Declaw your cats? - Page 4  

Alright, are you all ready to call me a terrible momma to Sophie? Yes, she is front paw declawed. The surgery was done about a month ago. I didn't have the heart, or the courage to mention it on here, because I knew going into it what everyone's opinions on declawing are at this site.

Please know that it was not my choice. This was a fight that I couldn't win with Joe, my husband.

When we got Sunni, she was "routinely" declawed with her spay. I had no resources or knowledge to argue with my vet, so I trusted him. When she came home I was just sick. She was in so much pain that she couldn't walk, and, they didn't give us pain meds for her. I was absolutely sick with guilt and worry. From that moment, I swore that I would never declaw another cat.

When Sunni passed away, as most of you know, we adopted Sophie two days later. In my head, the decision was already made, NO declawing. She was such a good girl, never used her claws anywhere in the house on anything that wasn't hers for the scratching. I clipped her nails weekly, just to be safe, but we never had any problems. So, I approached Joe about keeping Sophie's claws intact. I showed him websites where I had researched declawing. I showed him posts here. I ended up begging him not to make me do this to my girl. I reminded him of how much pain Sunni had experienced. All to no avail. He is convinced that an indoor cat should be declawed. Period.

The day of Sophie's surgery I was a wreck. I made him take her, so she wouldn't be able to associate any of it with me. I called the vet's office and spoke to the girls there. They all knew my opinion on declawing, as well as Joe's. They assured me that they would watch over Sophie with special care.

As I sit here and write this, I'm shaking and sickened all over again by this whole ordeal.

The vet personally called me to let me know that the surgery went "well". Torturing myself further, I asked him which method he had used. I also asked him if he'd ever made a mistake or had cats with infections or other problems after surgery. He assured me that all would be fine, that Sophie was already moving around in her cage in recovery.

Sophie came home the next day. I wanted to vomit, the guilt was so terrible. Surprisingly, she came out of her carrier and right into my arms. There was no limping, just some shaking of her feet. This time there were pain meds to give her for 48 hours. There was also glue, instead of stitches, on her paws. By the next day, she was playing normally and acting like her wonderful little self.

I still would never, ever, advocate declawing. The memory of Sunni crawling on the floor, in obvious pain, is forever etched into my mind and heart. The fear I felt while Sophie was gone in surgery will never be forgotten, either. I was lucky, both of my girls were fine in the end, with no adverse affects.

Now that I know the hard way how adamant Joe is about declawing indoor cats, I do not know if I could bring myself to get another cat if anything happened to Sophie. Believe me, I had no idea the fight that we would have.....and I do not surrender easily. He was just not going to back down on this one. It's terrible that Sophie had to pay the price, and, for that, I am extremely angry and disappointed. Joe didn't get off easily, either. It took four days for me to speak to him again, and only then after I knew Sophie was okay.

I'm so sorry that I haven't told you all this. I was embarrassed and frightened of negative reactions that I felt would be inevitable. If they come now, I will accept them quietly. This is not something that I am proud of being a party to with my beloved Sophie. Thank you for listening, at least.

~Ronda

No worries sweety...you are not a bad momma...you are obviously a wonderful momma...It was a tough choice....the man you love or the kits you love.....Do not ever feel bad about what happened....You advocated no declawing.....sometimes things just work out this way

I am glad Sophie is alright......though I am a little peeved at your husband for totally disregarding your feelings on the matter.....but oh well

Never feel embaressed or shy about expressing cat issues with us on here.... I know this thread and any thread on this subject is very heated.....but your story might help someone else....

I just want to apologize if it was my posts imparticular that may have made you feel as though you couldnt post this story sooner.....

Hang in there i think your cool beans....sophie is very lucky to have you

You poor dear. You were between a rock and a hard place and that's not easy. Often we females have to give in to the male of the species, especially if we are living in the same house. Reading your thread, I could feel your pain and guilt. Although most of us here are against de-clawing, you did what you had to do and thankfully your kitty is OK.

Just give her lots of extra love and care and let her know you love her and let the guilt about the de-claw and anger at your husband go - it doesn't do you any good except give you sleepless nights and a bad atmosphere in your house. Kitty will sense the bad atmosphere too, so just thank your God that your baby is OK and go on from here.

Hugs to you and your kitty.

I have found two things when dealing with landlords and housing searches, and fortunately, I'm in a renter's market where these are viable options:
1. Places with all hardwood floors will generally allow fully armed cats with no deposit and no restrictions. Fortunately, that is most of the apartments in my neighborhood.
2. My whole method was this as follows when I was searching for my last place (my new place is just another courtyard building that my last company/landlord owns): I would give them a very promising offer, an immaculate application with immaculate refernces, etc. THEN I would ask them if they allowed clawed cats. If they said no, I'd say I'd take my business elsewhere because I had plenty of other options who allowed clawed cats. If they said they required a deposit, I'd tell them about the multitude of places that would allow me to keep my animals for free. These people would actually reconsider their rules pretty often.

Ultimately, I ended up with a landlord who is herself a committed, well-educated cat-owner. She won't declaw her babies either. But, you sortof have to play the market. Another option I've heard works well is to go through an apartment service and ask the leasing agent to only show you places that allow clawed cats.

And those of you who have had to declaw your cats....you're not bad cat parents!!! You did what you quite unfortunately had to do and you are aware of all teh risk and pain involved. You are concerned and loving parents!! It's the people who do it to protect their furniture or who just have no idea that really get me! How could you forget to consider the pain that causes them?! Ggrrrr....

My Scaredy did claw on wall paper, I will have to replace it.
His litterbox was next to the wall and he loves to bury. Unfortunatly, instead of clawing at the kitty litter, he buries by clawing at wall paper.

I got covered litterboxes but the damage is already done, the wall paper is shredded to bits. I will not, however, declaw him just because he ruined the wallpaper. I just have to accept the damage and add it up to other damages already done by my cats. Those furry creatues are costing me a fortune.

I'm not going to say you are a terrible momma. I can understand why you did it, but I can't agree I would have done the same thing.

I feel so badly for you. I can imagine how you feel.

yea no one, in general, should call you a terrible momma and if they do they are just....i am not going to write a word i think i could use because it would probably be offensive to at least one person. i not taking the chance this time-

and you shouldnt be afraid to write that you had your cat declawed.or anything at all for that fact! no one should attack you for doing what you did..i mean this is just a forum to chat..so people should kind of sit back and relax...im glad to hear your kitten was fine after the surgery! like i stated before. i know my aunt had her cat declawed-no problems...my friend had 2 cats..no problem..but theres always still a chance and i do (if i hear someone talk about declawing, which is rare) i do try to convince them otherwise! good luck with the kit!

For those of you who replied, thank you so much. I felt just sick writing that post, and even more so after I hit submit. It's still a very tender subject around here, but I'm letting it go the best I can. Your support means so very much to me, and the relief I felt at not finding any harsh judgment is unexplainable right now. I'm typing this through tears. I will never advocate declawing. In my situation, there was no choice. Joe is not an insensitive man, he just doesn't get it when it comes to declawing, for some reason. I continue to educate him on it, he listens, but he still chooses declawing. This isn't something I can explain, because in so many other ways he is such a compassionate man...this just baffles me. He does say that his childhood cats were always declawed, so perhaps he feels it is just the norm for indoor cats. I wasn't raised that way, but to keep the peace in this house, it took a huge surrender on my part. Not fair, I know...but how it was, none the less. Again, my sincere gratitude to those of you who responded.

~Ronda

Well, as you can see, people like Sunnicat and myself ARE sometimes between a rock and a hard place. OUR husbands were adiment that we declaw our cats (my husband was freaked out about getting evicted). It doesn't make us bad cat owners. We love our cats. Would we declaw unless we absolutely had to?? NO WAY!!

You should've seen the old "declaw" thread...it must have been at least 50 pages long before it finally disappeared.

Seriously, though, for anyone who is looking for housing with their pets:

Please take a look at the Humane Society's www.rentwithpets.org site. It even has a link for how to make up a "resume" for your cat, so you can put your best foot forward and show how wonderful your cat is.

If you keep your cat's nails trimmed, she wears soft paws, or if she already knows not to scratch the carpet, you can point that out in the resume and hopefully head off any declaw-crazy landlords.

This is an interesting thread. What upsets me is how many of you keep saying (and quoting) that people who declaw cats do not provide them with a good home. Its definately not the "humane" choice, and is a sad decision, but declawing does NOT automatically make someone an irresponsible pet owner. Not even close IMO. Some of the best most responsible caring loving homes I have known have declawed their cats. I disagree with it like most of you, but would NEVER say they are not good homes, or that their pets would be better off somewhere else. I know a family with a number of undeclawed cats. How nice and caring of them to care about their pets like this. Guess what? Those cats were not neutered/spayed/vaccinated either. Feline dystemper entered the situation. The family DID NOT take appropriate care of their sick animals, and very bad very sad things resulted. So dont think families who dont agree with declawing are necessarily good homes either.
Myself, I would not declaw. I might have to though with a couple of manytoes' "toes" as he has a toe with 2 nails growing out of it, 2 claws that grow out of "in-between" toe spaces, and a number of extra regular toes on top of that. Trimming some of these nails is all but impossible, and they are extremely easy to become ingrown. Im hoping it will never happen, but if it comes up as a health issues, Ill have some of those offending claws removed.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15184
"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 behaviorial 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. Declaw – More Than Just a Manicure. Hopefully those of you with claw-related problems will find solutions by spending time in our Behavior Forum."

No, it doesn't make you a bad person, but I think what TRicia was getting at is that there is ample warning in the TCS rules and guidelines of this mindset in this community, and that the responses you have received should not have been a surprise.

Who actually said that?

When you open a thread like this you can't ask that only pro-declaw people respond. I am strongly against de-clawing, but I hope I have made my point without offending any of you personally.

Kim

I don't believe that anybody actually came out and said that. Most members are more concerned that you take all alternatives into consideration before deciding to take such a drastic step. Some of us, like myself, live in countries where declawing is outright illegal, because it's considered cruelty to animals, and others have found ways to cope with scratching that really work.

This site has enough information on de-clawing that I don't believe it is necessary to start a "poll". I believe that the majority of the people on this site are anti-declaw and if you insist on starting yet ANOTHER thread about declawing, (IMHO) you are either deliberately trying to get people riled, or you haven't taken the time to read some of the other information that is here first.

If you insist on having your cat declawed that is your prerogative but don't expect too many people here to agree with you.

Erin no ones getting at you chick!. As i mentioned it's a sensitive subject, and can be an upsetting one for those of us who disagree with it because weve all seen the pictures and the storys that go with it

For future reference, if you do a search which is the button at the top and type in whatever subject it is you want to look for this can help you find threads that have already been on.

There are 2-3 real hotbed issues when it comes to cat welfare.

1. Spay/Neuter
2. Declawing
3. No-Kill vs. Kill Shelters

Spay/Neuter would seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people, generally men, have come onto a site like this saying that they couldn't deny a cat their "manhood" or "the chance to reproduce", or just having sex. You want to see fireworks!

Declaw is along the same lines, and Susan and I both tried to warn you at the outset (in our own very different ways) that this is a hot issue. The US is one of the few civilized nations that allows declawing at will and where it is not only accepted but actually pushed by vets. The UK, Austrailia and most all of Europe have outlawed it; there are 28 countries where it will only be done for medical emergencies. We have many of citizens of these countries as members here. You have to understand that declawing is as barbaric to them as stoning adulterous women is to us, although that is the law in some parts of the world. (Just an example, please don't read anything into an analogy...)

As most everything that can be said on this subject has been said, this thread is now closed.