Declawing fight !!

[save our paws]

Don't forget to be watchful and understanding of the declawed cat's behavior.  Cats don't complain like dogs do, so we need to be sure to watch and listen to their actions.  There are several signs that things have gone wrong: Infections/odor, limping, favoring the declawed paws, avoiding the litter box, excessive biting, and more.  These signs will probably not show up in the first few days, but over the years, they definitely will.

Please make sure that the declawed cat's owner has the vet take x-rays each year to be sure that the bones have not started to become tent shaped.  This causes even more pain and discomfort, not only to the paws, but the spine too.

I am so sorry that any vet, who took an oath to protect all animals, could even consider this monstrosity!  Shame on them!!!  The AVMA even condones it by saying that it is OK in some circumstances, most of which do NOT involve the cat's health and well-being.

There is a growing number of vets who refuse to declaw; some of which even perform repair surgery.  The repair surgery obviously can't restore the cat to original form, but it helps to relieve some of the paw's deformities.

I could go on forever, but I guess I should step down from my soapbox now.

 

[lisahe]

The excessive biting you mention, @Save Our Paws, is one of the things my parents' cats did. A lot.

I've had two declawed cats that came to me declawed -- one was a Philadelphia stray I took in, the other was a rescue cat, so I didn't know her history, either. Both those cats did very well when taken on their own terms... I wonder now if that's because they didn't associate their new homes with the ones where people declawed them. They were both great cats and they both got a lot of attention and affection. The stray would never allow herself to be held at all though she loved to be around people; she slept at my feet. The other cat, who just died in December, became an extremely affectionate cat over the years.

I've had more experience living with declawed cats than cats with claws so adopting two new cats with claws in December was an experience! They have scratch pads and Dream Curls (they love those!) and a condo and a custom-built loft in the basement with sisal-wrapped legs. They seem very happy with all that and scratch the furniture a lot less than my stray cat did! She did a fair bit of damage to upholstery but I don't think a scratch pad or post would have given her the satisfaction she got from pulling at the seams -- it was seams she loved -- on the back of my favorite chair using the nubs on her paws. Not that I minded a bit!