Declawing Cats: The New Frontier in Animal Rights Whackjobbery

[charby]

Agreed.  while I wish my dog hadn't had her tail docked, I don't support what the did in the EU to ban the practice.

I'm glad my Weimeraner has a docked tail, keeps the tip from being damaged when out in the field. Same for dew claws.

If done properly, tail docking and dew claws are done with in the first couple days after birth, also it has been proven that canines nervous systems are not developed at birth like other mammals, so pain is very minimal or non existent when the tails and dew claws are removed at the right age. I worked for a vet in college and she never used any form of anesthesia to do dew claws or tails on pups. I held the pups a lot of the times when she did her work, the pups didn't even more when the procedure was done.

[TommyGunn]

I've had outside and inside cats and would never declaw the animal.  However I realize others have different ideas so I "live and let live" with regards to the practice.  No way should it be made illegal.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Dogmush, removing a dew claw on a dog is a much diffrent procedure then declawing a cat.

Cat claws are retractible. There's a whole lot more then just popping the claw off and stiching the wound shut.

You can trim cat claws. You can get little rubber tips to put over the claws. You can train the cat to not rip furniture. You can contain the cat in a room away from your nice furniture. You can get multistory crates for cats.

I still maintain that declawing cats should be the last resort to save the life of a cat who attacks people.

As for docking tails and ears, I'm fine with it. Have you ever seen a Rottie with a tail? :barf:

The working Anatolians in Turkey have cropped ears. They can't get their ear flaps ripped up if they don't have ear flaps. I wish the practice was supported in the US. Between the dogs with cronic ear infections and the dogs who've gotten ripped up, I think ear cropping is underrated as more then a cosmetic surgery.

[HankB]

Neither dogs, nor hamsters, nor goldfish have surgery that is this invasive done to them . . .

Didn't realize that spaying and neutering Lady and the Tramp wouldn't be considered invasive . . .

[Fitz]

First: declawing cats is lame. *expletive deleted*ing cat owners shouldn't have cats if they don't want their *expletive deleted*it clawed. Or, trim/cap them


Second: none of the government's business.

[Brad Johnson]

You can trim cat claws. You can get little rubber tips to put over the claws. You can train the cat to not rip furniture.

Or you can have them declawed and not have to worry about anything other than letting them be a cat.

Brad

[Fitz]

Or you can have them declawed and not have to worry about anything other than letting them be a cat.

Brad

>Let them be a cat


>Take away the tool that makes them a cat



Ever try target shooting without a projectile weapon? HAHA

[41magsnub]

I'm glad my Weimeraner has a docked tail, keeps the tip from being damaged when out in the field. Same for dew claws.

If done properly, tail docking and dew claws are done with in the first couple days after birth, also it has been proven that canines nervous systems are not developed at birth like other mammals, so pain is very minimal or non existent when the tails and dew claws are removed at the right age. I worked for a vet in college and she never used any form of anesthesia to do dew claws or tails on pups. I held the pups a lot of the times when she did her work, the pups didn't even more when the procedure was done.

Funny thing with Maddie, she has an extra mutant little dew claw that was missed when she was a pup.  The next (first) time she is put under for anything I'm going to have the vet take it off at the same time.  The nail is curled weird and could easily catch one something.

[Tallpine]

Scratching "posts" don't seem to work all that well, but we've had really good success with a carpet covered "kitty tower."

I think it's made out of a piece of Sono-tube.  It has two levels inside.

The cats seem to like something more massive to scratch on.  I thought it was a waste of money at first.

We had an old cat that really tore up stuff.  We finally put her down for health reasons.

Our current cats just demand to be outside most of the time in the summer despite the coyote, hawk, owl, etc danger.  Had one destroy a screen getting out a week or two ago    Sometimes you just have to let them be cats.

[Brad Johnson]

>Let them be a cat


>Take away the tool that makes them a cat

Really? 

If having claws is the singular defining characteristic for being feline then we live in a world full egregiously misclassified critters...

Brad

[BlueStarLizzard]

Or you can have them declawed and not have to worry about anything other than letting them be a cat.

Brad

Which is an invasive, compicated  surgery, that does nothing to improve the overall health of the animal.

And because someone brought up spay surgeries, go look up Pyometra. Older bitches who have never whelped are at much higher risk of developing a uterian infection. It's nasty and it can kill if not treated very quickly.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Funny thing with Maddie, she has an extra mutant little dew claw that was missed when she was a pup.  The next (first) time she is put under for anything I'm going to have the vet take it off at the same time.  The nail is curled weird and could easily catch one something.

Double dews on the hind feet are not all that uncommon.

Most people take off at least hind dew claws. They tend to get caught more then the front. I think it's cause they tend to flop around more.
Intresting side note, the Turks belive that rear dew claws are lucky and call them "eagle claws". So there's your oddball fact of the day. :)

[Gewehr98]

My long-haired dachshund got what was called a Stump Pyometra at around age 12.  

She hemorrhaged for a while, and it took some serious antibiotics to stop.  

Looked like a murder scene in our house.

As for declawing, a vet had me put my hands on the exam table, and showed me where they removed everything from the last finger joint outwards.  

No friggin' way.  My cats have kept their digits intact, and I've trained them not to tear up furniture.  

[BlueStarLizzard]

My long-haired dachshund got what was called a Stump Pyometra at around age 12.  

She hemorrhaged for a while, and it took some serious antibiotics to stop.  

Looked like a murder scene in our house.

As for declawing, a vet had me put my hands on the exam table, and showed me where they removed everything from the last finger joint outwards.  

No friggin' way.  My cats have kept their digits intact, and I've trained them not to tear up furniture.  

There's been a few Anatolians who've died from it. One was one of my favorites, Mary. The breed is so tough that by the time they start acting sick, it's usually too late. :( We thought Mary would make it, because we caught it pretty early, but the antibotics just wern't cutting it.

And, because it doesn't generally happen till they're older, surgery to spay becomes a much bigger risk.

[Pharmacology]

Or you can have them declawed and not have to worry about anything other than letting them be a cat.
Brad

I think if people realized that declawing is a digital amputation,  they wouldn't be so flippant about it.
Just like any other amputation, the cats can end up with phantom pain, or learn new bad habits as a result of the amputation.

If people want to fork over the cash for an unnecessary, useless procedure,  then more power to them.  Good for the vet for separating people from their money.

I'll just keep using $0.99 nail clippers to keep my cat's nails harmless.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

My long-haired dachshund got what was called a Stump Pyometra at around age 12.  

She hemorrhaged for a while, and it took some serious antibiotics to stop.  

Looked like a murder scene in our house.

As for declawing, a vet had me put my hands on the exam table, and showed me where they removed everything from the last finger joint outwards.  

No friggin' way.  My cats have kept their digits intact, and I've trained them not to tear up furniture.  

yea  thats how it was explained to me.
not a cat guy  at all    would never do it to a cat
not govs place to tell me though

[roo_ster]

I think if people realized that declawing is a digital amputation,  they wouldn't be so flippant about it.
Just like any other amputation, the cats can end up with phantom pain, or learn new bad habits as a result of the amputation.

If people want to fork over the cash for an unnecessary, useless procedure,  then more power to them.  Good for the vet for separating people from their money.

I'll just keep using $0.99 nail clippers to keep my cat's nails harmless.

How far can you clip them back?  Don't have a cat now, but might in the future as my wife comes from a menagerie-prone(1) family.  With the dogs you gotta be careful or you get a bleeder and when clipping bird wings, too deep a clip and the things will bleed out.  Luckily our chickens are smart enough to know they have a good thing and don't wander off.



(1) Off the top of my head: dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, "loser" roosters from cock fights(1a), pigeons, peacocks, lambs/sheep.  In a housing development. 

(1a) Her brother would watch the Mexicans run the fights and then go to the "dead" pile and search for one that was only mostly dead to get himself a pet rooster.  Or three.  He'd patch them up and end up with lots of one-legged, one-eyed roosters over time.

[Pharmacology]

How far can you clip them back?  Don't have a cat now, but might in the future as my wife comes from a menagerie-prone(1) family.  With the dogs you gotta be careful or you get a bleeder and when clipping bird wings, too deep a clip and the things will bleed out.  Luckily our chickens are smart enough to know they have a good thing and don't wander off.
(1) Off the top of my head: dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, "loser" roosters from cock fights(1a), pigeons, peacocks, lambs/sheep.  In a housing development. 
(1a) Her brother would watch the Mexicans run the fights and then go to the "dead" pile and search for one that was only mostly dead to get himself a pet rooster.  Or three.  He'd patch them up and end up with lots of one-legged, one-eyed roosters over time.

Cats will bleed too, but it's really easy to see where the quick begins with most cats.
Mine will usually let me clip hers down to about 60% length, which renders them effectively dull.

Whether or not the cat will let you clip the claws boils down to good training in the first place. 

[Boomhauer]

Cats will bleed too, but it's really easy to see where the quick begins with most cats.
Mine will usually let me clip hers down to about 60% length, which renders them effectively dull.

Whether or not the cat will let you clip the claws boils down to good training in the first place. 

For ours its a two person operation. One to restrain the unwilling cat and the other to pry the paw out from the cat and clip them.

Pretty sure the word "cooperative" isn't known to either of ours.

[lupinus]

Unlike declawing most of the procedures being mentioned for dogs have functional purposes, including the docking/cropping.

Declawing a cat should be an absolute last option. Have a cat? Some shits liable to get scratched, it's part of having a cat.

[BlueStarLizzard]

If the cats nice about it, one paw at a time, press the center to force the cat to flew the claws out (it doesn't hurt and it doesn't take much pressure) and snip the white, clear part.
If the cats not nice, it can be a two man job or a kitty burrito job (cat, towel... Sometimes ducktape helps)
Cats have clear nails, so you can see the quick. However, a healthy dog or cat cannot bleed to death through the quicks, so, if you do hit the quick, don't panic. It's really not a big deal.

Also, I've noticed that cats don't seem to notice it as much as dogs when you do hit the quick and they rarely bleed at all when you do.

I'm always slightly amazed about how stressed people get over this process. Dog and cat nails are easy. You want a challenge, try trimming the nails on a squermy rat. I'm paranoid I'm gonna take off a whole toe.

[T.O.M.]

I seem to recall about 30 years ago there was a procedure that vets would do to just clip the extender ligament for the claw, which would effectively render the claw inoperable.  That's what my parents did to the cat we were given by my aunt.

[BlueStarLizzard]

I seem to recall about 30 years ago there was a procedure that vets would do to just clip the extender ligament for the claw, which would effectively render the claw inoperable.  That's what my parents did to the cat we were given by my aunt.

Wow, that sounds like a really bad idea.

Cat nails are constently growing. If the claws arn't worn back by natural use or clipped, they can grow all the way around and back into the foot.
If your cat had that done, and you forgot to keep the nails trimmed, you could end up with a really serious problem.

[Scout26]

Legless tribble cats? Sign me up. 

I'll take one, especially if all they eat is poisoned triticale. 

[T.O.M.]

Wow, that sounds like a really bad idea.

Cat nails are constently growing. If the claws arn't worn back by natural use or clipped, they can grow all the way around and back into the foot.
If your cat had that done, and you forgot to keep the nails trimmed, you could end up with a really serious problem.

Maybe I was too young to notice, but I don't remember my mother doing any kind of trimming or anything...

Oh well, my entire family has cat allergies.  We're a dog family.