This week my cats Samson and Blaze went to the vet to be declawed. I hesitated a long time before deciding to declaw them because many people tried to convince me that declawing was cruel and very painful for cats. I tried to get by without the declaw precedure but the cats shredded the end of my love seat down to the bare wood. My husband and I decided that we could never have any decent furniture if the cats kept their claws. So, off to the vet they went to join the ranks of 8 of my other cats who had already been declawed.
I told the vet to give the cats the lazar surgery, as it is a cleaner surgery and has the cats on their feet quicker. I also told the vet to give the cats the maximum in pain medicine both in his office and to take home with them. I took the cats in one morning and brought them home the next moring. I expected to see doped up cats with tender feet, moaning and groaning about the horrible thing I'd had done to them. Well, the cats I picked up were wide awake and alert and wanting to get out of their carrier to run around. I had prepared the guest bedroom to shut the cats in with their special soft kitty litter, food, water, and a nice double bed or upholstered rocking chair for them to sleep in. Did I say sleep? They bounced out of the carrier and headed for the food dish, purring all the way. I left them alone to rest. When I checked on them later, they had knocked 2 vases of flowers off the top of the dresser. Their special kitty litter had been all pawed out of the litter box and then they went potty on the carpet.
When I went to give them food, water, and their antibiotic this morning, they flew out of the bedroom like they had been shot out of a cannon. Samson was immediately up on top of the aquarium checking to see if we'd gotten any new fish. Blaze tore around the house and then jumped to the table, then to the cupboard, and ran back and forth on the cupboard, trying to convince me to give her some tasty canned food instead of her dry food. Before long the cats were up on the washer, the stove, and heading for the top of the fridge ( which was too crowded with boxes of stuff for them to get up there). Soon they were running around the house, chasing each other and wrestling. Aren't these the cats that were supposed to be in terrible pain from the declawing? Weren't they supposed to be tip-toeing lightly on tender feet? And looped up from their pain meds? They look and act pretty normal to me! And they are rubbing on me and purring, so they don't seem to be suffering. So much for shutting the cats in a room to protect their sore feet and to allow them to rest. It doesn't look to me like they want to rest. They just want to get on with their lives!
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Comments: 42
Maybe this laser way is better?
The only problem I have with the de-clawing is the part where the cats have no way to defend themselves in an attack. So, if a cat must be de-clawed. I think it should be a house cat.
By your article it does sound like the laser surgery they do now is much better than before.
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I personally think it's better to supervise them outside if they are going to be let outside to begin with. Cats (and dogs) escape sometimes though.
You're doing a great job Janet!!!
One of my two cats is declawed. He was a stray who came both neutered and declawed. The lack of claws has not slowed him down or, in any way I can see, prevented him from enjoying life to the fullest. He loves to wrestle with his buddy and neither of them seems to realize that he does not have claws.
My sister had an indoor cat that came to her declawed and she constantly worried when it went outside.
But once she went on a trip and my son went to feed it for her. He walked in the house, and I guess the cat thought he was an intruder, since my sister wasn't there. The cat bit his ankle.
Since then, she hasn't been so worried that her attack cat can't defend itself.
If you want to be part of the family then you gotta act like family... I dont do destructive animals.. and I dont do animals hurting my human family either!!!!!
So far so good! :)
Technically, I know my cat could climb a tree with her back claws. But she weighs about 19 pounds and that might make the climbing difficult!
It sounds like the new laser surgery may be superior, but I still will never consider it. The US is one of the few places in the world this is even done - very rarely is this procedure performed in Europe for instance.
We have two that are indoor-outdoor that we took in when they were about six months old. We had them fixed a couple of months later, but we took the time to work with them - took them to the scratching post and told them all the time what great kitties they were for using it.
To this day - they scratch on the post - pause - look over to see if we will tell them what great kitties they are.
I am just glad to hear the surgery for your kitties went well - I have several stories to tell which prove otherwise - including one where they gave too much anesthesia and the kitty was not right after that and eventually had to be put to sleep because of it.
I actually adopted one older black and white kitty who had already been declawed - I cannot tell you the fear this kitty had whenever we needed to take her to the vet.
I'll save my breath on the other stories. I can tell you are an animal lover and that the kitties have a great home and that is a good thing.
BTW - the doggie icon is just wonderful, I'm guessing it is Dakota:)
Her previous owner used to have her vet put Soft Paws on the kitty's nails. They're like these little vinyl caps that get placed over kitty's nails and they will stay in place 'til the nails grow out and shed the Soft Paws as the nail sheaths normally shed. My friend decided that this was better to do than take the cat so often to the vet to get her nails trimmed, because kitty doesn't travel well. She gets stress incontinence in the carrier. My friend did this because my friend was blind and couldn't see to trim kitty's nails herself. And, since she had to get the seeing eye dogs nails trimmed every so often, she took the cat in at the same time. She would get her nails trimmed and covered with Soft Paws. This is a good option for people to do instead of declawing the cats. Some people manage to do this themselves, but for obvious reasons my friend had the vet do this.
Soft paws even come in cute colors. I've seen Akira with her colorful nails when my friend still owned her. One time she had hot pink and another time she had purple. There was no concern about the cat bolting to go outside, since my friend lived in an apartment building. I live in an apartment with Akira now myself. The apartments are high rises.
I think Soft Paws are a good option for cat owners, for indoor only cats. It isn't permanent, but there isn't the potential of permanent harm done to the cat either. The cat still does all her natural scratching behavior without damaging the furniture. I haven't seen any need for using the Soft Paws on Akira myself, since I can see to trim her nails and she cooperates so wonderfully in letting me trim her nails. Sure, she complains a little, but she is a really good girl about it. I always brush her after I trim her nails, because she loves her brush and I want to give her something positive to associate with the nail trimming. And, Akira is good about not destroying the furniture, too.
I just think that Soft Paws are a good option for cat owners to consider, since it's the best of both worlds. It give the cat's owner what she wants in the way of keeping kitty from destroying everything in sight. And, it doesn't hurt the kitty.
I'm glad your kitties are all doing fine, but I'm not declawing Akira or any other cat. The only way I would ever own a declawed cat is if she came like that from a shelter. I couldn't live with myself if I knew something I did caused Akira to be hurt. I just thought folks might want to know about these Soft Paws that can be used as an alternative. I'm not sure how many colors they come in, but I know they have clear, hot pink and purple.