Toe AmputationFollow

Sorry SassyBoy, this is not a thread about you.



I just had an IM conversation about this that surprised me. I know what I think about it, but I'm not saying yet.

This is why ALL cats should be declawed starting at birth.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE pussies.

apparently, the right answer is:



My cat has its front claws taken out. He is an indoor can and has no need for them (my furniture and arms love me for it, too).

All 3 of my cats are declawed. I don't worry too much about them getting out because they refuse to step outside. I have left the front door open, the back door open, all the windows open, and you'll see all 3 cats lined up right inside the doorway looking out. They know they have it good in our house.

My cat loves his scratching post, and hates certain smells (like tea tree oil, for some reason). So, between positive and negative reinforcement I've never seen the need to declaw him, or any cat I've had.

Besides, it seems like it would hurt.

I'm in the no declawing camp, too, and it's funny but I use tea tree oil to dissuade my cat, too. Works like a charm.




Now, if we're going to have housecats who presumptively fulfill the household duties, then I believe their counterparts would be called fieldcats.

w00h speaking of my toe, I just got my health insurance card today!

Know a girl that had her cat declawed. The cat took it quite hard and had a hell of a time and was in quite rough condition for a while after the declawing. The girl swore never to do it to another cat again. She almost tears up when she talks about it.

If you're a suck when it comes to cats and can find a way around it like Samira then do your damndest to avoid it. If you feel that you must at least take the time to educate yourself about the process and find a decent vet to do the procedure.

Wow, is there anything it can't do? I use it as an antiseptic, which is how I found out the cat hates it - I put it on a blister on my heel and he FLEW out of the room. Fun stuff!

Our cats are declawed and inside only. The surgery was recommended by the vet and performed when they were young. They recovered quickly and everything has been fine. The only time I have regretted it was when they escaped and I thought I had lost them, but that regret went away as soon as I saw them trying to scratch up one of their rescuers.

I was IMing with one of my old EQ2 guildies today and she seemed upset at the idea. She felt very strongly about it and kept trying to get me to see the error of my ways. It didn't work, but it made me curious enough to ask the question. She lives in Denmark and claims that the US is one of few countries where declawing cats is legal. I have always heard the 'toe amputation' stuff before but I just don't get too upset about it.

My are living the good life in my house and having their toes amputated is part of the deal.

I say declaw the fUckers. Slowwwwly. With a pair of rusty pliars.

This is the sort of comment that raises my eyebrow so I did a quick Google. While a good percentage of Europe has laws against it, the total number of countries where it is outlawed numbers about 20-25. Which, globally speaking, is not remotely near most of the world's nations having outlawed it.

Per Declawing.com, the list of nations with bans is:
I don't doubt that this list was once accurate but I have to question the current accuracy of a list that still includes "Yugoslavia". And the UK regions of N. Ireland, Scotland, etc are not true countries, per se.

Edited, Aug 23rd 2006 at 6:57pm EDT by Jophiel