Another helping of ignorance about declawing cats

Just answering on-line questions about declawing, or even browsing around, brings up so much total ignorance it's really very frightening ! My thoughts are in blue.

A reply to someone asking what to do about a newly declawed cat chewing at her wounds.She’d wrapped the poor creatures bleeding painful paws in torn up old shirts:
Use sanitary gauze instead of old shirts. It is not bad to bandage the wounds, but apply a generous amount of Vaseline so the dressing doesn't stick to the wound
How very helpful, gauze stuck with Vaseline to open bleeding wounds.

This person know all about declawing:Declawing a cat isn't exactly major surgery. Many people decide to have their cat's claws removed, which is their decision. Stitches aren't even used after declawing a cat, just surgical glue is used to glue the flaps of skin together. The cat does have pain, but the pain usually alleviates about a week after being declawed. Most veterinarians prescribe pain medication to the cat. The cat is put under while the procedure is being done, which means the cat cannot feel anything. Pain meds usually help the cat to be pain free if the meds are administered properly and on time.
Oh, so 10 amputations is not major surgery, well what on earth is ? And the pain alleviates after a week does it ? Yet pain meds usually help the cat to be pain free,that’s if the meds prescribed by most vets are administered properly and on time,so that's fine then.Someone who has had this cruel operation performed on their cat is hardly likely to have the brains to handle the pain medication correctly, that's IF they've even paid the vet the extra to get it of course.

Question:If I get a kitten,shall I get it declawed ? :
1.yeah duh! take it to the vet and get it de-clawed
2.yes, but only to a certain age so if you decide to get a kitten, get him/her declawed as soon as you can.
3.Yeh, cats are animals, and animals heal way faster than humans do
Such deep knowledge and expert advice !

Part of a question ‘I do not understand why they can not go through some temporary pain in order to have a comforatable, safe home for their entire life? We as humans do things to our bodies that cause temporary pain to be healthier or happier with them...so why should I think differently about my pet?’
Maybe because people can choose whether to have uneccessary cosmetic surgery and don’t have to use their wounded parts immediately afterwards, like cats do. Temporary pain ? comforatable safe home ?they must be joking of course ! It's hardly a safe home when a cat is taken from it for horrific surgery of no benefit to him at all.Is the cat supposed to be grateful for that ?

Question why does my declawed cat bite me
1.SHE BITES BECAUSE YOU AND WHATEVER MONEY HUNGRY VET YOU BROUGHT HER TOO RIPPED OUT HER CLAWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That answerer felt so strongly she SHOUTED ! Good on her !!!

2. cuz u took away her claws dude, why would you do that, ima report you to animal cruelty inc.
If only we could !

A question about a declawed cat biting hard, this reply was from someone having the temerity to call herself ‘catlover’
She needs a negative response to biting. You can say NO and put her on the floor if she is on your lap. You can say NO and give her a short time out. You can say NO and give her a gentle bop on the nose
Yes that’s right catlover, give her time out or better still bop her on the nose, why not hurt her sensitive nose as her sensitive paws have already been hurt.

No advice from this one, just a sensible answer:
My friend's cat is declawed and he just bites really hard... It hurts more than scratching ever did...

Question,how much does it cost to declaw a cat ?

i got my cat declaued. it cost 85$ for me. i got it really cheap
Fancy, just like going to the sales and getting a bargain,wasn’t she the lucky one !

We know all about declawing:
1.It is not like cutting your finger off below the nuckles. Cats do not have fingers, they have claws. The claws are not part of their toes. They are another part of their feet
A bit confusing ? Their claws are not part of their toes but another part of their feet. Wherever do they grow from I wonder ?
2.It's also better to get them declawed at the same time as the spay or neuter that way they only have to go under anesthesia once. Hope this helps!
Yes you’ve guessed correctly…from a ‘vet tech’ I suppose she has ‘blood money’ in her pay packet.

This from someone VERY knowledgeable:

its compared w/taking the tips off of the human finger tips,which honestly are not vital
I don’t know about her, but my finger tips are certainly vital !!!

How to stop your cat scratching the furniture…..2 really helpful answers:
1.i recommend that you get rid off the scratching post and discipline your cat for all scratching. Your cat does not understand that its allowed on the cat post but not somewhere else.
2.Put the scratch post on the fire,it will keep you warm then then give the cat to someone you need to get even with . problem solved.

I'm speechless !!!!

Quetion:Are my cats claws growing back ?
Answer 1.I have a 14 year old cat that has a couple of those"claws" growing but on closer examination, it looks more like calluses. Could be thats what your cat has.Mine still "sharpens" his non exsistant nails and we think thats how he got his callus.
Poor cat trying frantically to ‘sharpen’ non existent nails for 14 years. Still, what does it matter if he has callus from doing that as long as the furniture is perfect !
Answer 2:When a cat is declawed, if the vet doesn't get down far enough with the scalpal, the nail will just keep growing, until it finally protudes to the point tha you can see it. I guess if you still want it to be declawed-which it may have to in order to be sure there will be no problems with them-then you should go to a vet and have it done
What a good idea, go back to the vet and have the cat declawed all over again, if you still want it to be declawed that is. If you’ve changed your mind though it doesn’t matter that the cat may be in pain from these protuding nails.After all, it was the vet with the scalpal to blame.

Question:So i now realize its wrong to declaw your cat but...?i had it done almost a week ago and it looks like they took off half his foot........ i know they took part of the toe but why does it look so bad. please no hater comments.
Answer 1:I don't think there is anything wrong with it as long as your cat doesn't go outside. If you keep it in the house then who cares.
Such sympathy for the poor cat !
2.I think you should keep him in for a week or two to be on the safe side to prevent any infection to the wounds. Keep him in until it looks pretty healed up. If it hasnt by 2 weeks i suggest you take him to the vets.
General experience (Own 5 cats)
Keep him in for a week or two ? General experience ? At what ? Certainly not with cats !

A question about a declawed cat peeing and pooing on the bed which had some very good replies about this being a problem from declawing.She chose one but said:
i think this is a stupid answer. i had to get ym cat de-clawed because he use to rip up my furniture. if ur not going to help me than dont write anything. thanks. now. f off.

Thanks but f off, I can't make out if this is polite......or not !

More words of ‘wisdom’
1.you can have the nails in her front paws removed if you think she will ruin all your furniture
We had to get my cat declawed, not that we wanted to. He was tearing apart. Like our tv, our chairs, and ourselves. He is terribly happy. Terribly happy ? With no toe ends ?????2.so when you get your cat declawed at the VET they put them on meds so it rly does not hurt them At the VET ! Well, where else do they mutilate cats ?
3.If they're indoor cats it's not mean because the don't need to defend themselves and to scratch they can just use their paw and all of the cats I've ever had (a lot) just roll around on the floor or have me scratch them. It's also better for your furniture, carpet, and if their mean you. I'm pretty sure that they numb the area before taking out the claws so they can't feel anything
i mean what do they ever use them for apart from fighting? and scratching you? they might not be able to scrat themselves as much as they would like, but you can brush them or summat instead. I guess its not natural to do it but i dont think they really use them to be honest, not like wild cats do Phew pretty sure they numb the area,ahh but NOT certain !
4.to an out door cat yes very mean but to an indoor cat not as much. just like people they grow back They grow back ?????? Well yes if its a botched job, they do! 5.there is a new machine to declaw pets and itl be good only 14 or 13 dollars ??????????????

And just to finish this dollop of stomach churning indigestible tripe,a strong contender for the most idiotic comment ever, in reply to this which also had a photo of the poor cat looking thoroughly miserable:
Kiki got declawed and is home recovering now. See does not like to take her pain or her antibotic medicine. In fact when I give them to her she tries to spit them right back out. She looks like she is in a little bit of pain when she walks. We are hoping she is back to her feisty self in a few more days.
Answer:Kiki looks so sad! She'll be better soon. Dewey, Kitti, and Tucker all send their best wishes. They've all been declawed and from what I can tell, they love it (after the first few days).
They LOVE it !!!! Are we in that parallel universe again ??????

The more ignorance about declawing that comes to light ,the more need for it to be banned !

http://www.petitionthem.com/default.asp?sect=detail&pet=4312

Frightening ignorance about declawing

Just browing through a few recent questions on declawing,I came across some very uneducated,incorrect and misguided statements.

I've left the spelling and punctuation exactly as it was written.
My comments are in blue.


Some of the answers to general questions about declawing:

Is there ever a reason NOT to declaw? Cats are already just annoying. They have to scratch the sh*t out of you and anything they please too?
As I've said before, having a cat is NOT compulsory.This person should be allowed nowhere near any cat let alone own one.


I declawed my kitten years ago because it kept climbing up my back and legs for attention. Yes, also because the furniture. I never let it outside because it wouldn't be able to defend itself. I didn't get the back ones done and dont know if they do it anyways. I'm about to get my two new kittens done within a few months because I have small children and I dont want the cats sticking to their backs!
Obviously hasn't done any research on declawing before she had her kitten mutilated ! And I've never known any kittens stuck to childrens backs !

We declawed two of our cats because they jump up on our curtains and rip them,they also scratch us really bad,and dont worry,i think the cats are put to sleep while they get declawed,its not that the owner does not love them or like them,they just want to be safe,i mean the cats use the litter box and they use there paws to cover up there buisness and when they scratch you there claws are not clean,and you could get infected from the sratch.
This person THINKS the cats are put to sleep while they get declawed ! THINKS they are....for 10 amputations I should HOPE they are. They don't 'get' declawed, their selfish ignorant owner 'gets' them declawed ! Oh dear their claws are not clean ! Nor are other parts of bodies, peoples bodies especially, but they don't have to be amputated !


I would declaw the cat. Cat scratches can cause infections and destroy furniture. Our cat was declawed and she was only in pain for maybe a few days afterward and she did not change in personality.
So that's OK then that the cat was ONLY in pain for maybe a few days afterward ! This person probably wouldn't know if a cat was in pain even if it was dying before her eyes !I wonder if she would like to be in pain for a few days after a totally uneccessary operation ?


A Question:
So we just got my kitten home from getting declawed and on our way home we had to pick up our super so we ran into walmart for like ten minutes and left the kitten in her carrier in the car. well when we got to the car she had chewed on her feet so bad that they were bleeding and torn up. She kept trying to chew on them so when we got home i took some old pieces of t-shirts and some medical tape and bandaged her feet up. What should i do? Is it o.k that i bandaged them up? is this normal or do i need to call the vet? thanks tons!
Had to pick up their 'super' leaving a cat which had just had major surgery, alone,in pain and shock, in the car !Bleeding and torn up feet, is this normal ?Just wrap them up and hope for the best ....oh, or should they call the vet ?

An answer to that question:
Take her to the vet!!! i have declawed both my cats and they NEVER chewed at their paws!! your vet sucks and obviously messed your kittens paws up!!
So the vet sucks ! Right, now we know.
But didn't we already know ALL vets who declaw cats 'suck' Apparently the asker didn't, nor this person who had their cats declawed and they NEVER chewed their paws !
Are people who have their cats declawed to be THANKFUL for that ?


Another Question:
Why is my cat chewing their declawed paws?
Two of my cats just got their front paw declawed a couple of weeks ago. One is doing just fine, but the other, however, has been chewing and licking at hers to the point where there is no fur on the specific part of the paw. I'm so worried, I don't want her to get an infection and rI'm almost regretting even getting them declawed at all! What can I do to keep her from chewing on them and causing further harm to her poor paws? Is this even normal for a cat to do, and will it eventually blow over?
A couple of weeks of chewing and licking mutilated paws, is it normal, will it blow over ? What might blow over is that poor cats life.At the very least she will be lucky if her stumps EVER heal, she may even lose her 'poor' paws.ALMOST regretting getting them declawed ! ALMOST !!!! Did this person receive any information from the vet before or any advice as to how to care for them after subjecting her cats to declawing ? I doubt it !
She had a very 'helpful' answer
Pop her on the head every time she does it, that will stop her.


Some more answers to someone asking about declawing:
Here is a description of what will happen to your cat if you do this.The wild fire in your cats eyes will burn out.Your cat will have depression, and wont be able to defend him/herself from other cats, or catch mice, or climb.This is part of the cat, If you do this, then go ahead and chop your own fingernails off and lets see how you feel.Might as well shoot your cat in the head with a gun since your pretty much ruining its short life.
WELL SAID !


Some pro declaws have their say:
Declawing is a choice that any cat owner should be able to make. The radicals who tell you it's a monstrous thing are hypocritical in the fact that they'll vouch for spay/neutering, a process that is equal in mutilation and removes an organ that actually effects how the animals body works. From vet tech, and involved in hundreds of declaw surgeries that went smoothly and had no long term side effects.
Another 'vet tech' who believes neutering is as mutilating as declawing and has been involved in hundreds of declaw surgeries that went smoothly and had no long term side effects ! REALLY ? And has this person statistics ? No, because none are ever kept !! This is probably another of those 'vet techs' who are in reality the surgery cleaner who disposes of cats amputated healthy toe ends as if they are merely rubbish.


Think about it like this you chop your fingernails offit hurts for 1 hour1 hour of your life is pain big whoopshe might be nicer Thats what happened to my cats. And your furniture wont get scratched up :)
Chop your fingernails off, it hurts for ONE hour ! One thing for sure , this person has never had their finger nails chopped off. She might be nicer ! I think not ! Best of all your furniture won't get scratched up. That's VERY important, look after your precious furniture it doesn't matter if your cats suffer, they are only living feeling beings, inanimate furniture is FAR more important.


They still have their back claws when you get a cat De-clawed.Cats also have very strong back legs thus letting them be incredible jumpers. While intruders can scratch but the de-clawed cat still has teeth does it not? While they can use tooth or claw they have teeth and back claws. While also they can pounce on their opponet with claws sheathed letting them knock out the opponet
Well they can knock out their 'opponet' Fancy that, just like in a boxing ring ! Intruders can scratch, so that must be intruders with their rightful claws. So what are intruders doing in the declawed cats home OR are they in the garden ? But surely declawed cats should NEVER be let outside ?


I believe in declawing because i hate dealing with claws. I got my male cat when he was 8 weeks old and he tore up my furniture and my legs. I tried to teach him how to use the scratching post but he refused. I love love love love cats. I have a tattoo for both my cats now and they are 11 and 1. If anything does happen in surgery with your cat getting declawed, its because your vet sucks
The cat refused to use the scratching post. So he paid the price by losing his toe ends.How hard did the owner try to teach him ? It's not a cat's fault if an owner fails to teach the cat to use a scratching post, it's the fault of the owner !! I love love love love cats.REALLY? You could have fooled me ! Your vet sucks ! Yes that bit IS true, as I've already said ALL vets who declaw 'suck'


I firmly believe declawing a cat is akin to a marriage ceremony whereby you solemnly promise to shelter and take care of that animal till the day they die. If you are unwilling to make that commitment, don't declaw.
So you should take an oath when disabling your cat should you ? Lets hope all the vets who declaw cats have this added to the pre op form which people sign their cats healthy toe ends away upon !

Another question:
How old does a kitten have to be to get declawed?
My Kitten is around 8 weeks old.
Thanks. I know it's bad to do, but my kitten is WILD he destroys EVERYTHING!
Wow, an 8 week old kitten WILD and destroying EVERYHING ! He must be a BIG kitten, is he a tiger ?


Another question:
I got my cat de clawed and now she wont use the litter box! help what should i do?
ok so my cat is now de clawed! thank God she was ruining my house! my arms, o and my poor dog's face.( i got the new laser removal de clawing) but my cat isnt supposed to use real litter in her box instead it needs to be filled with paper, but the problem with that is she wont use it. she goes potty everywhere else but the box, so im just curious if giving her real litter is it gonna hurt her? or wont it matter?
A cat ruining the house, her arms , AND the poor dog's face too! Naughty puss. Wait a minute though, hadn't the cat got a scratching post ? And what was the dog doing to the cat to make her retaliate by scratching its face? Where was the owner to let this happen ? Oh well, it's OK for the dog now as it will be able to pester the life out of the crippled cat without being scratched any more.
Will it matter if real litter hurts her ? Why worry about hurting her more, the poor cat has already been hurt beyond endurance !
A short answer from someone obviously VERY 'knowledgeable' indeed about declawed cats:
Its time to upgrade your litter


This poor girl couldn't convince her mom not to declaw her kitten:
The vet told my mom that amputating the joint was the OLD method and inhumane, so he "only takes out the nail and nailbed" Um, hello, same thing! the nailbed IS the distal phalanx! She believes him. No point in even telling her he's twisting it.
This is dreadful, this girl did her research,found out the terrible truth and tried to educate her mom who wouldn't listen.Foolish mom trusting a person trained to help animals but who agrees to harm them.


Another question:
How much does it cost to declaw a Tiger?
Someone has asked me to buy a baby Tiger. It would have to be a house cat though. I put in for a permit with the city. They told me they could train me to train it.
A sensible answer:
NEVER declaw any animal.and if this is a Large tiger ... call yourself dinner.


A plea:

Another question:
Why do my cats scratch the carpet, sofa etc, even though they have no claws?
They were declawed when they were little, most people do, because its comon sense to declaw your cats, if they have two, you know so they dont tear eachother up?
So most people do, its common sense is it ? NO most people do NOT . that's common sense ! They research declawing and change their minds when they find out the truth !
Two cats tearing each other up ? That's strange,over 35 years of mulitiple cats in our home and NONE of them have EVER torn each other up !Nor have any others in multiple cat households I know of.

Some answers:
They are taking their anger out on it.
They don't love you. you tore out their claws you sick person.
I have to agree !


Oh look a pro declaw popped up to answer:
Declawing cats is not animal abuse. it is a way to keep yourself, younger kids, and you furniture safe. think about what you house would look like if you cats still had claws. i don't think it would look to good.
Keep safe above all !! Cats are very dangerous ! AND keep 'you' furniture safe whatever you do !!!! Shock, horror if your house doesn't look 'to' good !

An anti declaw who sounds as fed up as I am of the crass ignorance of people trying to justify having their cats disabled:
Its a losing battle people, you can't fix stupid no matter how hard you try.
How true !!!!

Another reply:
My kitty does that too! They do have glands in the paws and it's another way of marking their territory...they're also just stretching too. Oh! My cat does it sometimes after using the litter box because sometimes the tiny pebbles get stuck in between their toesies. =) But still, my cat never had a problem being declawed. If he still had them, I wouldn't be able to let him knead and "make bread" on my arms and legs like he does a lot, haha.
Pebbles get stuck in between their 'toesies' I think that means STUMPS don't you ? Ah, he couldn't 'make bread' if he had his rightful claws ! Why not ? Our cats have 'made bread' for 35 years with claws and all !!!!


Another very frightening question:
I need my cat declawed due to excessive scratching. How much is average cost to verify that I am getting a good deal? How long do the cat not able to go outside?
Apparently this asker doesn't even know the cat should NEVER go outside after declawing. Not much research done by this person I'd say. Still he/she is more worried about getting a good deal ! Oh well, plenty vets to snap this up and whack off the cat's toe ends eagerly, without explaining what the operation is and the physical and mental problems which can develop afterwards.


And to finish this blog, a VERY sad question:
Please answer, need to undo de-clawing?
i wish i didn't de-claw my cat. she is so sad now. it was a mistake. how can i undo the declawing? i love my cat, please answer.

As we all know, declawing can NEVER be undone,the last joints of the cat's toes are gone FOREVER !

I think everyone reading this will agree that education and knowledge about the cruel reality of declawing is VERY VERY lacking !

Therefore declawing MUST be banned:
http://www.petitionthem.com/default.asp?sect=detail&pet=4312

One more point,there seems to be a lot of pro declaws saying it's declaw or death for cats, they say that is what last resort means.Strange, I thought last resort meant for serious scratching behaviour ? Why do people get cats if they don't like that they have claws ? And another thing puzzles me, how can it count as a last resort for kittens, before people even get one, knowing full well they can take them to be declawed. That's definately not last resort, that is not declaw or death, it's pre-meditated mutilation, as they shouldn't get the kitten in the first place.

Ed Boks turns traitor

Mr Boks turned traitor on Dr Jennifer Conrad who he had supposedly supported in her battle to end declawing ! He spoke from a script,against a declawing ban in Santa Monica. He had no facts or statistics to back up his argument and thankfully, the voting council saw straight through him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np0DUXLHC_A
He said he abhors declawing yet he believes that it should not be banned because it saves cats lives and more cats would be abandoned if the owners hadn't the option.Yet when asked if the ban in West Hollywood had led to more abandoned cats, he couldn't answer the question, he stuttered and flannelled but had to confess there were no records available of how many clawed cats were abandoned, how many declawed cats were abandoned, nor the reasons why the cats were abandoned.
He tried to make out that people are eager to adopt declawed cats from Rescue Shelters, of course he had no statistics of how many were adopted out. Nor did he give the reasons why the declawed cats were in the Rescue Shelters in the first place.Surely if declawed cats were so desirable and sought after, there would be NONE needing homes.
The horrible truth is that declawed cats are often in Rescue Shelters because of behavioural problems resulting from declawing ! Why are no records kept of these cats ? How many are destroyed because they can't be adopted out ? Come to that, why are there no records kept by vets of the physical and mental problems of declawed cats ? It's all conveniently swept under the carpet !!!! Out of sight , out of mind, what the eye doesn't see and so forth. These innocent mutilated creatures are looked upon as 'cats' But they are INDIVIDUAL cats,each one a living, breathing , feeling creature, just like people are !
Mr Boks also tried to say that ear clipping of feral cats after neutering is akin to declawing.What rubbish !!! A cat doesn't need the tip of its ear, to walk, to groom, to exercise and to defend itself with ! Ear clipping is for the good of the cat, it's plain to see which cats have been neutered by that and therefore save them the trauma of another trip to the vets.
He talks about vets only declawing as a last resort ! So what about kittens being declawed ? What about people getting a kitten knowing full well they don't have to bother to teach it to use a scratching post, they can just go to a pro declaw vet and have the kittens toe ends removed, no questions asked. In fact, they can even sometimes get a neuter/declaw package or a discount coupon to encourage them to have a kitten declawed and some vets receptionists even offer declawing with neutering, without being asked about it by the client. The people who are of this mind simply wouldn't get a kitten if they couldn't have it declawed and that would be a very good thing. They don't want a cat, they want an adapted creature. Only people who truly love cats as they come, claws and all,would have cats if declawing was banned.Anyone who would only have an adapted cat is NOT a fit person to have a cat.
In our country no one goes out and brings a kitten home and goes into shock because it has claws !! No one expects those very essential claws to be taken away. No one with babies, children, frail or elderly people thinks a cat should be mutilated for their sake and especially not for the sake of replaceable furniture.
USA pro declaw vets are running scared now that more people are finding out the truth about declawing, they've got away with this cruelty long enough, it has filled up their coffers nicely.But now it's time to catch up with other countries where declawing is banned as animal abuse.
Will Mr Bok change sides AGAIN now he has been uncovered and defeated in Santa Monica ? Whoever's pocket he was in must be bitterly disappointed in him !!!!
http://www.petitionthem.com/default.asp?sect=detail&pet=4312