declawing

Relish wrote:

If I had it to do all over again now that I've been educated?

I don't know...... ;-( I'll keep you posted on how he does if you
are interested.

Now that's not understandable. You just said you didn't know the
facts about declawing when you declawed. Now you do. What you did in
ignorance is much more forgiveable if you don't repeat the action in
the future (or in retrospect, the past).

I know what you mean, but I think what she meant is, she doesn't know how
she would have handled it, knowing what she knows, but still feeling
concerned for the baby, and not knowing how else to deal with the cat's
behavior. I mean, I completely agree with you, I don't think declawing is
the answer, and wouldn't expect someone to engage in it once they are in
possession of the facts, but it sounds like she feels lost as to what
options should have been used instead.

By the way, Katra, I found some really good articles about cats, including
one about aggression towards people, at http://www.catsinternational.org/
(and I know there are others out there). Hopefully, this will help, not
only with Shade - who may very well continue to act out, even without his
claws - but also if you come across this problem again in future, either
with a cat of yours, or with someone you know.

All the Best,
Ann

--

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/bewtifulfreak

kaeli wrote:

There are much better ways to discipline a child (or an animal) than
to hit it.

I agree....as I said, while I don't think everyone who spanks their child is
an abuser, I do think there are much better means of discipline. But, as
with declawing, it's the easy way out; alternative means of discipline take
a bit more time and effort, but in my opinion, are well worth it.

I like Bill Engvall's joke about the stupidity of seeing your kid hit
another kid, smacking them, and saying, "We don't hit!" LOL....

Ann

--

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/bewtifulfreak

kaeli wrote:

There are much better ways to discipline a child (or an animal) than
to hit it.

I agree....as I said, while I don't think everyone who spanks their child is
an abuser, I do think there are much better means of discipline. But, as
with declawing, it's the easy way out; alternative means of discipline take
a bit more time and effort, but in my opinion, are well worth it.

I like Bill Engvall's joke about the stupidity of seeing your kid hit
another kid, smacking them, and saying, "We don't hit!" LOL....

Ann

--

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/bewtifulfreak

In article ,
enlightened us with...

There are much better ways to discipline a child (or an animal) than
to hit it.

I agree....as I said, while I don't think everyone who spanks their child is
an abuser, I do think there are much better means of discipline. But, as
with declawing, it's the easy way out; alternative means of discipline take
a bit more time and effort, but in my opinion, are well worth it.

I like Bill Engvall's joke about the stupidity of seeing your kid hit
another kid, smacking them, and saying, "We don't hit!" LOL....


That's a good joke that really makes the point, too.

People always want the quick way...

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading
my hard disk?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In article ,
enlightened us with...

There are much better ways to discipline a child (or an animal) than
to hit it.

I agree....as I said, while I don't think everyone who spanks their child is
an abuser, I do think there are much better means of discipline. But, as
with declawing, it's the easy way out; alternative means of discipline take
a bit more time and effort, but in my opinion, are well worth it.

I like Bill Engvall's joke about the stupidity of seeing your kid hit
another kid, smacking them, and saying, "We don't hit!" LOL....


That's a good joke that really makes the point, too.

People always want the quick way...

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading
my hard disk?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In , "No One But Me"
burbled:

| get over it. you're reading way too much into a single remark. sounds
| like you don't understand them either.

Yeah, it takes an animal abuser to "understand".

| and just who are you to say someone should or shouldn't have a pet?

This, from someone who swats cats with rolled up newspapers. Get a
clue: you wouldn't know the first thing, because *you* shouldn't have
pets.

| do you know them? have you evaluated their family? have you checked
| their home? have you inspected their pets?

So you think a behaviorist who *would* check these things would "agree"
to declawing? Is "Wishful Thinking" categorized in the Dewey System?

| oh, so now we have to be willing to take a cat to a behavioral
| psychologist?

Yes, to teach *you* the things you don't know.

| please. get a grip. declaw the cat. the cat will not care in the
| long run.

Oh right, it's in the contract.

| i have 2 declawed pets & neither of them exhibit any of the symptoms
| you claim. NONE.

Like you would know a symptom even if one bit you on the nose. You're
the half-wit who's consaidering "making a boy into a girl" to solve a
3-year old cat's problem with crystals.

| you are seriously overstepping your bounds.

There's a rock out there feeling very lonely. Please go back and crawl
under it.

In , "No One But Me"
burbled:

| get over it. you're reading way too much into a single remark. sounds
| like you don't understand them either.

Yeah, it takes an animal abuser to "understand".

| and just who are you to say someone should or shouldn't have a pet?

This, from someone who swats cats with rolled up newspapers. Get a
clue: you wouldn't know the first thing, because *you* shouldn't have
pets.

| do you know them? have you evaluated their family? have you checked
| their home? have you inspected their pets?

So you think a behaviorist who *would* check these things would "agree"
to declawing? Is "Wishful Thinking" categorized in the Dewey System?

| oh, so now we have to be willing to take a cat to a behavioral
| psychologist?

Yes, to teach *you* the things you don't know.

| please. get a grip. declaw the cat. the cat will not care in the
| long run.

Oh right, it's in the contract.

| i have 2 declawed pets & neither of them exhibit any of the symptoms
| you claim. NONE.

Like you would know a symptom even if one bit you on the nose. You're
the half-wit who's consaidering "making a boy into a girl" to solve a
3-year old cat's problem with crystals.

| you are seriously overstepping your bounds.

There's a rock out there feeling very lonely. Please go back and crawl
under it.

Katra wrote:

Any comments on the cat feeding thing?

I've heard that it's better to feed twice a day, and maybe leave a bit of
dry out for them to nibble on in between. Hopefully someone else will be
able to verify this or give a more expert opinion.

And while it does sound like your experience with animals is a bit
unusual/extreme, it does sound like you take very good care of them, and
that's the main thing.

Ann

--

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/bewtifulfreak

Katra wrote:

Any comments on the cat feeding thing?

I've heard that it's better to feed twice a day, and maybe leave a bit of
dry out for them to nibble on in between. Hopefully someone else will be
able to verify this or give a more expert opinion.

And while it does sound like your experience with animals is a bit
unusual/extreme, it does sound like you take very good care of them, and
that's the main thing.

Ann

--

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/bewtifulfreak

Katra wrote:

That's pretty much it...
I have mixed feelings about the entire situation.
That baby is SO important to me... Would I maim Shade if I had really
known the facts? I probably would have at least given soft paws
another
try first. We only tried them once.

I'm glad to hear that. And there are so many other things to try: Feliway,
changing your interaction with him, changing his environment, and probably
other things that I can't think of right now (but some of the others might
be able to list them). At the very least, the cat could be kept in another
room temporarily whenever baby needed to be unsupervised for a few minutes.
I know a baby is SO important, but if you're going to have a cat, that cat's
welfare has to be at least as important, or you're better off not having it.
I know it might seem extreme to compare the cat's welfare to the baby's, but
a pet is chosen just like a baby, is your responsibility, and depends on you
to look out for it's welfare. I'm not judging you, I'm just saying that,
while I understand why you did what you did this time, I hope you wouldn't
consider it an option in the future under any but medical circumstances. It
just seems like there's got to be a better answer that would still keep the
baby safe, but without having to put the cat through that.

Anyway, what's done is done; I just hope you can help Shade through any
difficulties he's still having, or may be having due to the declaw. I know
he sounds like a real Booger, and he's been that way for awhile, but don't
give up on him; hopefully, one of those articles might have something
helpful to offer. It just seems like there must be a reason for his
behavior, if only you could find out what it is....

Ann

--

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/bewtifulfreak