This is not a nice story but it is a very good argument on the side of NOT declawing cats EVER for ANY REASON. We have 3 cats and are stray-friendly so nobody goes hungry... well last year there was a beautiful yellow/orange tabby longhair with the cutest flat face and sweetest disposition. My friend was going to take him since he was obviously stray (I discovered he was declawed too which ticked me off no end that someone would declaw and then abandon).
One day he disappeared. He always came around at a certain time of day or day of the week and ate from his bowl at the end of the driveway. We found out, MONTHS later, what had happened. He got locked in someone's shed over the winter. They found him curled up in the spring when yard work resumed. There was evidence that he had torn up cardboard boxes with his teeth, and the door they had on their shed was wood so IF HE HAD CLAWS HE COULD HAVE POSSIBLY GOTTEN THROUGH OR AT LEAST MADE ENOUGH RACKET TRYING.
PLEASE DON'T EVER DECLAW FOR ANY REASON. I don't even want to think about how long it took before he went to God. I imagine a week or more but he had no water so hopefully he suffered shorter. This is the most awful story I have ever had the displeasure to have first hand knowledge of.
One day he disappeared. He always came around at a certain time of day or day of the week and ate from his bowl at the end of the driveway. We found out, MONTHS later, what had happened. He got locked in someone's shed over the winter. They found him curled up in the spring when yard work resumed. There was evidence that he had torn up cardboard boxes with his teeth, and the door they had on their shed was wood so IF HE HAD CLAWS HE COULD HAVE POSSIBLY GOTTEN THROUGH OR AT LEAST MADE ENOUGH RACKET TRYING.
PLEASE DON'T EVER DECLAW FOR ANY REASON. I don't even want to think about how long it took before he went to God. I imagine a week or more but he had no water so hopefully he suffered shorter. This is the most awful story I have ever had the displeasure to have first hand knowledge of.