Working in a vet's office and dealing with declawing

Originally Posted by Cat Person

Part of living in the USA, as far as I am concerned is having the RIGHT to declaw your animal. That does not mean everyone needs to or wants to do it. But we should be allowed to do so legally.

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I'm so disgusted you think it is our 'right' to maim animals because we want to...

Originally Posted by Cat Person

Part of living in the USA, as far as I am concerned is having the RIGHT to declaw your animal. That does not mean everyone needs to or wants to do it. But we should be allowed to do so legally.

Next is I have worked in no kill shelters across the USA. I have seen way too many cats given away for clawing furniture. I would much rather see the cat kept in his/her home and declawed.

Lastly, I own an F3 Savannah cat. While he is not declawed, I very much wish he was. Since clipping his claws is "circus act".

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It's indeed sad when someone cares more about their furniture than their living, breathing, feeling cat and is too lazy to properly deal with the issue. But declawed cats are actually more likely to be turned over to shelters for behavioral issues and these issues, like biting and litter box avoidance, are more difficult to deal with than furniture scratching which can be dealt with by providing scratching posts, cutting the nails and applying Soft Paws, etc.

I think the view that we should have a right to do as we please with our animals regardless of how it affects them is sad and selfish. It's the same kind of attitude that makes people chain their dogs for life or shoot them when they don't hunt well enough - it's their right. Animals are living beings and as such they have intrinsic rights even though the law doesn't always recognize them.
Living in a free country doesn't, and shouldn't, mean that you have full liberty to do as you please. A country is only truly free if it's also civilized and it's not civilized to cut our cats' toes off because we think it's convenient. That's the epitome of selfish, imo.

The US is one of the few western countries that allow declawing. In other countries it's considered cruel and is illegal.

Hopefully laws will start changing soon and stop considering animals as property and are given their due respect and consideration.

If it does happen that you end up working for a clinic that does declaws, I would say talk to your employer and explain your concerns, and find out what is acceptable to them. They may not have a problem with you educating their clients and trying to find alternatives to declawing. It really depends on their own view of it among other things...
I worked for a vet and watched her do a declaw once... I actually had no idea she even did declawing until that day, because it was pretty rare for her to do. She was my pets' vet for years and years before I ever worked for her and she never suggested it, and it definitely wasn't on their forms or routinely offered during s/n.
This was a cat who was causing serious problems and it was basically a last resort. The vet had given them alternative options but it was pretty much declaw or rehome at that point. I don't remember the details but I know she had a few clients who brought cats in regularly and she would put Soft Claws on for them and I think that may have been one of the things they tried with this cat too.

Originally Posted by Ziggy'smom

It's indeed sad when someone cares more about their furniture than their living, breathing, feeling cat and is too lazy to properly deal with the issue. But declawed cats are actually more likely to be turned over to shelters for behavioral issues and these issues, like biting and litter box avoidance, are more difficult to deal with than furniture scratching which can be dealt with by providing scratching posts, cutting the nails and applying Soft Paws, etc.

I think the view that we should have a right to do as we please with our animals regardless of how it affects them is sad and selfish. It's the same kind of attitude that makes people chain their dogs for life or shoot them when they don't hunt well enough - it's their right. Animals are living beings and as such they have intrinsic rights even though the law doesn't always recognize them.
Living in a free country doesn't, and shouldn't, mean that you have full liberty to do as you please. A country is only truly free if it's also civilized and it's not civilized to cut our cats' toes off because we think it's convenient. That's the epitome of selfish, imo.

The US is one of the few western countries that allow declawing. In other countries it's considered cruel and is illegal.

Hopefully laws will start changing soon and stop considering animals as property and are given their due respect and consideration.

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This!!

I just want to say, the reason I wish my Savannah was declawed is because he plays very rough. I am constantly scratched and bleeding . He does not claw furniture or anything like that. Just me, when using me as jungle gym.

Also when I get my F2 Chausie he will be declawed. Since I can not imagine two cats playing with me, then turning me into Swiss Cheese.

Lastly, as I have said before, I am sure I disgust many of you. I am not here to win friends. I am here to express a different point of view with my experience regarding animal care.

Hope no one is offended .

I had Mia declawed last Monday. I didnt want to, but HAD to. First my landlord (mental health center apartment, I have chronic bipolar) will not let me have her without being declawed (HUD laws).

Second, she was clawing me (shes only a kitten) up as we played. I have a blood disorder, when I bump myself against corners and so on, I get blood blisters under my skin. Its not pretty.

She is my beautiful baby and has helped me get over the loss of my other cat. She is also my therapy cat. She keeps me going even if I dont feel like it.

So you see there are MANY reasons why cats get declawed not just because of ignorant or selfish reasons.

Originally Posted by Cat Person

I just want to say, the reason I wish my Savannah was declawed is because he plays very rough. I am constantly scratched and bleeding

. He does not claw furniture or anything like that. Just me, when using me as jungle gym.

Also when I get my F2 Chausie he will be declawed. Since I can not imagine two cats playing with me, then turning me into Swiss Cheese.

Lastly, as I have said before, I am sure I disgust many of you. I am not here to win friends. I am here to express a different point of view with my experience regarding animal care.

Hope no one is offended

.

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Not offended, but saddened. Not only do you condone declawing, but you seem to support the whole business/phenomenon of exotic breeding, when there are millions of healthy cats out there that need good homes. I feel the same way about the "dog" world.

so sad to see people justifying declawing - thankfully it's not legal where I live, and we manage just fine with furniture, landlords and playing games. Cats bite too, why not get their teeth pulled while you're at it. I've never seen a cat without claws, I can't imagine it - they need them!

Originally Posted by planetx

so sad to see people justifying declawing - thankfully it's not legal where I live, and we manage just fine with furniture, landlords and playing games. Cats bite too, why not get their teeth pulled while you're at it. I've never seen a cat without claws, I can't imagine it - they need them!

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If this is in regards to ilovemia, you are really being obtuse. She is living in government subsidized housing that requires the animal to be declawed. She's not justifying, simply trying to stay in her apartment. She also has a blood disorder, this is a medical concern that could cause her serious injury if she was scratched.

While I completely understand the objections to declawing, it is legal here in the US. Right or wrong, we still have the option to declaw. And I would rather see a cat declawed and living in a loving home than dead in a plastic bag in the landfill because it couldn't get adopt.

ilovemia is providing a good home to her cat, a cat they may have never gotten a home otherwise.

Originally Posted by Cat Person

I just want to say, the reason I wish my Savannah was declawed is because he plays very rough. I am constantly scratched and bleeding

. He does not claw furniture or anything like that. Just me, when using me as jungle gym.

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That's what clipping claws or nail caps are for. You also have the option to not let yourself be used as a jungle gym.

Originally Posted by ilovemia

I had Mia declawed last Monday. I didnt want to, but HAD to. First my landlord (mental health center apartment, I have chronic bipolar) will not let me have her without being declawed (HUD laws).

Second, she was clawing me (shes only a kitten) up as we played. I have a blood disorder, when I bump myself against corners and so on, I get blood blisters under my skin. Its not pretty.

She is my beautiful baby and has helped me get over the loss of my other cat. She is also my therapy cat. She keeps me going even if I dont feel like it.

So you see there are MANY reasons why cats get declawed not just because of ignorant or selfish reasons.

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And those would be legitimate reasons.

Unfortunately, too many people get them declawed out of ignorance, plain and simple. There are members of TCS that checked that "declaw my cat" box during the spay/neuter, because that's what you did to cats - you got them declawed... only later to find out what's involved.

But you can't go back.

No, the vets have a responsibility to educate people so they can make an INFORMED decision.

I honestly could not work in a vet's office and witness a declaw. I would run out. I always wanted to "work" in a vet's office and even become a veterinary assistant. I never did though, because I do know myself and know I could not handle most procedures.

I feel for you, Jo..... I think you just have to be prepared and know what you are getting into. I personally could not work for a vet if they performed declaws at all. I think it should be illegal and I would only work for a vet who was anti-declaw and not do this deforming/cruel procedure in the name of money-making. Makes me sick and as H***.

Originally Posted by Ziggy'smom

It's indeed sad when someone cares more about their furniture than their living, breathing, feeling cat and is too lazy to properly deal with the issue. But declawed cats are actually more likely to be turned over to shelters for behavioral issues and these issues, like biting and litter box avoidance, are more difficult to deal with than furniture scratching which can be dealt with by providing scratching posts, cutting the nails and applying Soft Paws, etc.

I think the view that we should have a right to do as we please with our animals regardless of how it affects them is sad and selfish. It's the same kind of attitude that makes people chain their dogs for life or shoot them when they don't hunt well enough - it's their right. Animals are living beings and as such they have intrinsic rights even though the law doesn't always recognize them.
Living in a free country doesn't, and shouldn't, mean that you have full liberty to do as you please. A country is only truly free if it's also civilized and it's not civilized to cut our cats' toes off because we think it's convenient. That's the epitome of selfish, imo.

The US is one of the few western countries that allow declawing. In other countries it's considered cruel and is illegal.

Hopefully laws will start changing soon and stop considering animals as property and are given their due respect and consideration.

Click to expand...

Well said

Originally Posted by Cat Person

I just want to say, the reason I wish my Savannah was declawed is because he plays very rough. I am constantly scratched and bleeding

. He does not claw furniture or anything like that. Just me, when using me as jungle gym.

Also when I get my F2 Chausie he will be declawed. Since I can not imagine two cats playing with me, then turning me into Swiss Cheese.

Lastly, as I have said before, I am sure I disgust many of you. I am not here to win friends. I am here to express a different point of view with my experience regarding animal care.

Hope no one is offended

.

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You do have a different point of view from mine when it comes to declawing and I don't think you will get much support on the subject here on this site. I wish it were illegal here in the United States. And I have no respect for someone who thinks declawing is a necessary procedure and it saddens me to hear that some people still think declawing is the easy way out instead of training the cat.

BTW - TCS IS Anti-Declaw.

Originally Posted by Cat Person

I just want to say, the reason I wish my Savannah was declawed is because he plays very rough. I am constantly scratched and bleeding

. He does not claw furniture or anything like that. Just me, when using me as jungle gym.

Also when I get my F2 Chausie he will be declawed. Since I can not imagine two cats playing with me, then turning me into Swiss Cheese.

Lastly, as I have said before, I am sure I disgust many of you. I am not here to win friends. I am here to express a different point of view with my experience regarding animal care.

Hope no one is offended

.

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Same as training your cat not to claw your furniture, you teach your cat not to claw you. Don't rip body parts off your cat because you can't train him/her properly.
And if you are going to get another cat, at least adopt one that is already declawed, don't torture a new one.

I have a bleeding disorder too, and I live with 5 cats (used to be 7, a family member moved out with his 2). None of them are declawed.. I do keep their nails trimmed well though.
My sister also does and hers is more severe than mine and she has a cat with claws who also is a bit wild (and she's planning to get another cat soon, possibly an Ocicat.)
I know it depends on what type you have though, some can be a lot more severe/dangerous.

Ilovemia, did your landlord tell you that HUD requires cats to be declawed? If so they are full of it. Declawing is not required in any public housing and that was clarified by congress in 2007. But apparently some ignorant officials have decided to forget about that. You may want to ask your landlord to stop misinforming tenants.

Originally Posted by Cat Person

I just want to say, the reason I wish my Savannah was declawed is because he plays very rough. I am constantly scratched and bleeding

. He does not claw furniture or anything like that. Just me, when using me as jungle gym.

Also when I get my F2 Chausie he will be declawed. Since I can not imagine two cats playing with me, then turning me into Swiss Cheese.

Lastly, as I have said before, I am sure I disgust many of you. I am not here to win friends. I am here to express a different point of view with my experience regarding animal care.

Hope no one is offended

.

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Why not apply Soft Paws on your cat's nails if it's a problem? Plenty of vets and groomers do it. Does it not matter to you that your cat will be robbed of something that is such a big part of who they are? Or that they will go through extreme pain? Do you know that cats walk on their toes so after they have been cut off and are sore and painful they have to walk on them? Do you know that nerves could be severed making the tip of the toes really sensitive making the cat unable to scratch the litterbox and live with constant discomfort? Why would you be willing to take that risk when there are so many other options? I'd really like to hear your answer to these questions.

I can't believe there are clinics out there that just have a box to check for declaw as if it is just a nail trim! This I believe is wrong, as a declaw is a major surgery that causes significant pain and possible complications. Even under the best condiitions there is a possibility of infection. Cats use there feet to scratch in the litterbox, not the most sterile place. We send home free bags of yesterday's news, but still a litterbox can harbor a lot of bad bugs.
Here is a website that show a lot of the ugliness that vets gloss over about declaw. If I didn't know better,( and I do), I would say that the website is over dramatizing. It's not the pictures and complications are accurate as to what can happen. http://http://pawsneedclaws.com/. I have a declawed cat that I rescued and she does seem sensitive when walking. Because cats that are declawed actually shift their weight off their toes on to their pads, they can get arthritis overtime from their abnormal stance. She has that. There are also sections on behavioral problems that declawed cats have with their litterbox training. This is true. A lot of the behavioral unrinating issues that don't have a root medical problem are declawed cats. I would bring this up to a landlord that tries to make you declaw your cat. Urine soaked carpet is a bigger issue in my opinion.
I actually looked at an apartment when I was moving. I told them I had two cats. She then asked if they were declawed. I said one was but the other wasn't. She said I'd have to get the other one declawed to move in. I laughed and pretty much said over my dead body was I going to mutilate my cat to live there. She said it was policy. I told her I was a vet tech and that what she was asking was for me to have my cats "fingers" chopped off at the first digit. She didn't believe that that was what declawing was. I told that is what they do to prevent the nail from growing back. I then kindly told no apartment was worth that torture for my kitty. Simply sad.

I was looking on line about the land lord requiring declawing, as I have encountered it when looking( looked elsewhere after that) but I know others can't. I found this site http://support.mspca.org/site/PageSe...ousing_Program. They say that "The MAPCAâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Pets in Housing Program
"Declawing of cats can not be required by management. As the pet owner is fully liable for all destruction of property, management should not anticipate the possibility of damage and request this very painful procedure."
Basically any damage your cat does scratching, which would most likely be just carpet damage, would be the responsibility of the tenant. That is why most apartments or rentals require a pet deposit. I think requiring declawing is drawing the line. What else are the going to require? Debarking because a dog barks too much, removing teeth because a dog has the potential to chew? That is what I don't understand. If an apartment wants to play that game, they should just say no pets and be done with it. It won't break my heart to move on in my apartment search, but it will break my heart to mutilate my cat needlessly, for some compliance issue. I just believe that an apartment that requires you to do that, is going to give you more issues in the long run.