Declaw or not?

Another thought on declawing. When I volunteered at the humane society, roughly 90% of the declawed cats that were brought in had litter box issues. As someone else pointed out, using a litter box after declaw can be painful and some cats simply avoid them.

Well I agree with what most posters are saying regarding NOT declawing..Not mush else to add..

Trout does fine with regular nail clipping and she doesn't touch my microfibre couch at all She usually uses on of her cat trees as she has two

Im totally against declawing. Most vets around here will only do front declaws. I know one that will do all four paws.

My personal experience with declawed cats revovle around my foster kitten KoKo. Our rescue has rules that no cat will be declawed on the contract and we stress that threw the whole adoption process. KoKo and Luna were adopted. Declawed by their owners and then brought back because the new fiance was "allergic".

Luna didnt seem to be that affected but KoKo was totally different. Sure most of the time he was sweet. But if he got scared or stressed he turned into a growling, spitting, slapping biting mess.

Thankfully he isnt easily stressed when he is in a home enviroment but when he is you better watch out. I warned his new owners and they make sure he doesnt get stressed and he seems to be doing great with them.

Another cat we had to put to sleep in our rescue because she was so aggressive. She was declawed.

That's so sad!!!

my sister adopted a cat that was declawed, the poor things cant defend themselves. Cupid used to beat her up all the time and chase her around, it was horrible. poor Putie, god rest her kitty soul had no idea she was declawed it seamed, she would still try to scratch and sharpen her nonexistant claws. i could never see myself doing that to a cat.

Originally Posted by TigerLord

Declawing done by a capable veterinarian before the age of 3-4 months has absolutely no consequences on the kitten's behavior or life whatsoever, except in very rare occurences.

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I unfortunatly don't agree with this. I adopted a siamese and he was front declawed at 4 months (his previous owner told me) and it was completely ruined his walk, since he can't walk properly he doesn't run around much and it has caused weight issues that i am now fighting, but it is very hard to get him to lose weight due to the way he has developed because of the way he walks.........because of the declaw. Peopl always ask me if he has hip or joint problems, which i actually had him checked for and he doesn't, the vet even agrees its because of the original declaw, and says that she sees a gait like his frequently in declawed cats, even if they were declawed as kittens.

This practise is illegal in Europe for a reason, I'm not from there but I wish it was illegal everywhere in canada.

He also tries to scratch my cat tree and anyone who has ever seen this can attest it is heart breaking, he tries to climb it using non-existent claws.....and IMO that is cruel.

Anyone who believes in de-clawing (IMO) should have all their fingertips removed up to the first knuckle on both hands (4-claw de-claw would include toes as well).

It is mutilation - short and simple. I've had cats most of my life - never had an issue with them scratching inappropriately. I've had barn cats, as well as breeder cats. Save your money and spend some time training your cat properly just as you would have to take time to teach young children if you had them.

Actually to the poster that said most of the members here are from Europe (as if that explains why we are anti-declaw), I doubt that is true. I think you may actually find more US folks than European.

I sincerely hope Canada and the rest of the US (I believe 3 states already outlaw declawing) finally catch up with the rest of the world in regard to de-clawing.

We just had a cat returned to the shelter where I volunteer and she is unadoptable so will remain there for the rest of her life. Her owners adopted her, signed a contract NOT to de-claw, de-clawed anyway and when she stopped using her litter pan they brought her back to the shelter. IMO they need to be mutilated the same way as their cat and then forced to be homeless just like their poor cat.

I have adopted adult cats who were declawed by previous owners. I wouldn't go out and have a cat declawed, but I would like to point out that comments like this:

Another thought on declawing. When I volunteered at the humane society, roughly 90% of the declawed cats that were brought in had litter box issues.

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do NOT help the adults in the shelters for no reason of their own get adopted. (I'm not picking on anyone, just used this quote as an example)

I worked at a shelter for 2+ years. Of the cats who had litterbox issues, it was about 50/50 declawed cats to clawed cats. MOST litter box problems are the result of owners who think they can buy standard clay and change the box once every couple of months. Trust me, I talked to enough of them over the phone. Or the cat has an undiagnosed UTI and the owner is convinced they are healthy because 3 months ago at the general health exam the vet pronounced kitty healthy as a horse.

This is a hot issue for me, because people come in and want a kitten. Then will get it declawed. They WON'T adopt an adult already declawed perfectly nice cat (usually only 1-3 yrs old) because they heard on the internet or from friends, etc that adult cats who are declawed in a shelter are there because they pee all over. Despite the fact that most of the time they end up there for: Moving, Having a baby, Too many, and all of the other common reasons.

I don't like declawing, I wouldn't declaw my own cat (I saw a kitten pre and post declaw--I couldn't do it), but the reality is I've seen the kitties' options from a kill shelter point of view. I would rather see them in a home (declawed) than PTS for lack of a home. That said, if there is an already declawed cat looking for a home--and the person wants a declawed cat, that may be a better match. I don't have a problem adopting adults that are already done. I've adopted 3 that way, and my parents adopted a 4 paw declaw when I was a teen. They can be biters (but aren't always), and you need to use scooping litter; but they will repay you with love. Like a few other posters I am conflicted about it, because I have seen it from both sides.

Originally Posted by littleraven7726

I have adopted adult cats who were declawed by previous owners. I wouldn't go out and have a cat declawed, but I would like to point out that comments like this:

do NOT help the adults in the shelters for no reason of their own get adopted. (I'm not picking on anyone, just used this quote as an example)

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Unfortunately for the "adult" cats at the shelter where I volunteer, they feel they have to be honest with would-be adopters and tell them if a cat has a problem with using litter and because they are a no-kill facility, they now have another cat that will live what is left of it's entire life at the shelter. I find this very sad and all because of 2 people that should never have gotten an animal IMO.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Unfortunately for the "adult" cats at the shelter where I volunteer, they feel they have to be honest with would-be adopters and tell them if a cat has a problem with using litter and because they are a no-kill facility, they now have another cat that will live what is left of it's entire life at the shelter. I find this very sad and all because of 2 people that should never have gotten an animal IMO.

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I'm not saying don't be honest, but I am saying that not all declawed cats have a litter box problem. So making blanket statements doesn't help. Obviously, if the cat has a problem adopters should be made aware. But the shelter I worked at did not adopt out cats with behavior problems. Cats who didn't use the box were not adopted out. We did our best to figure out if it was behavioral or a health issue. The health issue cats usually were fine after treatment for a bladder infection.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Unfortunately for the "adult" cats at the shelter where I volunteer, they feel they have to be honest with would-be adopters and tell them if a cat has a problem with using litter and because they are a no-kill facility, they now have another cat that will live what is left of it's entire life at the shelter. I find this very sad and all because of 2 people that should never have gotten an animal IMO.

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We aren't no-kill....but we won't hide the truth or side-step it. If the kitty has a LB issue, we tell adoptees. These two boys sprayed in their home, well they both had really bad UTIs. They were adopted, the people knew full well. No spraying.

Unfortunately, if the kitty sprayed & doesn't have a UTI....they are often the first ones considered for euthanasia not just here, but in many places.

When I first told people about my new kittens, at least 3 people asked me when they were going to get declawed (and I had to defend my decision not to to them)......From the shelter where I got my babies, there is a page where people write in and update on their pets, and so many people proudly proclaim that they have gotten their new kitty front declawed....It's amazing how it's just expected that it will be done. When I see my kitties use their claws in play, or even when they amuse me by running up the doorframe (when I get irresponsible and miss a trim), I'm glad that they are able to play like they should be playing.

One of my cats used to scratch the couch every time I came home, but after I grabbed him and put him by the scratching post every time he did it, he got the clue and doesn't scratch the couch anymore. Sometimes, as I said, they climb the doorframe, or they scratch me when they are kneading or playing, but those types of things just tell me I waited too long before their trim because when they are freshly cut, I have no problems.

Tigerlord, whether your post is valid or not, is there seriousely any good reason for a cat to be de-clawed, whether it harms them or not?

Use soft paws, trim their nails, train them. Don't take the easy way out. It's lazy.

Originally Posted by lmunsie

I unfortunatly don't agree with this. I adopted a siamese and he was front declawed at 4 months (his previous owner told me) and it was completely ruined his walk, since he can't walk properly he doesn't run around much and it has caused weight issues that i am now fighting, but it is very hard to get him to lose weight due to the way he has developed because of the way he walks.........because of the declaw. Peopl always ask me if he has hip or joint problems, which i actually had him checked for and he doesn't, the vet even agrees its because of the original declaw, and says that she sees a gait like his frequently in declawed cats, even if they were declawed as kittens.

This practise is illegal in Europe for a reason, I'm not from there but I wish it was illegal everywhere in canada.

He also tries to scratch my cat tree and anyone who has ever seen this can attest it is heart breaking, he tries to climb it using non-existent claws.....and IMO that is cruel.

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How do you know the vet didn't botch the surgery? Or perhaps the owner neglected his kitten, by failing to use specially created litter for declawed cats for 10-15 days?

Declawing has its downsides and risks, but I think blaming it all on the surgery itself without knowing all the facts compares to the stupidity of witch hunts
in the middle ages.

Everything might have been done correctly though and this could be still happening, I'm just saying unless all facts are known it's difficult to really know what happened with your furfriend!

Originally Posted by TigerLord

How do you know the vet didn't botch the surgery? Or perhaps the owner neglected his kitten, by failing to use specially created litter for declawed cats for 10-15 days?

Declawing has its downsides and risks, but I think blaming it all on the surgery itself without knowing all the facts compares to the stupidity of witch hunts
in the middle ages.

Everything might have been done correctly though and this could be still happening, I'm just saying unless all facts are known it's difficult to really know what happened with your furfriend!

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DONE PROPERLY it is at best barbaric ..... Have you had to deal with repercussion s of declawing for nearly 2 decades>>>??? I HAVE

I have to step up in the defense of TigerLord. My Cally, when I adopted her, was unfortunately completely declawed. I noticed that she favored her front right paw over her left and took her into the vet to be checked out. The vet told me that the declaw(which had taken place about 10 years before) had been botched. My vet explained that Cally had a 'partial mutilation' which means that she had the first joint taken off, but the previous vet was careless and sliced through some of the next bone as well. Cally had bone sticking out of her foot for almost 10 years and I don't know how the previous owner missed this fact! It had been infected and Cally had grown a mass of skin and hair over it to try and protect it!! So the vet cut it off, gave me some antibiotics to stop further infection(and Cally also had an eye infection from the shelter) and booked me for a surgery for a later date to cut off the next joint because that was the only way that the problem could be fixed. After 2 weeks on the antibiotics, I took Cally in for surgery, but the vet wouldn't do it!! She said that Cally had miraculously grown a thin layer of skin over the bone(probably because of the antibiotics) and she didn't want to operate on something that was functional at the moment. Now, Cally has to live in pain for the rest of her life unless something drastic happens to re-expose the bone again.
There are plenty of reasons why a cat can walk funny, but it may not be 'just' because of the declawing...Cally declawing was probably very tragic for her and she now favors one paw over the other because of a 'botched' surgery, not just the surgery itself.

Originally Posted by TigerLord

You will get very agressive answers posting that question here, unfortunately. Many are Europeans to start with and declawing is simply not in their culture. Some lack the proper education on that matter to really understand what declawing is and go with the crowd.

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I won't say more than what others have said. I just want to respond to the culture part of your comment. These countries have either outlawed or consider mutilation (declawing) to be inhumane. England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.

Please tell me what exactly all these countries have in common, culturally speaking? And, what makes all these countries' culture so different from our own on this topic? Could it be they simply decided to do the right thing for the animals' sake and not human convenience?

This site http://network.bestfriends.org/celeb...ews/19306.html lists countries where it is illegal and gives the section of the law.

The Council of Europe has this to say (from above link):

Article 10 – Surgical operations
1. Surgical operations for the purpose of modifying
the appearance of a pet animal or for other
non-curative purposes shall be prohibited and, in
particular:
a. the docking of tails;
b. the cropping of ears;
c. devocalisation;
d. declawing and defanging;

The signatories to this convention as of 1/9/2006
were:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sweden,
Switzerland, and Turkey.

I cannot wait for USA and Canada to catch up to the rest of the world.

The next time I hear a vet's receptionist say "Would you like a declaw with that spay? Its cheaper to get both at the same time." I may just explode. It is all about profit, not the health of the animal.

When I first heard of declawing a few years ago, I was absolutely shocked. I just couldn't believe a practice like that even exists. I'm so glad it has never been a part of my culture and that ear corpping or tail docking dogs is also illegal here.

IMO, if you can't handle animals being animals - sometimes messy, noisy or destructive - don't get one. You'll both be a lot happier.

Originally Posted by CallyCalico

I have to step up in the defense of TigerLord. My Cally, when I adopted her, was unfortunately completely declawed. I noticed that she favored her front right paw over her left and took her into the vet to be checked out. The vet told me that the declaw(which had taken place about 10 years before) had been botched. ..Cally declawing was probably very tragic for her and she now favors one paw over the other because of a 'botched' surgery, not just the surgery itself.

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Well I guess they get 'botched' a lot. And if the unnecessary surgury was never done, it wouldn't have been 'botched' and the kitties would all just walk and run and play fine!

TCS's official stance on declawing:

3. This website considers declawing a drastic way to curb cat behavior. A painful ordeal for your kitty we would suggest that declawing never be considered for any behavioral issue. Health issues are entirely different. It is up to you as a responsible pet owner to explore all the different options available instead of declawing. Your cat is dependant on you to make wise choices for her, and not put her into any more stress or discomfort. Please be a responsible pet owner and research this subject thoroughly. Understand that if you are pro-declaw in your posts, you will encounter opposition. Please learn more about alternatives for declawing here in our forums as well as on our website itself. Declaw - More than Just a Manicure. Hopefully those of you with claw-related problems will find solutions by spending time in our Behavior Forum.

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This is an old argument that has been debated many times here in many threads. Since there is nothing new to add, I am closing this thread before things get too personal.