Cat owners...help! (added a pic)

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My child didn’t brutalize her. She is a CHILD and our cat prefers not to be held tight.. as a kitten she would immediately scratch.

I sorta understand though what the previous poster was getting at. Your comment of

We have a small child who would hold and squeeze and it looked like Edward scissors hands got a hold of her face constantly so we made the desicion.

gives a sort of mental image. Most people would probably suggest not to allow your child A) unattended with the cat B) not to hold the cat (especially given you've clarified that your cat doesn't like to be held tight) or squeeze the cat. Children don't mean any harm, usually, but it did sorta come off (and perhaps that wasn't your intent) like you declawed your cat because of actions your child did.

Your other aspect of doing what you thought best for your family I'm not commenting on. But I did want to explain that I did sorta get what the other poster was meaning.

 

[meghanb133]

I sorta understand though what the previous poster was getting at. Your comment of



gives a sort of mental image. Most people would probably suggest not to allow your child A) unattended with the cat B) not to hold the cat (especially given you've clarified that your cat doesn't like to be held tight) or squeeze the cat. Children don't mean any harm, usually, but it did sorta come off (and perhaps that wasn't your intent) like you declawed your cat because of actions your child did.

Your other aspect of doing what you thought best for your family I'm not commenting on. But I did want to explain that I did sorta get what the other poster was meaning.

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[chartle]

If you've never watched "My Cat From Hell" give it a try. Jackson Galaxy is sort of a cat whisperer. Fun and interesting show.

I DVR and then and when I see those CFH I wonder how we survive with 3 cats established cats and 2 new strays, one that most would call semi feral that we traped, neutered and released a few years ago. Luckily cat 4 and cat 5 sort of hung around with each other outside before cat 4 followed me in the house. Cat 5, the semi feral, stayed out another year or so before literally coming in from the cold this winter.

 

[denisem]

Re: declawing...my husband & i both owned (hahaha) cats for over 50 yrs. Never even thought about declawing until I got "Shadow". Unfortunately she was an incorrigible scratcher, so much so that we had to cannibalize our matching leather love seat to repair the sofa. She was an older rescue, so I was doubly reluctant to declaw. Thankfully she was amendable to Softpaws (the nail caps mentioned above). One thing I caution Softpaw users is to carefully monitor the claws - even though they would usually shed by themselves, we had one that did not and it began growing around into the pad.

Then we acquired our first pedigree kitten...an early generation marble bengal cat. He was a total sweetheart (and not much of a clawer) but DETESTED having his paws confined. Even with two of us, my husband being an experienced nail trimmer, Rocko became a whirling dervish. Even the vet's office found it necessary to sedate him for a simple nail trimming. Because he would race around our house, getting his claws caught in the carpet, we decided on a laser declawing to avoid his arms pulling out of their sockets.

We picked him up the next day, no bandages, and evidently not much pain as he was climbing the cage. The only thing we noticed is that he lost a bit of confidence jumping onto upholstered furniture - "hey, why can't I pull myself up with my claws???

\We lost Rocko several years ago and speak (and smile) about him daily. Good luck with your pet family!

 

[aprilgail]

It doesn't have to be an either or situation you know.

You present it like it's either declaw a cat or adopts cats. Shelters around me do not advocate declawing cats. The rescue agency I adopted my cat from put it in their contract that should you want to declaw you are to bring the cat back to them instead (yes yes enforcement yada yada yada). Anyways there's a difference in getting a cat and choosing to automatically declaw for no other reason than the convenience of humans (especially as our knowledge has grown on how declawing can affect cats) and adopting a cat that has already been declawed. FWIW it is banned in 22 countries around the world and seen as cruelty to animals in countries that have banned it. And in recent enough years the majority of those surveyed in the U.S. do not support declawing. Either way unless it is banned it is a personal choice. The OP can obviously make that choice for themselves provided it is allowed where they are at but posters are free to express their opinions on the matter as you have as well.

In order to reduce the population of cats the best thing to do is spay and neuter. The population of cats is not really related to declawing or not declawing cats.

At the shelters here you have to sign a paper stating you will NOT declaw the cat or you can not adopt one! It is cruel to do that to a cat. Declawing is currently illegal in more than two dozen countries- I can't believe the US can be so behind in still allowing this barbaric procedure to be legal.




Eileen Jefferson, DVM, New York state representative for HSVMA, said: "Declawing involves painful amputations – cutting off the last bone of a cat’s digits. When done for convenience, it is medically and ethically unjustifiable. The research consensus is that at least one in five cats show long-term physical or behavioral problems after being declawed."

According to HSVMA and The Paw Project, these problems include litter box avoidance from pain or stress and increased biting in self-defense. These two problems, not furniture destruction, are the documented top behavioral reasons why cats are brought to U.S. shelters.

Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, D-67, introduced the bill last year. It later gained bipartisan support from co-sponsor Sen. Joseph A. Griffo, R-47.

Susan Whittred, DVM, New York co-director for The Paw Project, said: “A relatively high percentage of cats are still being declawed despite all the recommendations against it.


Targeting this problem through legislation is necessary and overdue. This bill is not an infringement on the veterinarian’s role at all. In fact, veterinarians are helping lead the efforts to see it pass."

The American Animal Hospital Association and the American Association of Feline Practitioners have changed their statements in the last year to discourage declawing.

 

[aprilgail]

It is if the inability to declaw makes fewer people want to adopt. Or if it results in more surrenders of cats to shelters because of damage to furniture.

For the cats sake it is better for them if a person that wants to declaw them isn't allowed to adopt them.

 

[mom2rtk]

For the cats sake it is better for them if a person that wants to declaw them isn't allowed to adopt them.

I agree if there's a guarantee the cat won't be put down for lack of a home.

 

[pweyl36]

A stray cat has been hanging around our camp for a week. No one showed up to claim her, so we decided to take her home because I was worried that something would happen to her.

Anyway, we are normally "dog" people, and know nothing about keeping cats as pets. She has an appointment on Monday to receive all her vaccinations, and we have to wait two weeks after that to have her spayed. Should I have her de-clawed? What is the best food? Do self-cleaning litter boxes really work? What's the best litter? What's the best way to clean her?

Yes, I know I could Google all this, but it would be great to hear from actual cat owners, and I don't really want to join a cat-lovers forum, lol.

TIA.

.

No to de-clawing

 

[pweyl36]

Please don’t shame me but we declawed our cat when she was a kitten. It was about $500 but it was done by laser, no bandages were needed and she came home that afternoon. She had to wear a cone for a day so she didn’t lick but other than that we had NO issues. We have a small child who would hold and squeeze and it looked like Edward scissors hands got a hold of her face constantly so we made the desicion. She is a completely indoor cat.

We use Tidy Cats litter, we are super strict about cleaning it every day so it stays clean for her.

Her two favorite things are getting brushed and chasing the laser pointer.

Good luck with everything!!

Its not the cats fault you let a small child squeeze the cat. you should of trained your child to be gentle with animals!

 

[meghanb133]

Please don’t shame me but we declawed our cat when she was a kitten. It was about $500 but it was done by laser, no bandages were needed and she came home that afternoon. She had to wear a cone for a day so she didn’t lick but other than that we had NO issues. We have a small child who would hold and squeeze and it looked like Edward scissors hands got a hold of her face constantly so we made the desicion. She is a completely indoor cat.

We use Tidy Cats litter, we are super strict about cleaning it every day so it stays clean for her.

Her two favorite things are getting brushed and chasing the laser pointer.

Good luck with everything!!

So I want to clarify since some people are finding my parenting choices and animal healthcare choices wrong.maybe I should have worded things differently.
My daughter at the time was 7! She had begged for a kitten for so so so long. Our kitten was 10 weeks when we brought her home, yes my daughter would hold her tight, yes she would sometimes squeeze her(in a loveable excited way) and yes our kitten Pepper would get frightened and scratch. Even if she held her in her lap she would scratch her thighs jumping or running off. Our cat( it’s been almost 3 years) is our lifeline. She is an extension of our family and I would never do anything that I thought was detrimental to her..

I don’t think what I did was wrong and I would do it again because like I said it was the best choice for my family. The end.

 

[Callie]

I've never had a problem with any of the treats I've given by cat. Her favorite is dairy flavored. She also enjoys the cat safe milk they sell. She is also a big fan of human turkey. I'll give her some on Thanksgiving to enjoy (I make sure its plain and trimmed of skin and fat).

She is currently sitting in her bed on the couch. Cats are such wonderful creatures. The living room is her palace. She has a tunnel and triangle, plus a cube to hide in.