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Old 08-14-2006, 11:07 AM   #13 (permalink)
randygurl
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Location: Vancouver
I'm just going to say straight up that I don't agree with declawing at all! I think you should look at all your options before your resort to that. Do you really know what declawing involves? Do you know what your kitty will be going through with this process (not just the aftermath but the actual process itself)? Have you looked into alternatives?

This is what declawing actually does to your cat:

Quote:
Look down at your hands, imagine having your fingertips, up to the first knuckle, being cut off. THAT is what happens when a cat is declawed. It is subjecting your cat to 10 amputations! In many European countries, declawing is banned as it is considered torture.

Declawing is not just simply removing what you see - the claw. Declawing is multiple amputations. Motor and sensory nerves are cut, damaged, destroyed. While cats can go home safely the same day from most surgical procedures, vets usually recommend that a declawed cat remain overnight at their facility because of the possibility of bleeding to death.

Recovery from the surgery is typically slow and always painful (how could it NOT be painful??). Since cats walk on their toes, this procedure can hinder the sensations and enjoyment involved in walking, running, springing, climbing, and stretching in the future. Declawing can traumatize your cat and change his temperament forever - he may become untrusting, fearful, a biter or a hider. He can no longer defend himself as he was intended to be able to do ("but he's an inside cat so he doesn't need to defend himself" is a rationalization, not a reason!). If the surgery isn't done correctly, your cat may literally be crippled for the rest of his life, or you may have to pay a second fee to have the problems corrected.

Scratching is a natural behaviour for a cat. You cannot extinguish it, in fact it is esential to your cats well being. They need to mark their territory, remove dead bits of nail, and stretch for exercise. The trick is to channel this activity to where you want it rather than where kitty feels it is appropriate.

For more information about declawing, please check out these sites!

http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/declawvettch.html

http://community-2.webtv.net/zuzu22/STOPDECLAWCOM/

http://www.catscratching.com/



Check these out before you book that surgery!
http://cats.about.com/cs/declawing/fr/softclaws.htm"]http://cats.about.com/cs/declawing/fr/softclaws.htm"]http://cats.about.com/cs/declawing/fr/softclaws.htm


The possibility of a little frustration (if that!) on your part is worth saving your kitty from all that pain and suffering! Any vet who recommends declawing over alternatives, shouldn't be practicing at all!
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