DUmmies Discuss Declawing Housecats

[GOBUCKS]

This thread is a great illustration of how deranged the DUmp really is. The DUmmies are worked into a boiling, frothing rage over the normal, common practice of declawing housecats.  Countless DUmmies are outraged by the immorality of inflicting such barbarous violence on an alleycat.

But remember, these are the same people who fully support Killer Tiller and his ilk when they use a vacuum to suck out the brains of a full-term human infant.

The Straight Story  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jul-11-09 05:51 PM
Original message
San Francisco to Consider Cat De-Clawing Ban
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - An animal welfare advisory board to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is recommending the city ban the veterinary practice of de-clawing cats, except in cases of medical necessity.

The San Francisco Commission of Animal Control and Welfare voted 5-1 Thursday in support of a ban, arguing the practice is cruel and often done simply for cosmetic purposes or to prevent pets from clawing furniture, Commission Chair Sally Stephens said.

Stephens said the procedure involves amputating the last bone in a cat's paw and, though doctors use anesthetic, some cats can suffer long-term pain and behavioral changes, such as refusing to use a litter box.

"So basically it's kind of barbaric," Stephens said.

A proposed ordinance in San Francisco would be modeled on a ban already in effect in West Hollywood, the first city in the country to ban de-clawing. The practice has also been banned in several European countries.

http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=630...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6043247

BlooInBloo  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jul-11-09 05:59 PM
Response to Original message
3. I always thought declawing cats would confuse them...
 in a "shit doesn't work the way it's supposed to, and adaptation isn't my strong suit" kind of way.

Gormy Cuss  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jul-11-09 06:02 PM
Response to Original message
4. I think declawing should be allowed on one condition.
 After the vet explains about the first bone amputation if the owner still wants to go through with it, he/she must submit to an amputation of his/her own fingertips.

 

REP  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jul-11-09 06:10 PM
Response to Reply #5
10. My furniture looks fine with 5 unmutilated cats
 I have pretty good furniture, too but there's no furniture worth harming a creature who can feel pain over. Cats can be trained - it's the human that's often the problem ("too hard" "too busy" "declawing is easy" etc). 

Obviously, to DUmmy REP, the definition of "fine" is "clawed up".

DUmmy litlady can herd cats, as well as train them. She is a cat whisperer:

litlady (250 posts)      Sat Jul-11-09 06:32 PM
Response to Reply #10
27. 5 here as well...
 we have lots of scratching posts and pads that they happily claw up. It was very easy to train them not to scratch furniture with a simple "no" when they attempted it and a removal to a pad or post when they exhibited scratching behavior. 

DUmmy catlady MzNov doesn't even have to whisper:

MzNov  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jul-11-09 07:04 PM
Response to Reply #10
35. Shelters are full of poor kitties
 As you know too, cats are not dumb. All I ever needed was "the look" and once in a great while a little water spray bottle.

 

DUmmy FarrenH can detect the mental wellbeing of a cat, and is horrified:

FarrenH (171 posts)      Sat Jul-11-09 06:27 PM
Response to Reply #5
24. Cats climb and grip things with their claws
 As one poster implied above, its the equivalent of lopping off the last digit of your fingers. It causes cats immense disorientation and stress to have all their claws removed. I am absolutely horrified that you think your furniture is more precious than the mental wellbeing of a living creature with a sizeable brain. Do you lack natural empathy?

 

Luminous Animal  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jul-11-09 06:49 PM
Response to Reply #24
31. I'll go further and state that that poster
 is not fit to take care of cats.

Luminous Animal  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jul-11-09 08:02 PM
Response to Reply #38
66. The San Francisco SPCA and Pet's Unlimited,
 the two top cat adoption centers in San Francisco, will refuse to allow a cat adoption if the owner's intent is to declaw. Both have an education process, both require an adoption application, and both retain the right of inspection of the home. I do understand that the life of most feral cats is brutal and short but I can't support mutilation for convenience.

DUmmy and-justice-for-all is vastly outnumbered at the DUmp by cat herders, cat whisperers, and cat mindreaders.

and-justice-for-all  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jul-11-09 07:21 PM
Response to Reply #24
40. Your an idiot...
The front claws are the only ones every removed, a full de-claw is never a consideration.
And how dare you question my animal concerns you hack. **** you.

 

MzNov  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jul-11-09 07:02 PM
Response to Reply #5
34. No, it is not fine. 
 
You need to be more educated about the effects of de-clawing and also take more responsibility for making sure your cats do not claw you or your furniture.
The cities in CA who have already banned de-clawing know what they are talking about.
Declawed cats become biters, among other worse habits.
No one who values their material objects more than sharing life with a pet should have animals in the first place.

But every single one of the morons quoted above fully supports the killing of viable human infants in abortion mills.

[franksolich]

I dunno.

I myself am never in favor of declawing cats.

All the cats here have their full sets of claws, and all the furniture here remains safely unclawed.  I suspect it's because the cats respect me, and so don't do it.

However, it's another one of those mysteries to me, that the primitives think mutilating a cat is "wrong," but at the same time slicing-and-dicing an about-to-be-born infant is okay.

[AprilRazz]

All the kitties here have most of the parts that god gave them and my furniture is fine. They have plenty of things that they can scratch on and they are used to getting their nails clipped. Even the old man at 10 years old learned to tolerate a nail clipping.
Most people that have no problem with declawing have no real idea what is actually involved. It is not removal of the nail but an actual amputation. It is like taking your finger off at the first joint. My vet refuses to do it and all the rescues and shelters here make you sign an agreement that you will not have it done. It is not the nice simple procedure that most think it is. It is a lazy and painful "Fix"

So I have to agree with the primitives on this small issue but they are still the most hypocritical bunch I have ever seen.

[miskie]

I do not declaw cats either. Cats are trainable. A spray bottle with plain water works wonders. Now If my cat tries to claw anything I just make a loud ' SSSSSSSST ! ' noise like the sprayer does and the activity stops.

Its rare I have to do that though - usually only when the cat gets 'night crazy'.. Anyone with a cat knows exactly what I mean.

[Traveshamockery]

I have an older cat who is declawed and a younger cat who is not.  The older cat without the claws is the boss cat in this house, even without claws.  We were able to train the younger cat not to claw at the furniture.  We used double-sided tape to train her and it worked wonders.  Cats don't like the feel of adhesive. 

[AllosaursRus]

I dunno.

I myself am never in favor of declawing cats.

All the cats here have their full sets of claws, and all the furniture here remains safely unclawed.  I suspect it's because the cats respect me, and so don't do it.

However, it's another one of those mysteries to me, that the primitives think mutilating a cat is "wrong," but at the same time slicing-and-dicing an about-to-be-born infant is okay.

Probly 'cause I have ranch cats, I disagree with declawing cats for the sole reason you take away their resources of defending themselves. Without their claws, cats are gonna get ett!

[Tantal]

Yet no mention of the forced spaying and neutering of the felines. So much for reproductive choice.

[Chris_]

Probly 'cause I have ranch cats, I disagree with declawing cats for the sole reason you take away their resources of defending themselves. Without their claws, cats are gonna get ett!

And with the claws....

Well, you already said it.  The cat can defend itself.

This little lesson was brought home to me when I was a sophomore in highschool.  We had a cat - Tasha - who's habit was to go out at night, and "patrol" until morning.  It was therefore my responsibility, when I got up for school in the morning, to load up her food and water dishes, and let her in.  Well, this one morning, she comes in, kinda gingerly, but not obviously so; and as she walks over to her food dishes, I notice this trail of bloody pawprints on the floor.  I scooped her up, and sure enough, she's got a forepaw absolutely dripping with blood.  I notify my mom, who wraps her in a towel and runs her to the vet, and I go to school.  When I got home that afternoon, mom told me that when the vet looked closely, he told my mom "it's not her blood", and took a sample to type it.  Turned out it was a boar raccoon, according to the lab.  Somehow our cat had gotten into, and then walked away from a fight with a raccoon.

[The Village Idiot]

had gotten into, and then walked away from a fight with a raccoon.

coons are really bad with the rabies... your cat get some shots?

[DumbAss Tanker]

Probly 'cause I have ranch cats, I disagree with declawing cats for the sole reason you take away their resources of defending themselves. Without their claws, cats are gonna get ett!

Yeah that.  They can be pretty annoying, but I wouldn't want to leave them helpless to defend themselves, just kind of goes against my grain.  And if they do claw something, it's just stuff. 

[Chris_]

coons are really bad with the rabies... your cat get some shots?

The cat was already current.  I think she'd had her last rabies vaccination about 3 months prior.

[diesel driver]

Many years ago, I adapted a family of sibling kittens that were orphaned.  I had them declawed (fronts only) when I got them fixed.

The cats suffered no undue pain or inconvenience that I noticed, could still climb trees, post, curtains, etc, and one even taught a stray dog a lesson about trespassing. 

That cat hit the dog so hard in the head that I heard the "thump" from 30 feet away!  Good thing he was declawed, or the dog would have needed stitches....

[vesta111]

Many years ago, I adapted a family of sibling kittens that were orphaned.  I had them declawed (fronts only) when I got them fixed.

The cats suffered no undue pain or inconvenience that I noticed, could still climb trees, post, curtains, etc, and one even taught a stray dog a lesson about trespassing. 

That cat hit the dog so hard in the head that I heard the "thump" from 30 feet away!  Good thing he was declawed, or the dog would have needed stitches....

Much depends on the sex and size of the cat.

If you have anyone in the home that has a medical problem, ie; diabeties or immune supressing disease then you would have a house cat, one that never goes out doors.
 Those electric kitty litter do-hickies on the market are a blessing especially if anyone in the home is at an age when they could become pregnant.   A big No-No is for a prego to change the litter box, let the sperm donner do that job.
 

I have 2 biggies, male 28 lbs, female 20 lbs.  Maine Coon Cats---Male has talons, we learned to make way for that sucker after loosing a few pints of blood.

Female is another thing all together, she has this thing about retracting her claws when handled.

We priced those cat trees--Yikes---went down to hardware store and for $25.00 bought some wood, a couple of balls of ciscile roap and built our own covered with an old piece of carpet.

We have never had ANY problem with them attacking our furniture--the 2 ankle biters are a different story as the cats out weigh them and more then once have been put in their place running to me for help with a bloody nose.

Cats are interesting, I had a 5 lb. cat plant themselves on the face of my Rottie years ago and had to rescue the huge brute.

 It is strange, most people who visit are scared more of those huge felines then ever feared any dog I have owned.

Cats are like women, unpredictable, moody, and very affectionate when they want their belly rubbed.  Both of mine are TALKERS, I have identified over 12 or so sounds they make and why or what they they are chattering about.

DE-claw them, no way unless there was a medical problem in the family.

However it is said a cat can see an ant at 500 feet, the nightly romps, not pit patter of their feel is more like a stampead of cattle .   And what the heck spooks a cat, sitting in a lap and starts looking off and following something we cannot see? 




 

[AprilRazz]

Much depends on the sex and size of the cat.

If you have anyone in the home that has a medical problem, ie; diabeties or immune supressing disease then you would have a house cat, one that never goes out doors.
 Those electric kitty litter do-hickies on the market are a blessing especially if anyone in the home is at an age when they could become pregnant.   A big No-No is for a prego to change the litter box, let the sperm donner do that job.
 

I have 2 biggies, male 28 lbs, female 20 lbs.  Maine Coon Cats---Male has talons, we learned to make way for that sucker after loosing a few pints of blood.

Female is another thing all together, she has this thing about retracting her claws when handled.

We priced those cat trees--Yikes---went down to hardware store and for $25.00 bought some wood, a couple of balls of ciscile roap and built our own covered with an old piece of carpet.

We have never had ANY problem with them attacking our furniture--the 2 ankle biters are a different story as the cats out weigh them and more then once have been put in their place running to me for help with a bloody nose.

Cats are interesting, I had a 5 lb. cat plant themselves on the face of my Rottie years ago and had to rescue the huge brute.

 It is strange, most people who visit are scared more of those huge felines then ever feared any dog I have owned.

Cats are like women, unpredictable, moody, and very affectionate when they want their belly rubbed.  Both of mine are TALKERS, I have identified over 12 or so sounds they make and why or what they they are chattering about.

DE-claw them, no way unless there was a medical problem in the family.

However it is said a cat can see an ant at 500 feet, the nightly romps, not pit patter of their feel is more like a stampead of cattle .   And what the heck spooks a cat, sitting in a lap and starts looking off and following something we cannot see? 




 

Have 4 MC's here. 3 mixes and one purebred. They are the most gentle cats I have ever been around. The genetic issues drove me to the purebred. Not one of them is declawed. The hot house lilly (purebred) had been trained since she was little to tolerate her nails being trimmed and the boys learned fast that the nail clipper was not going to eat them. The kitten is learning now. My furniture is fine with no scratch marks.

I was a vet tech prior to the military and I have seen to many cats with permanent issues after amputations.
Instead of amputating toes just ask the vet staff or any decent groomer to show you how to trim their nails.

[vesta111]

Have 4 MC's here. 3 mixes and one purebred. They are the most gentle cats I have ever been around. The genetic issues drove me to the purebred. Not one of them is declawed. The hot house lilly (purebred) had been trained since she was little to tolerate her nails being trimmed and the boys learned fast that the nail clipper was not going to eat them. The kitten is learning now. My furniture is fine with no scratch marks.

I was a vet tech prior to the military and I have seen to many cats with permanent issues after amputations.
Instead of amputating toes just ask the vet staff or any decent groomer to show you how to trim their nails.

I don't know wher you live but even the vets in my area refuse my cats for cats for bathing or demating.

We got the old boy--3 years old, and they dont mature until 4-5 years old a lion clip, bad mistake, cost over $150.00 bucks and the poor thing was put to sleep for the job.

Poor baby came home in worse shape then when we had him fixed.  We had his balls cut off, no problem, he just jumped out of the carry box and went on his way.

Just getting him shaved, the poor dude when home staggered about for a day or so----what the heck did they give him .?

When I went looking for a MC I wanted to know what to expect,  There were alot of so called MC cats at the SPCA but I wanted a pet that would not surprise me by exitbating signs of of a different unknown breed.

Same as with a dog, you go looking for a pet that you feel will work out in your family, but if that dog has inborn trates you dont know about, you can end up with an Irish Setter that  just wont' hunt.

So I saved up nickle and dime for over 5 years for the perfect cat for my family. I spent 2 years on the internet looking for a breeder that was very small, researched their reputation and finally found them.

In the mean time I spoke with everyone who had ever owned an Mc.  One woman at work asked me why on earth I would want that breed, her MC had attacked anyone comming into her home.   Another told me his MC could and did jump in the air so high they pearched on the top of their doors.

It is true for me that my MC are like dogs, they fetch and return, guard the house, when the dogs are outside they run to let me know someone strange is coming to my door.

When a stranger is in the house they kind of dissapear until that stranger gets within 3-4 feet of me, then they come out of hiding and make their presence known.

     Lord help me, but I love to hear people ask me " Is that a cat."