what special needs it has
to
have by, an owner who may be uneducated and unconcerned about the
procedure
of declawing, but otherwise cares for the cat? Which would you choose?



In my previous post to you, I never attempted to "sugar coat" the idea of
declawing. Your understanding of declawing comes from you educating
yourself
about the matter and making your own decision regarding the issue. My
point
is that the majorities of first time cat owners don't bother to do the
research on the topic of declawing, and fail to seek to resolve the matter
using other methods. Just because this particular cat is declawed, doesn't
specifically indicate that it will become another declaw statistic in a
shelter for cats that are abandoned. Not every cat that is declawed is
abandoned later in life. This cat may be exception!

I would rather see the cat get a good home from the shelter and still be
fully declawed. I don't believe in de-clawing period. Your theory is pretty
week because I never felt the need to declaw my cat Isis when I first
adopted her. Isis to this day still has all her claws. Isis BTW, is the
first cat I ever adopted. Your whole reasoning for declawing is really not
of sound basis since their is no excuse for mutilating a cat, period. BTW,
what makes you think that a cat in a shelter is always in a cage? There are
at least a coupld of shelters I know of here in the Phoenix area that have
cat rooms where the cats can freely mingle with both humans and the other
cats up for adoption.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"Iso" wrote in message
om...
Then let me pose the question (and don't bend what I type). Would you
rather
the cat (from the original post) be "FULLY CLAWED" in a cage at a shelter,
humane society or otherwise, waiting to be adopted (which presumably may
never happen). OR, would you rather the cat be declawed (as is currently
is), residing in a seemingly well taken care of environment, where it is
most probably fed on a regular basis, and given what special needs it has
to
have by, an owner who may be uneducated and unconcerned about the
procedure
of declawing, but otherwise cares for the cat? Which would you choose?



In my previous post to you, I never attempted to "sugar coat" the idea of
declawing. Your understanding of declawing comes from you educating
yourself
about the matter and making your own decision regarding the issue. My
point
is that the majorities of first time cat owners don't bother to do the
research on the topic of declawing, and fail to seek to resolve the matter
using other methods. Just because this particular cat is declawed, doesn't
specifically indicate that it will become another declaw statistic in a
shelter for cats that are abandoned. Not every cat that is declawed is
abandoned later in life. This cat may be exception!

"Mary" wrote in message
. com...

"Luvskats00" wrote in message
...
"Wendy"
writes
.... I have heard of other cats apparently doing
fine after a declaw. The problem is I've heard of declawed cats
who have
larger problems because of the declaw then the owner would have
had if they
hadn't done it. My niece adopted a declawed cat who had one toe
that just
wouldn't heal///

...the problem I had with the poster is apparently no
effort was made to adjust the scratching behavior before the
:kitty ended up
declawed.

Evidently, you and I (and a very large group of people who are
informed about
the issue) support the no-declaw position and believe of the
horrific cruelty
of the procedure. However, there is another very large group of
people who do
not yet believe or are unaware of the steps constituting a declaw
and that is
is perceived/it is cruel and inhumane. Both groups are cat lovers
and both
groups do much to improve the lives of strays, cats waiting for
adoption,
and/or family pets.

I just want to say, again, that I am someone who has seen both side. I
adopted a pregnant, semi-feral stray at six months old, and had her
declawed because

1. She destroyed everything
2. I had no idea it was mutilation'
3. I was young and ignorant and had no idea I could train her.

Once I saw her after the operation I felt like some kind of Nazi. She
was in pain and her formerly beautiful little front feet just looked
like dustmops. Never the brightest kitty (but I loved her just as she
was!) she had always been easily frightened and aggressive, sometimes
for no reason. This got worse after the declaw--she became a biter,
and I mean to the bone. How did I get her to stop? I lightly smacked
her, said "no" and isolated her in a time-out room. Eventually she
stopped breaking the skin and would just bite me lightly and then lick
me.

She stopped covering her poo in the box after declawing and stopped
being as playful, too. I did right by here, kept her safe and indoors
and took good care of her. She lived to be 20.

When I adopted my current two cats there was never any question about
declawing. I would never do it again. Cats who feel helpless get mean
and are easily frightened. I think declawing my first cat made her
already mistrustful and fearful personality worse. It is one of the
few things in my life that I truly regret.

Just my 2 cents.

I never really thought about declawing one way or the other until last year
when we got new carpeting and Ralf went to town. We have always had
scratching posts and he was really cooperative getting his nails clipped (a
real surprise as he HATED being picked up and was an extremely "shy"cat). We
tried covering the spots he scratched with something else and he just moved
on to another spot. The dh threatened to take him to have him declawed and
that's when I had to address the whole issue. I may have had it done but by
then I was aware that it was an amputation and that gave me real pause.
Additionally I was already aware of potential complications because of my
nieces' cat. Unfortunately he died before we found a solution other than
locking him in the laundry room at night as that's when he would do the
damage. I'll wonder for the rest of my days if he found something toxic in
there and that's what killed him. ( Since then I have read a lot on the
net and have had success with Isabelle. I just wish I had know with Ralf
what I found out since.

W

"Mary" wrote in message
. com...

"Luvskats00" wrote in message
...
"Wendy"
writes
.... I have heard of other cats apparently doing
fine after a declaw. The problem is I've heard of declawed cats
who have
larger problems because of the declaw then the owner would have
had if they
hadn't done it. My niece adopted a declawed cat who had one toe
that just
wouldn't heal///

...the problem I had with the poster is apparently no
effort was made to adjust the scratching behavior before the
:kitty ended up
declawed.

Evidently, you and I (and a very large group of people who are
informed about
the issue) support the no-declaw position and believe of the
horrific cruelty
of the procedure. However, there is another very large group of
people who do
not yet believe or are unaware of the steps constituting a declaw
and that is
is perceived/it is cruel and inhumane. Both groups are cat lovers
and both
groups do much to improve the lives of strays, cats waiting for
adoption,
and/or family pets.

I just want to say, again, that I am someone who has seen both side. I
adopted a pregnant, semi-feral stray at six months old, and had her
declawed because

1. She destroyed everything
2. I had no idea it was mutilation'
3. I was young and ignorant and had no idea I could train her.

Once I saw her after the operation I felt like some kind of Nazi. She
was in pain and her formerly beautiful little front feet just looked
like dustmops. Never the brightest kitty (but I loved her just as she
was!) she had always been easily frightened and aggressive, sometimes
for no reason. This got worse after the declaw--she became a biter,
and I mean to the bone. How did I get her to stop? I lightly smacked
her, said "no" and isolated her in a time-out room. Eventually she
stopped breaking the skin and would just bite me lightly and then lick
me.

She stopped covering her poo in the box after declawing and stopped
being as playful, too. I did right by here, kept her safe and indoors
and took good care of her. She lived to be 20.

When I adopted my current two cats there was never any question about
declawing. I would never do it again. Cats who feel helpless get mean
and are easily frightened. I think declawing my first cat made her
already mistrustful and fearful personality worse. It is one of the
few things in my life that I truly regret.

Just my 2 cents.

I never really thought about declawing one way or the other until last year
when we got new carpeting and Ralf went to town. We have always had
scratching posts and he was really cooperative getting his nails clipped (a
real surprise as he HATED being picked up and was an extremely "shy"cat). We
tried covering the spots he scratched with something else and he just moved
on to another spot. The dh threatened to take him to have him declawed and
that's when I had to address the whole issue. I may have had it done but by
then I was aware that it was an amputation and that gave me real pause.
Additionally I was already aware of potential complications because of my
nieces' cat. Unfortunately he died before we found a solution other than
locking him in the laundry room at night as that's when he would do the
damage. I'll wonder for the rest of my days if he found something toxic in
there and that's what killed him. ( Since then I have read a lot on the
net and have had success with Isabelle. I just wish I had know with Ralf
what I found out since.

W

y writes

I just don't see the fine line. It's a question of mutilating a cat for
owner
convenience, or not. Declawing isn't going to help the overpopulation of
shelters...that's a fraction, and besides, declawing doesn't guarantee a
forever home. Plenty of declawed cats get returned to shelters because of
peeing inappropriately and biting.


I can't force you to accept the "line" or any other issue or cause .. if you
want to disregard opening your mind to accept more information and, instead.
focus on your agenda - no one can stop you.

Nothing is going to guarantee a forever home. The person who adopts a cat will
either be a decent human being and accept responsibility for the rest of the
cats' life ... or make a decision to surrender or adopt out or dump the cat at
some point. We can start an endless debate about this issue (what excuse is
acceptable: severe allergic reaction where extensive remedies were tried and
discarded to lifestyle change where cat doesn't fit in). No point.

In spite of your claim otherwise, declawing just may be the solution in a
significant number of cases. People do adopt cats; they do have them declawed,
and they have the cat in their home for the entire life of the cat!

I also question why the two zealots who hung me on a cross, didn't step forth
to nail you to one for being such a narrow minded jerk.