Did you get your cat declawed ???
 

I'm a first time cat owner and my cat is upon 4 months old and it's getting to the age of getting spayed and perhaps declawed.

Since I don't know much about cats and everyone I asked so far is about 50/50 with their answers, so it could go either way.

In my own opinion, from what I heard, it sounds like a cruel and confusing thing to do to a cat and I'm actually leaning towards NOT getting it done.

Then I hear the stories of people saying that they didn't get their cat declawed and they regret it because it destroyed their furniture.

Like one friend of mine told me, I took on the responsibility of the cat and it's up to me to teach the cat not to do claw at stuff and I've been pretty consistant about taking out the spray bottle when she does claw at something, but what scares me is that she still goes back a short while later. I do have 3 scratching posts for her, but she never touched either of the them.

Please be gentle with me on this subject, like I say, this is my first cat, so I'm learning. I figured that there's a lot of cat owners on here, so what better place to ask :) It is a 100% indoor cat.

Do not do it unless you can be certain beyond all doubts it will remain an indoor cat at all times.

Yep, we definately plan on keeping her indoors at all times. I guess that's one point for declawing.

One thing that I read somewhere is that cats lose some confidence after being delcawed. I suppose that they can't claw their way to the top of the couch or do their acrobatic moves as much without their claws.

Not sure about the confidence issues. I know my grandmother had her siamese declawed after a few years. Damn thing still terrorised me on a regular basis and I even watched it catch a mouse and beat the living hell out of it with punches and back feet claws.

Anyone ever dealt with "Catscratch fever"?

i think declawing cats is cruel, but if you are going to keep her indoors it is in your best interest. i had to get my cat declawed when i bought my new leather living room set last spring. whenit comes down to 4k worht the furniture or your cats claws, you don't ask questions anymore. she get over it, especially if its done when she's young. my cat was a little bummed, but she grew out of it...

everyone else is right - make SURE you won't be changing your mind about it being an indoor cat, since if it goes outdoors it will have trouble defending itself without front claws (the back ones don't get removed).
but it will heal and be fine very quickly after being declawed - and for the people who say "we don't know about the psychic damange done to the cat by declawing" --- we don't know about the psychic damage done to shrubs by trimming them, either. my cats have always been happy, fine and fun to be with after being declawed - haven't seen any signs of psychic damage yet :winkwink:

Cats are natural Predators and they love to hunt....if you decide to keep it clawed..get it a scratching post or some kind of crazy kitty condo.

"Declawing" is a misleading description - it's actually amputation of the toes upto the first joint and is illegal in many countries. Even if it's an indoor cat, DON'T get it declawed. If you can't accept that things will get scratched, you shouldn't own a cat.

A quick google search will give numerous resources on how to stop cats scratching your furniture..

Leave the cat as mother nature made her. You don´t like scratches, don´t get a cat. Mutilating her is fucking cruel.

Do not declaw your cat. Declawing involves cutting the tips of the cat's toes off. It'll traumatize your cat. Some cats very recover from it. You can trim the cat's nails once or twice a month. Your vet will even do it for $5.

If you can't deal with being a cat owner, don't own a cat.

Well, I was feeling good about the declawing in the first few replies, then it turned to make me consider not doing it again, ha ha ha.

We definately would never change our mind on letting the cat outdoors, she's stuck inside :)

Decisions, decisions......

Whether or not the cat will go outdoors is moot. The act of declawing is simply cruel. When your baby's nails get long, you don't cut off his finger tips, you trim his nails. Why should it be any different with your cat?

Again, if you can't deal with some of the "side-effects" of having a cat, don't get one.

Declawing is actually illegal in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and most of Europe.

"Declawing is not without complication. The rate of complication is relatively high compared with other so-called routine procedures. Complications of this amputation can be excruciating pain, damage to the radial nerve, hemorrhage, bone chips that prevent healing, painful regrowth of deformed claw inside of the paw which is not visible to the eye, and chronic back and joint pain as shoulder, leg and back muscles weaken.

Other complications include postoperative hemorrhage, either immediate or following bandage removal is a fairly frequent occurrence, paw ischemia, lameness due to wound infection or footpad laceration, exposure necrosis of the second phalanx, and abscess associated with retention of portions of the third phalanx. Abscess due to regrowth must be treated by surgical removal of the remnant of the third phalanx and wound debridement. During amputation of the distal phalanx, the bone may shatter and cause what is called a sequestrum, which serves as a focus for infection, causing continuous drainage from the toe. This necessitates a second anesthesia and surgery. Abnormal growth of severed nerve ends can also occur, causing long-term, painful sensations in the toes. Infection will occasionally occur when all precautions have been taken."

Dang, that sounds brutal, I guess perhaps I'll end up leaving her claws on. She is a sweet cat and for the meantime, doesn't scratch anyone in my family, so that's a good thing :)

I guess like it goes back to what I said in my original post, if I take the cat, I'll live up to the responsibilities of having a cat.

Get a scratching post. And if the cat is really bad, get SoftPaws.

I've had cats for as long as I can remember and none of them have ever come anywhere close to ruining furniture.

I actually do have 3 different scratching posts here, but she never touched any of them. Someone recommended that I put some catnip on them and see if that'll help draw her to them.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...n74/chewy2.jpg
Here she is. I guess it'd break my heart to put her through any pain.

What about getting them fixed, or is that also messing with how mother nature made her.

dont declaw it, just trim its nails... its so easy i trim my cats nails when i take shits all the time.. he doesn't even care

pretend you are the cat for a minute, and then do this to all 10 of your fingers

http://www.bmezine.com/title/2004/boff.jpg

I guess I shouldn't have had my cat fixed...or brought him in for dental surgery - after all, that's the way he was made......

I'm in the same boat as you are, know nothing about cats, but the whole thing just seem awful for the poor cat, don't do it. Just my two cents.

well, i'm sitting here now, holding my cat and petting him while he nuzzles me and purrs, waiting for me to go to bed so he can snuggle next to me and go to sleep - he doesn't seem to be suffering from any PTSD from being declawed 17 years ago.

Teach the cat?? That's funny!!!

One more vote for "No" on Propositon 102: De-claw the cat.

Don't declaw the cat. Not only is it cruel, it's also a safety issue you have. Cats naturally have the ability to use their claws to move around, jump, and defend themselves. Cats have a knack of getting themselves into tricky situations and having claws is often vital for their survival and safety. It also allows them to scratch themselves and groom themselves better. Cats that have been declawed will also use their mouth and biting as their primary defense mechanism since they are not left with alternatives. This causes some major behaivoral issues in them.

But the biggest reason is that it is extremely painful and traumatizing for a cat. Besides the fact that you are essentially cutting off their fingers (most likely with no pain medication), you are also leaving them without one of their most important parts.

My suggestion is to train your cat to use scratching posts. It can take awhile, but eventually they'll learn. There are sprays that are putrid to cats that you can put on the furniture as well. If all else fails, there are alternatives such as capping the nails. But I still feel like the best option is to be patient and leave her as she was intended to be.

Every cat I've ever owned has been declawed, since every cat I've ever owned was an indoor cat.
I will neither defend my position nor explain it.

I'll tell you what I think is cruel. Letting cats wander neighbourhoods. While I have to fence in my yard and keep my dogs on leashes...cats are left to their own devices. They wander the streets and risk getting hit or stolen.

When my kittens were babies they were not allowed anywhere near a door to go outside, in the hope of training them to stay within the fence boundaries once they are a year old. I say hope because cats tend to be less amenable to suggestion than dogs.
They are neutered and declawed. While others might think it's cruel, my cats lived very peaceful and safe lives....and hardly seemed traumatised by my actions.

i got my cat declawed when he was a little guy.. but he stays indoors so in that case it should be fine

i think its cruel and unusual. imagine having the last inch or so of your finger removed?

wow.... first time i ever heard of 'declawing cats'... thats extremely cruel. If you dont want a whole cat, you shouldve never get one in the first place.

You are a fucking retard! You shouldn't be a pet owner!

my cat never scratched anything - and declawing is illegal over here. if you don't like that cats have claws get a fish

:2 cents:

Here read carefully

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...ernatives.html

I have 2 new cats they are 5 months old and have their claws, I have 2 scratching post, some catnip and a spray bottle with water.

If I see the cats attempting to scratch the couch I spray them and right after I put catnip on the scratching post.

Question is would you remove your young kids fingers cause they drew with markers on your walls or would you educate them ?

If you can't educate an animal, don't own an animal.

It's really inhumane. Don't do it unless you absolutely need to and training hasn't worked. With a scratching post and teaching them where to scratch and such, they usually learn and enjoy going off where they are allowed to - cat tree's, rope posts, etc. If you see it scratch at something, pick it up and SHOW the cat where to scratch - it will immitate you and learn. We have 3 cats, none are declawed - we have leather sofas and all that and we have never had a problems with them after they learned where it's ok. The only trouble spot was the carpeted stairs at the bottom - because it looks like their cat tree, but it's still not bad.

Spay away, but don't declaw unless you have no other option - all else failed.

All of my cats are declawed. They still have their back claws and they are perfectly happy. They are inside cats and will remain that way. They have laser surgery now and it is alot easier on the cats, alot quicker recovery time and alot less painful for them. Everyone is going to have an opinion on the subject. Just consider all options and research all methods before doing anything.

Did they tell you they were completely ok with having their toes lopped off?

There's no acceptable defense or excuse for declawing. It's cruel and inhumane. Period.

It's like defending beating your kids because they didn't do their chores.

Can't accept the responsibilities that come along with being a cat owner? Great. Don't get a cat.

You'll buy new furniture eventually anyway.
Can't buy new claws for the cat.

If the cat isn't clawing at anything, then you don't have to worry. Get a few scratching posts and you should be fine. If you see her playing a little rough or going at the furniture, look into SoftPaws. I heard it works really good! Also, ask the vet how to trim your kitties nails. I do mine about every 3 weeks.

if you are willing to have your knuckles removed too then go for it.

No, no, no, no, no. It's horrible and cruel.

Get a good pair of trimmers and clip them every week or two, or get the Soft Paws put on. If that's too much trouble for you, then you really shouldn't have an inside cat.

I have two male cats and I would never get them declawed. Keep spraying her with the water bottle anytime she goes to scratch.

found the post about a sofa being more important than your animal interesting..my pets and their happiness is worth way more to me than a sofa of any cost

of all of the cats that i have ever had, none of them have been declawed, but it wasn't a conscious effort to make sure that they cat kept it's claws. it was just that we didn't ever get them declawed (if that makes sense). :)

i can tell you that throughout all of the cats i have had in my life (countless, i seriously could not count on both hands the number of cats), my couches were always beat up and tattered on the sides, they loved to scratch them up, even when they had tons of scratching posts and other things that they were allowed to scratch on.. they just for some reason preferred the couch instead. :) also, i had one cat who wasn't as tame as most house cats are. she scratched up a hell of a lot of my friends and company, it was embarrassing and i always felt so bad about it.

good luck making your decision! :)

I had to get a cat declawed when I moved to Tucson. That way it didn't count as a pet for some reason. It was horrible. The poor guy was the most good natured animal I'd ever had, and the vet did an awful job. I found out afterward that the vet didn't even do it, only the assistant did. They put the tourniquet on too tight and he lost circulation to one front paw. The foot swelled up to the size of a golf ball for a week or two, the skin sloughed off, and I had to put cream on it every day and give him painkillers. He walked on it fine once it healed, but he always had a ring where the fur didn't grow back on that ankle. The vet basically said sorry and left it at that.

Here he is about a year after the procedure. You can see the ring around his ankle where his fur never grew back:

http://www.elli-nude.com/GFY/menagerie/Dickens.jpg

From another cat owner, I have to say NEVER AMPUTATE THEIR KNUCKLES unless it's absolutely positively necessary. I've owned cats with expensive leather furniture, small babies, etc. and never had a problem. Trim those nails, give it something dedicated to scratch, lots of love and positive reinforcement. There is a reason this practice is outlawed in a growing number of countries.

indoor - declawed....
outdoor - clawed....

i think that's the best way to do it...
what you think?

:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

I think you shouldn't own a cat.

nah just let him keep his claws, it'll be fine