Goodness me, the video at the bottom of that page is well worth viewing if anyone has any doubts. It shows a comparison of mobility between a declawed and a clawed cougar. You would think that with a cougar being so much bigger than a domestic cat, it would be easier to get the operation right.
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Declawing your cat
- Thread starter princess nikita
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Exactly and what good does it do for the cougar to be without its claws? A cat is such a smaller animal if scaled and then you still have these issues.
It's now illegal in the US to de-claw large cats. I'm sure there are vets that will do it anyway---the wild/exotic animal trade is not exactly known for being especially law-abiding---but it is illegal. So hopefully the cougar in the videos was de-clawed before the law went into effect. Hopefully it won't be too long before they also make it illegal to do it to domestic cats.
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In most cases declawing isn't necessary and it is cruel. Don't do it. Just provide a lot of scratching posts. We have three, one in each room.
We clip the tips of our cats nails on a regular basis. Provide tall scratching posts in areas where they use them. Also have about 5 cardboard ones scattered throughout the house. Problem solved.
it made me want to cry. this majestic cat turned into a crippled, pain wracked cat by humans. sickening..
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Come to think of it, they sell little caps, very similar to the fake nails women get, but for cats, they go over the claw to minimize damage. I've never used them but I suggest you try them instead of declawing.
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I tried the plastic caps with one of our cats. They are a waste of time. They were a pain to put on and they came off pretty easily.
I think it's different with every cat. I've had one that got them all off almost immediately, and one that rarely lost one.
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Oh, okay. I never tried them, I just clip their nails but figured I put it out there.
The one that always got them off has talons (she won't let anyone near her paws), which I think is why she could get the caps off so easily. I think the combo of trimming and claw caps generally works pretty well.
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I had my cat declawed two weeks ago and she is doing fine! in fact the first night I brought her home she was jumping up on the bed with me. The only thing she didn't like was the Yesterday news litter she would not use it so I had to switch back to her regular litter. Its been two weeks, and she uses her litter box, she runs and plays. No biting issues that every one says that they do, no litter box issues. It was either get her declawed and give her a loving home or throw her out or take her to the pound so I decided on the declaw.
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I had my first 2 cats, Sam and Garfield, front-declawed while they were still kittens. This was before I knew better. I didn't realize they'd cut off the top knuckles. When they got back home, I noticed both of them would shake their little front paws when they jumped down from the counter. And this they did for quite a while, maybe a few weeks, until they fully healed. That really hurt me to see them in pain and I regretted doing it. I will never have it done again! All my kitties now still have their claws.
At the time, I thought well Sam and Garfy will never go outside so this is probably for the best. But honestly you can't be 100% sure your cat won't slip out a door or get out some other way. And if they do, how will they defend themselves? How will they climb a tree to be safe from predators?
I didn't even consider that when I had them declawed. But it is something to think about.
At the time, I thought well Sam and Garfy will never go outside so this is probably for the best. But honestly you can't be 100% sure your cat won't slip out a door or get out some other way. And if they do, how will they defend themselves? How will they climb a tree to be safe from predators?
I didn't even consider that when I had them declawed. But it is something to think about.
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I dont think kittens end up with emotional problems. If you do it at a very young age they do fine. They dont even know they arent there, My savannah is not declawed but I had previous cat thats were and both were super loving and sweet. This one isnt and hes very aloof, so I think its the cat not the claws
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This is outdated information. Many cats are quite traumatized and it often leads to crippling arthritis later in life.
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Again that is what experience I had. Im sure it can make some have issues. Im saying my previous siamese I got from the humane society was already declawed and he came to us as a cat that was very abused by his owner. He died at at 19 and was a very loving healthy cat. My savannah is not, and he is aloof and a scaredy cat that Im trying to get more socialized. Thats all I am comparing. thats it
We too, like others have posted, had cats declawed in the past before we knew they were chopping off the toe at the 1st junction. I swear I literally thought it was a "nothing" procedure, that didn't harm the cat. I had no idea what they did!! Two of ours had ongoing, lifelong issues related to the declaw procedure. I had one that just passed away at 19 years old who had the kitty litter issues and was very arthritic in those front paws, and we had another years ago (he passed away in a house fire) who had issues with the scarring on the tips of his toes--kitty litter would get stuck in the "dimples" with scars at the tips...just horrendous. That was the last one we had done. He had a toe get infected from a piece of kitty litter stuck in it--years after it was done, just because it scarred with an indention. Looking back, I could cry over it all because we did it to them--no one to blame but us. I just cannot--even though there is the slim chance all would be fine--take that chance ever again. I certainly don't want to be taken in and have my nail tips cut off just so I don't have nails.
I have two really big boys inside right now, one 12 years and one 2 years old, and neither of them damage a thing. Their nails stay clipped and I provide them with a ton of cardboard scratchers and various posts---and they never even consider getting my furniture. Yes, occasionally I get the pulls in my clothes from "biscuit-making", but oh well. I have cats. People will just have to get over it if I have a snagged blouse and I'm furry on occasion!!
I have two really big boys inside right now, one 12 years and one 2 years old, and neither of them damage a thing. Their nails stay clipped and I provide them with a ton of cardboard scratchers and various posts---and they never even consider getting my furniture. Yes, occasionally I get the pulls in my clothes from "biscuit-making", but oh well. I have cats. People will just have to get over it if I have a snagged blouse and I'm furry on occasion!!
I feel like we're sliding backwards on this issue. A cats claws are more than just things on the end of their paws. They are part of the whole cat, their instinctual and emotional instincts. You are removing a part of the cats locomotion and the way it's whole body functions. So not only is arthritis likely in their feet it's a lifetime of strain on the cat and may cause arthritis in other parts of the cat as the have to compensate for what an ignorant human took away for no medical reason.
While I am 99% of the time against declawing, I am going to say that all 3 of my cats who are front paws declawed by their first owner has at least 1 issue. My boy does not use the litter box. Declawed as a kitten and stopped using the litter box since then. His old owners did not want him and threw him out after 4 years. It took 9 months for me to retrain him to use the box after picking the softest litter.
One of my girls is so crippled by declawing that she cannot jump. She too stopped using the litter box (again, owner didn't want her). It took 10 months to get her to use a litter box. She is missing chunks of toe pads.
My other girl is a good litter box user, but she is skittish and has all kinds of growths on her paw pads and 'holes' in the toe pads. She constantly holds up her one paw. Her brother (RIP) use to be a poor litter box user and bit me a lot.
