Don't declaw your kitty!

[eridani]

http://www.upworthy.com/about-2-dozen-countries-have-banned-an-outdated-cat-practice-but-the-us-aint-1-of-them?c=upw1

[BrotherIvan]

1. Barbaric

If you're worried about your cat scratching, get a stratching post. The tall ones where kitty can get a good stretch and a scratch are the best. Put it right where they are scratching to start. They will learn to scratch the post and not the corner of the furniture. Then move it somewhere closeby but more where you want it once the cat knows it's the thing for scratching. We found that putting it sort of in the entrance of the room means the cats give their ceremonial entrance scratch and they're done.

If you have a cat you have to give it what it needs. It needs to scratch. So create positive places for her to scratch in every room she spends a lot of time and you won't have a problem!

This is a good one, around 30" is about right

http://www.felixtreecompany.com/product/tall-cat-scratching-post/

Thanks for posting!

[Android3.14]

2. 100 percent agree

Declawing your cat is a vile practice. Sterilized declawed cats have nothing to fight with and nothing to fight for. It's up there with crating livestock.

I am not a cat person, in general, but I don't associate with lazy sick fucks who do this to their animals.

[ginnyinWI]

3. more info--

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pawproject?fref=nf

On Netflix: http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70293427?sod=search-autocomplete

On Youtube:

[CountAllVotes]

9. This is so sad!

I cannot watch the whole thing. I've seen cats that have been de-clawed and yes, they do limp and walk like this.

is wrong with people anyway!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. My cat was already declawed when I got him from my cousin

I don't know if she did it or whether a previous owner did it, but I can tell that his front legs seem too short, somehow.

If I got a "fresh" cat, I would not have it declawed.

I've noticed that Kidley does scratching motions, even though he has no front claws.

[fizzgig]

5. i have one that came to her previous human declawed

and she 'scratches' on the couch all the time. it is a barbaric practice.

[raven mad]

6. I will not even take my kitties to a vet that performs declawing.

And I let them know that up front.

It's barbaric and totally unnecessary.

[LiberalElite]

7. I have had cats for 30 + years, never liked the idea of declawing and never had my cats declawed -

BUT a very good friend of 30 + years routinely had her cats (all rescues) declawed. Also her parent's cat was declawed. Also, my brother's inlaws adopted a totally (all 4 paws) declawed cat. Long story short, I have observed these numerous declawed cats over the years and this is what I saw: they used the litter box; could jump onto high kitchen cabinets with ease; walked normally, and did not bite.
P.S.: My friend's attitude was "better a declawed cat with a home than a homeless cat with claws."

[CountAllVotes]

8. Agree

It is a barbaric practice and should be outlawed.

The sad part about it is (besides the fact that the cat has no good way to defend itself) is that some of them end up in shelters and no one wants to adopt one of them and they end up being put down.

However, there are some good people out there that make a point of adopting them for an assortment of reasons ranging from simply loving a cat that needs to be loved and needs a home and also because they may also like the fact that it is de-clawed because they don't want their belongings clawed up but do not believe in the practice itself and would never have it done to a cat.

That said, I have to really agree with poster #1 that says to invest in a tall scratching post. I've invested in two different pieces and one has a ramp/post and the other is a 40" high post. Both are made of sisal and it is time to replace them as they are pretty clawed up after about 6 mos. on constant use by my three cats (two of which are 18+ mos. old tomcats ... oh boy!).

I also agree with the poster above that states that they will not go to a vet that de-claws cats. This is a good idea as well. If there is no one to commit this evil practice on cats, it would not happen if vets that that are doing this are boycotted. That is nipping the source of this horrific evil in the bud IMO.

I'd love to see de-clawing a cat made a crime in America personally (it is a crime in Europe FYI). I've seen many people that have owned de-clawed cats over the years and most of the time it is because their stupid sofa is more important to them than is the ability of a cat to live its life in a normal happy fashion. To me, an attitude like this is plain selfish, selfish, selfish.

As for others that adopt cats that have been de-clawed, well thank you for giving a discarded de-clawed cat a loving home! If it weren't for folks this, we'd have a lot more cats being put down because they have been de-clawed.

[countryjake]

10. We just brought home our new kitty, 5 yr old; she has all those problems...

and more.

First and foremost, the poor little girl was de-clawed, by who or when, there's no way for us to ever know. The woman who rescued her from the pound (on her last day alive) warned us that she has troubles using a litter box...after having her for four days now, I've watched her go stand before the box, hesitant, then gingerly step in and root around like a flopping chicken to make her "spot". It is heartbreaking to watch, especially after having many previously feral house cats, who would scratch and dig with their two front feet for ridiculous long times in a litter box, before finally reckoning a hole suitable enough. This sad kitty never even manages any "hole" and does not cover her spot, when done.

The very last thing our new companion did to her previous "owner" was bite her, as the woman knelt, sobbing and petting her, heaving with the guilt of knowing that her rescued kitty was being shuffled off to unknown circumstances. None of our promises could reassure that lady...that I've dealt with biting scratching cats thru much of my life meant nothing to her, because, "This kitty isn't a wild cat, she's just not normal, mad at the world or something, psychotic," she told us. I've discovered that she can growl and hiss even right in the middle of a full-on purr, she does it while she's sound asleep...perhaps remembering the day somebody chopped her toes off.

On Sunday, she bit our landlord, as we were introducing her to him for the first time. Not afraid in the least, she came right up to our company when they entered the house, rubbed their legs and begged for attention from them, but hauled off and bit his thumb not long after he began petting her. Almost like a feral is wont to do, but she didn't run away scared or mad at all...only continued to rub his legs and pretend that biting was her natural response.

The worst problem our new friend has, above all, is that she is practically morbidly obese. I've spent many hours already, attempting to inspire her to play, to run around, move. She's packing around so much weight on her abnormally tiny feet, I think that it must take great effort for her to just stand up, and tho she doesn't limp when she does walk, her step movement is quite odd, nothing like the padding a feline normally does on their little cat feet. Again, watching her try to investigate these new surroundings we've given her is heartbreaking and getting her attuned to a proper diet is my number one concern right now. Messes next to litter boxes and cat bites do not bother me, one bit. Saving her heart and other organs from being so overweight is what I'm now worried about.

[CountAllVotes]

11. You've done good

Thank you for rescuing this poor cat. It sounds so sad to me and yes, I can easily visualize your situation and the cat.

I have a cat now that was a biter when I got her. Every time she bit me, I would pull my hand away and say "no biting". She soon learned that if she bit me I would do this every time and not pet her with the hand she bit any more. As of this writing, said cat no longer bites very often but occasionally when she gets excited.

She is probably in a lot of pain from being de-clawed and therefore exhibits what some would deem "psychotic behavior". Hell, you be exhibiting such behavior too if you had you fingers chopped off at the knuckles I'd suspect eh?

As for the weight problem, well it is probably the one thing that makes her feel good, safe and comfortable which is food.

As for the rest of the problems with your new cat, I do not know what to say except thank you for adopting a discarded and obviously abused cat that requires a loving home and someone like you to care for her.

Poor poor kitty. So very sad indeed.

[countryjake]

12. On Valentine's Day, we answered a Free Ad of the gal who actually rescued her

Late last year, the woman had gone to the pound with her daughter's family to choose a dog and noticed this black kitty looking dejected in a cage, asked about her to find that she'd been tagged as unfriendly and had been there too long. She rescued her on the spot, as soon as she learned what her fate was going to be.

Unfortunately (and what she stated in her newspaper ad), her new pet did not do well with other animals. The woman already has a beloved tiny Chihuahua and a lively raucous Parrot, both of whom totally freaked out this poor cat who hasn't any proper defense. I guess she'd bitten and attacked the little dog a few times too many, hissed and growled constantly, and never could fit comfortably into the rescuer's home.

I think that lady must have tried using food as an incentive to make her feel loved, since her woofie is a lap dog and every "attack" occurred when kitty jumped up on the chair to try and share that lap. Sadly, this poor little girl is also a "lap cat", very affectionate; she's purring on my lap as I type this. All she wanted was a loving hand. She was "nothing but skin and bones" according to the woman, when she brought her home from the pound, so this weight problem, at least, is a recent one.

What both I and her rescuer wonder about and really would like to know is what was her life like in the five years before she ended up in the shelter. Whose lap was she accustomed to purring in? I was given all the papers that came along with her from the pound and the surrender reason is only listed as the city limits of that town, so maybe she was picked up as a stray and is simply lost from whoever loved her before. If true, that's the saddest of all.

I've dealt with ferals almost all of my life and I don't believe that there's such a thing as a "psychotic cat". Kitties usually always have a logical reason for lashing out or acting out. Serious past trauma is one of them and that certainly would include having their toes cut off.

My last three cats were all wild, only one was a kitten when I took her in, the other two adults were designated as "at least five years old" during their very first vet visit. We had Skagit for 16 years (she died not quite a month ago); Phoebe shared our home with us for fifteen years (she died six months ago); and dear little Joey, the feral kitten that I brought back from Ohio on an airplane in 2002 only lived to be eleven.

See here for my DU tribute to our beloved companions:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1018&pid=718538

I thank you for your kind words, CountAllVotes, and I agree with you.

There is nothing sadder than an unwanted animal.