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Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing

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The Bitter Librarian
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
Does anyone know if SF also bans the "docking" of dog's ears & tails? IMHO that practice is just as bad, if not worse. I know that they do in the UK, but the Am Kennel Club still has it as part of their breed standard...meh. #anthonysowell
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Cimorene
11/05/09

@The Bitter Librarian: My boyf's friend has a dog, a breed that usually gets tails docked, and they didn't get rid of that dog's tail. Now it whips its tail so fast when it wags it that the end is always, always bleeding and raw. It hits any surface within range (including walls, floors, refrigerator corners, etc) and because the tail is so rat-like and the wagging is so fast, the tip gets hurt all the time. Now they wish they had actually docked the tail, because though they chose not to because it seems like a cruel practice, they realize now that it would have been less painful to get it removed once with pain medication and allow it to heal, than to be constantly in pain because of the shape of the tail.

Of course I feel rather ambivalently about breeds and standards in general, since it usually just ends up with sick, inbred dogs. I love my mutt. #anthonysowell
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Kilotwat
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
It's time to face some hard facts, gays and their supporters: stop blaming Obama, stop blaming the scare ads, don't even blame the fucking Mormons. Blame the American people. They're the ones who, in state after state and vote after vote, keep banning gay marriage. Right now, a majority of American voters in every state do not want gay marriage. Do they actually feel that strongly about it? Probably not. They're not about to wield pitchforks and burn down a Unitarian chapel where some gays are getting hitched in a shower of rainbow confetti and Lady Gaga songs blasting away. But if it's election day, and they're out to vote on shit like legalizing medical marijuana, and they see something about gay marriage, they're going to go "no homo".

If gay marriage is going to happen, it's going to happen because of judges and legislators. They tend to be a little more educated than the unwashed, unlettered masses, plus there's less of them so you don't need as much money to bribe them. Unless, of course, you live in a state like California where the state constitution is practically open-source and the filthy masses do have the final say. Then you're just shit out of luck. You can move to another state (avoid Iowa, though, no legal recognition is worth that). If you do, feel free to TP your neighbor's house and have your poodle use their flower bed as both a trough and a toilet. They don't like you anyway. #anthonysowell
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Sarah Dove
11/05/09

@Kilotwat: Yup. It's not like the modern civil rights laws would have been made if they'd waited for a majority in the South to vote for them. #anthonysowell
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SaturdaysChild
11/05/09

@Kilotwat: I agree with you that it's time to face the facts about the American public, but I also think we need to acknowledge the very real fear-mongering the right is stirring up about us gays. And the fact that the left is just standing around with their hands in their pockets, whistling and hoping no one looks their way. Then they might have to, you know, actually take a stand or something.

You're right that most Americans aren't super vehement about this issue, but when it comes to voting time, they're scared and looking for a convenient and exotic scapegoat. That way they don't have to think too much about the very pressing issues of our economy and the sad state this country is in.

But there needs to be an end to this political fear-mongering. It's really getting bad, and in a very real way we are slowly moving backwards on gay rights. Unacceptable. #anthonysowell
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JerkoftheMonth is changing her name!
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
Putting in my two cents here.
My whole life I have had cats. Many of them. And until the most recent ones, they have all been declawed and we have never had any problems with them because of it. I really don't know how so many people blame bad behaviour on declawing, regardless of it being cruel (or not).

The cats we did have that were declawed lived mostly long and healthy lives and had very good tempers, were cuddly and non-violent. Now we have two clawed cats and they are equally loving and healthy. My friend has a clawed cat who is the devil incarnate. Make of all this what you will.
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Edited by JerkoftheMonth is changing her name! at 11/05/09 7:13 PM

SarahMC
11/05/09

@JerkoftheMonth: Well, it's just that the claws are the cat's main line of defense. Not only is declawing extremely painful to the cat, but it forces it to use other, uh, resources to defend itself. And if it ever gets outside it will be helpless against predators. #anthonysowell
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nagumi
11/05/09

@JerkoftheMonth: As an animal care professional (former vet tech, current dog kennel owner and manager) and cat lover, I see declawing as the equivalent of antipsychotic medication. It should never be off the table, but should be a last resord. #anthonysowell
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Sarah Dove
11/05/09

@JerkoftheMonth: Nowadays you can get 'Soft Paws' fitted on your cat, so even if it's a total scratchy bitch, hopefully people will not feel declawing is necessary.
I just feel that declawing is unkind. Imagine how much it would hurt to have your fingernails surgically removed, and what a pain in the ass it would be to live without them. #anthonysowell
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formergr
11/05/09

@Sarah Dove: From what I've been told, it's beyond the equivalent of having your fingernails surgically removed-- it's more like having your fingers amputated just past the first knuckle. #anthonysowell
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Ipomoea
11/05/09

@formergr: I worked for a vet who refused to do declawings, and I take my cat to another one who refuses to do them. Both clinics cited it as "unneccessary and cruel", especially since Soft Paws are pretty effective, as well as a $30 scratching post. My cat is Queen Scratchy, and I'd never declaw her. Getting her a post has made all the difference in the world to my furniture.

My MIL has declawed all her cats, but refuses to crop her dog's ears. I don't understand it. I suppose only one could damage the leather sofa. #anthonysowell
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Erda
11/06/09

@nagumi: Yes, while extremely painful and cruel, it's worth noting that it is occasionally medically necessary. For example, two of our cats are polydactyls, and one of them (who has seven toes on his front paws) had to get a couple of his extra claws removed because they were ingrown. Our vet (who is generally very anti-declawing) has suggested possibly declawing them so their extra claws don't continue to cause trouble, but we haven't done it because we have four other cats besides the 2 polydactyls and getting one cat declawed means you have to get them all declawed if you have multiple kitties. And they're all adults, and the surgery is generally more invasive and painful the older the cat is.
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Edited by Erda at 11/06/09 12:25 AM Erda was starred Erda was unstarred

Sarah Dove
11/06/09

@formergr: All the more reason not to do it, then. My cat's kind of a scratchy bitch but I don't want to get any bits cut off her that can't grow back. I love her little scratchy bitchy self. #anthonysowell
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Sarah Dove
11/06/09

@Erda: Fair enough. There's a big difference between getting a body part removed because there's something harmful wrong with it, and getting it removed for the sake of the furniture.
Also, JEALOUS. I've wanted a polydactyl cat for YEARS. I have to keep reminding myself that they don't actually have skin-flap wings that let them glide around, because the name makes me think of 'pterodactyl.' #anthonysowell
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Erda
11/06/09

@Sarah Dove: The one with seven toes on his front paws (and six on his back - he apparently ties the Guinness World Record cat, which makes me feel special) almost can fly though. It's the cutest thing ever: when he runs, he runs in place for a few seconds, and then SHOOTS. It's like he's a cartoon character. He is the most adorable cat :) #anthonysowell
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JerkoftheMonth is changing her name!
11/06/09

@all: What about having small children? Some moms out there, would you declaw cats if you had a small child or baby?

I do understand it's painful, but we also neuter and spay animals, for our own good and not theirs. I had a cat that was declawed that managed to hold his own with other neighbourhood cats - he ended up just screaming at the other cat and whap-whapping him on the head, with vigour. Also, I have clawed cats that, against other cats, have not fared well (one almost lost her eyeball!).

So I understand the argument against it, and where I live (Europe) I think it's illegal, but I still do think that all the decisions we make about our pets are ultimately in our best interests and not the pets'. I won't be declawing any felines any time soon, but I don't judge people who do... #anthonysowell
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Sarah Dove
11/06/09

@Erda: That sounds wonderful!
I mean, I still like my cat, but I do sometimes wish she had cool-ass mutations. #anthonysowell
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Erda
11/06/09

@JerkoftheMonth: I'd say we spay and neuter dogs and cats more for their good than for our own. From what I understand, the reason most people push to spay and neuter pets is because there are so many stray cats and dogs out there and the idea is that there are already enough animals without homes, let's not add to the problem.

My subdivision back home has had a ton of feral cats the past few years, because some people moved out and left a litter of kittens behind, which all grew up into un-spayed/un-neutered feral cats. Now, there are feral cats running around everywhere. It's really unfortunate. That's why people should spay/neuter pets (and also, not abandon them, but that's another story). #anthonysowell
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napalmnacey is an angry feminist
11/06/09

@JerkoftheMonth: I grew up around cats. My nieces and nephews grew up around cats. If you raise a cat right, it doesn't harm children unless provoked. You teach your kid not to hurt animals, the cat has no reason to lash out. You know what happens then? Mutual respect and love from the cats and the children, and the children learn not to be cruel to animals. If a kid gets scratched, it's a tough lesson. I got scratches as a kid, and I'd tell Mum. "What did you do to the cat that made it do that to you?" "I put a sock on its head." "Serves you right, then."

And sterilising an animal is different from declawing. It's not for human convenience. There's always a benefit to risk ratio when undergoing any medical treatment, either in human or animals. The benefits of getting an animal sterilised outweigh the risks. It reduces the incidence of a range of cancers, the lack of stress of going into heat for female cats makes for a more docile and contented animal, there's no physical strain on the female cat of gestating and giving birth to kittens who will probably have problems being rehomed, and the male cats will not be so aggressive and will not have the urge to wander and piss on everything in sight. There are a huge list of reasons why sterilising an animal is the right thing to do. It makes for happier and healthier cats and curbs the population growth of an animal that thrives under human care and currently has a huge feral population worldwide. That's preventing pain and suffering across the board.

Declawing saves some asshole's furniture.

I rest my case. #anthonysowell
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nagumi
11/06/09

@JerkoftheMonth: As a professional in this field who often advises people about spaying and neutering, I tell people to do it for their own animals.

A female dog spayed before her first heat lives 32% longer (really). A female dog who's had two heats or more has a 26% chance of getting breast cancer over her natural lifespan, whereas if she's spayed before her first heat she has a 0.05% percent chance. These are peer-reviewed numbers by the way.

A male dog is less dramatic - 21% life extension on average for a dog neutered before the age of one year.

Many people spay a female dog to avoid messy heats and neuter a male dog to avoid their... masculine tendencies, but that's a small insignificant reason to spay/neuter. The best reason to spay/neuter is for your pet's health and happiness (imagine you're a male dog with a male sex drive but your owners never let you come. I say no balls is better than blue-balls). #anthonysowell
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nagumi
11/06/09

@napalmnacey is an angry feminist: I agree with everything you said, but as a professional in this field I can tell you that there ARE crazy animals, who through no fault of their owners are crazy and dangerous. Same with people. It's rare, and most 'bad' people and 'bad' pets come from bad (or just not good) homes, but there are schizophrenic people and there are crazy-ass cats.

In the case (and ONLY in the case) that a cat is so dangerous that the owners' only other option is to give their cat up (usually to a pound, as violent cats almost never find homes), declawing can be an option.

Certainly, if you're declawing to save your furniture, you need to rethink owning pets. #anthonysowell
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napalmnacey is an angry feminist
11/06/09

@nagumi: See, I can understand that situation. It'd be pretty rare though, wouldn't it? I mean, unless someone is owning a cat they got as a feral kitten. Most domestics I've come across are pretty agreeable if you don't cross them. My brother had a cat that had the bad habit of attacking ankles, and I don't know how my brother ever got him out of that behaviour. It wasn't something he did very often. Most of the time he was a big softie (as his sister is today). #anthonysowell
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nagumi
11/06/09

@napalmnacey is an angry feminist: It's more common with domestics than you'd think, though it happens. It's important to remember that many cats go through what's known as their "asshole" phase of development between about 4 months and 8-9 months, in which they are, surprise surprise, assholes. Many people declaw right then, assuming this is personality, not puberty.

On the other hand, I can understand wanting to protect your kids (especially if you have toddlers or babies), if even from just 5-6 months. #anthonysowell
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Her Grace: SNOWED IN
11/06/09

@nagumi: Mine is currently an asshole. He's around 7 months (got him from the spca and they thought he was a month younger than he seems to be--or he might just be a beast of a 6 month-er) and is obsessed with eating the blinds. He can be so sweet, though, I have high hopes he'll mellow with age. I remember the asshole stage being milder with my girl cats as a teen (they're my mom's, really, and still live with her). #anthonysowell
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napalmnacey is an angry feminist
11/09/09

@nagumi: Kids will survive almost anything a cat can give. I know I survived quite happily, surrounded by 5 to 7 cats at a time. I only ever got scratched if I maltreated the cat. I soon learned to respect the cat's boundaries. It's the kid's own fault if it doesn't behave and be nice to the cat.

I couldn't even begin to think of mutilating an animal like that when the more beneficial thing would be to teach the kid not to frighten a cat so much that it would go to the (often) last resort of scratching.

I live in Australia. Declawing is banned here, and people and animals seem to get on fine. I don't see any good reason outside of extreme medical grounds to declaw. "Protecting kids" isn't enough of a reason, especially when that "asshole phase" you mention is just a phase.

(Not criticising you here, just the prevailing idea that declawing is no big deal and that there's any upside to it. There rarely, rarely is.) #anthonysowell
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nagumi
11/09/09

@napalmnacey is an angry feminist: Declawing is a HUGE deal, and it's banned in my country too. Unfortunately, if the other option is the owners giving the cat to a pound or shelter where he or she will either live out his or her life in a cage or be euthanized, I say declawing is the lesser of two evils.

The fact is, 99.5% of cats will do fine in an environment where declawing isn't an option, but the other .5% will be put down. I say this not as an idealist but as a practical person who has worked in shelters and seen the number of cats sent to us because they bite and scratch and who we have no choice but eventually to put down (we can't feed hundreds of thousands of cats). In most of those cases, it's simply overpopulation, but in some it's not. In some, it's a family whose cat attacks them constantly and they're at their wits end. I know families who kept their cat through years of scratches until the kid had an eye damaged or needed multiple stitches. Then the cat is killed and the kid is safe. I'd say declawing, as nasty as it is, is better than the nuclear option of killing unwanted pets. #anthonysowell
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nagumi
11/09/09

@napalmnacey is an angry feminist: And about teaching the kid not to frighten the animal - a lot of cats actually hunt the kids. Most grow out of it, but some don't. I once adopted out a cat that, at 18 months old, was still attacking their 12 year old daughter on an almost hourly basis - including while she slept. Little by little they isolated the cat more and more - first at night, then while the daughter did her homework, then during dinner, then while they watched tv... until the cat was isolated all the time. If they'd had the legal option of declawing, it might have been better than what they eventually had to do. #anthonysowell
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napalmnacey is an angry feminist
11/09/09

@nagumi: Nagumi - it's those vast majority of cats that don't need declawing that I object to being declawed. Clearly, in the case of the cats you mention, it's a better alternative to death. #anthonysowell
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nagumi
11/09/09

@napalmnacey is an angry feminist: I love this new comment thing. We can actually have complete conversations if we're notified of replies! #anthonysowell
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napalmnacey is an angry feminist
11/09/09

@nagumi: Yeah, I do enjoy this part of the new system! :D #anthonysowell
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nancystender
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
Our cats were semi-feral and adopted from the wild. They were never properly socialised and would pee on us and scratch very deeply and bite us severely whenever we tried to clip their claws. One of them will not even be held or picked up at all. The last time I tried to put her in the cat carrier to go to the vet, she bit and clawed and bruised me so badly that I almost had to get stitches (she's a happy, affectionate, wonderful, purring cat as long as you don't try to pick her up). I looked like someone had badly beaten me up (I was lucky she didn't get my face). When we had scratching posts they used them, but it didn't prevent them from not only hanging off the furniture, but especially it did not stop one of them (the "good one") from scratching my daughter deeply right at the front of her throat, when she was petting it gently one time. If we did not get these cats declawed (and by the way, except for the scratching and one of them not wanting to get picked up, they're extremely friendly, purring, cute cats), they would have had to be put to sleep. We provide a lovely environment for them, complete with nice food, a litter box that gets cleaned out daily, cat toys and wonderful places to sleep (which is on our bed) but I'll be hanged if I'll let them harm my daughter (who by the way, is GREAT with animals) or her friends risk getting severely injured by either of them.
Our cats are perfectly fine after being declawed, I cannot say that there was a single downside to the entire procedure. They walk and run perfectly, eat great, don't act out at all. There is a newer kind of declawing which is less invasive than the traditional kind, and I feel I must correct this kind of misinformation thats going on here. We came to this tough decision only after guests had been clawed by my cats and we had tried all other solutions.
There are millions of cats out there every day being beaten up and abused by their owners and people are obsessed with s single surgical procedure, done with general anesthesia, that's performed by most vets in this country, and freaking out about it? Interesting set of priorities. I'd love for someone to actually meet my cats and tell me face to face that I'm abusing them. #anthonysowell
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boobookitteh
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
"A young woman who has recently been pregnant might not have very much in her wardrobe that fits. But she is under pressure to look good just weeks after giving birth. This is another tool in their armory."

Or, you know, we could stop pressuring them to 'look good'. Just a thought. #anthonysowell
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Grace Veras
11/05/09

@boobookitteh: Exactly. So instead just pump her chest muscles with botox, this recently pregnant woman who might be, oh I dunno...lactating?! #anthonysowell
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PhillyLass
11/05/09

@Grace Veras: Seriously. And does it leach into her breast milk and get passed on to the baby? #anthonysowell
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CynicalPink
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
I recently had a revelation. The people opposing equal rights for the gay and lesbian community are bad people. Moreover, I no longer care if the bigots get their feelings hurt by me calling them bad people. At a bare minimum, they're bad Americans. The treat the Constitution the same way the treat the Bible they claim to hold so dear. They cherry pick the ideas that they like best and apply the good stuff to themselves and fellow hive-mind members and impose their favorite punishments and condemnations on people they don't like.

God calls shellfish an abomination and equal protection under the law means exactly what it says. Well...at least they're consistent... #anthonysowell
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Ipomoea
11/05/09

@CynicalPink: I've given up on being nice to them. If they can only make their point through lies and fearmongering, I can only make my point by dropping F-bombs when talking about them. #anthonysowell
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IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
It really makes me sad that women feel like they can't report assaults because no one would believe them. #anthonysowell
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NellMood
11/05/09

@IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel: Totally, and it's horrible that they're not necessarily wrong. #anthonysowell
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Mary McCarthyite
11/05/09

@all: Exactly. It is just another layer to the problem that Cimorene talks about in her (awesome, epic) COTD. #anthonysowell
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Penny
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
I am also pretty sure Maru the cat is declawed, or else he wouldn't be able to slide so effortlessly into those cereal boxes. #anthonysowell
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yvanehtnioj
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
This is what gets me about Evan Wolfson's quote: Obama has said repeatedly that he does not support gay marriage. It's like in the election everybody said, "Well, he has to say that, the country's full of such rednecks ..." and then went on their way believing that he must actually support gay marriage, b/c he seems like such a stand-up guy. No, he's not actually that strong on gay rights.

Aaaaand, this is part of the reason that I get such a squicked-out feeling about people gushing about the Obamas (even though they are, in many ways, gush-worthy) in the press: it's too easy to make them blank canvases for our own political beliefs. It's too easy to, say, assume that Michelle doesn't mind her makeover from Woman With An Opinion to Mom In Chief. It's too easy to assume that Barack is the world's most involved dad, when in fact he hasn't lived in the same house with the girls regularly since he was elected to the Illinois Senate. It's too easy to assume that the anti-gay rhetoric he spouted during the campaign must just be for show, because in your head you want to believe he's a good progressive on gay rights. But that doesn't make it true. #anthonysowell
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lilbobbytables
11/05/09

@yvanehtnioj: I agree. While I do not regret voting for Obama, I strongly disagree with his opinions on this subject, and I get quite frustrated (logically or not) by that fact.

I know I will never agree 100% with any politician, but it is still aggravating. #anthonysowell
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gherkinfiend
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
Good for SF. Declawing cats is illegal here in the UK and it seems like an utterly barbaric thing to do a pet to me. #anthonysowell
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boobookitteh
11/05/09

@gherkinfiend: and all the declawed cats I've ever known seem to turn into biters. #anthonysowell
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la.donna.pietra
11/05/09

@boobookitteh: And pee-ers. #anthonysowell
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Halfrek
11/05/09

@la.donna.pietra: As someone who works in animal rescue I feel like I need to say, just because a cat has been declawed doesn't mean they are going to be a bad pet. I in no way advocate declawing cats, but if you choose to adopt one, it is no more likely to bite or pee on your stuff than a kitty with claws. All it means is that it went through something traumatic. I own two lovely declawed cats (they were that way when I got them) who are wonderful, wonderful pets. #anthonysowell
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la.donna.pietra
11/05/09

@Halfrek: I definitely don't want to discourage anyone from adopting a declawed cat, but my experience has been just the opposite--all the declawed cats I've known have had serious behavior problems. (They might have had those problems to begin with, though, as I haven't known any cats before they were declawed.)

We are talking about cats, though, and there isn't much point in comparing one cat to another! They're all going be different beasties. #anthonysowell
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linnyt is a walking cliché
11/05/09

@boobookitteh: I had a clawed cat and a de-clawed cat. The one with claws was the biter. The de-clawed cat only peed on things when the clawed cat was around. #anthonysowell
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thoughtthinker
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
"She didn't report the crime because she's done jail time on a drug charge and assumed the police wouldn't believe her."

THIS is important. Let's pay attention to what this means. #anthonysowell
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missheidilynn
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
How sad is it that the lady was so worried about how law enforcement would view her because of previous actions that she couldn't report a crime. I feel for all people who are victims but are too scared or feel like it won't matter and they don't report the crime. #anthonysowell
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Mary McCarthyite
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
It doesn't say it in the blurb above but the baby in a box under the bed was found ALIVE. #anthonysowell
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Penny
11/05/09

@Mary McCarthyite: I was going to ask that!!! #anthonysowell
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yvanehtnioj
11/05/09

@Mary McCarthyite: Oh thank goodness. That's very very important! #anthonysowell
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lilbobbytables
11/05/09

@Mary McCarthyite: Oh thank eff. #anthonysowell
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NellMood
11/05/09

@Mary McCarthyite: Oh, thank you! I was so frustrated that the link didn't work because I needed to know if the baby was okay. #anthonysowell
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Mary McCarthyite
11/05/09

@all: I found this: [www.inform.com] #anthonysowell
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GirlFailer
11/05/09

@Mary McCarthyite: That article is so disturbing. The babysitter had another child that went missing and never turned up. Then another severely beaten child was found in their home. It sounds to me, like the mother gave the sitter the baby to get rid of, and then called her in missing. #anthonysowell
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Penny
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
As much as I would love my furniture to not look like props from Grey Gardens, I would never declaw my cats. They are indoor, but if they get out (which they do) I want them to be able to defend themselves.

Raccoons are mean fuckers, after all. #anthonysowell
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Casquivana
11/05/09

@Penny: I've never had cats of my own (my parents really are dog people) but I was always around them when I visited friends and I was always under the impression that declawing can actually be really harmful for a cat. I don't know if this is true, but a friend of mine blamed her cat's bad health on the fact that he had been declawed. The vet told her that being declawed made the cat extremely anxious, which could help explain some of his ailments.
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la.donna.pietra promoted this comment Edited by Casquivana at 11/05/09 5:59 PM Casquivana was starred Casquivana was unstarred

la.donna.pietra
11/05/09

@Casquivana: Declawing is extremely harmful to cats. Many people think it just involves removing the claws, but it actually involves removing the entire digit up to the feline equivalent of the first knuckle. Since cats walk on their toes, it's disorienting and painful as all hell. As a result, they tend to act out. Declawed cats frequently end up with behavior problems--aggressive behavior, biting, urinating in inappropriate places, etc.--that make things even worse for them and their owners. That's not even counting the safety concerns for a cat who can't climb a tree or claw an enemy.

I've known several declawed cats, and every single one of them had behavior problems. Owners should invest in a squirt bottle, some catnip, and a lot of scratching posts instead!

*gets off soapbox* #anthonysowell
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Lilah
11/05/09

In reply to Woman Says Cleveland Killer Attacked Her • San Francisco Bans Cat Declawing
Yay for little cat claws! Up until about five years ago, I had no understanding of what declawing does to a cat's foot. It had seemed like a totally rational thing, but then I was told that it actually removes digits and causes a lot of pain. If a cat cannot be stopped from clawing the furniture to pieces and it's between declawing it or putting it to sleep, then I understand it more, but it's way harsh, Ty. #anthonysowell
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Questioning Everything
11/05/09

@Lilah: There are many options in between - those caps you can put on the cats claws, giving the cats other desirable objects to scratch, etc. Putting a cat to sleep is never an option because a cat does what's instinctively natural for them. If a potential owner doesn't understand this and wants to declaw the cat instead, then they don't deserve to own a cat. #anthonysowell
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CynicalPink
11/05/09

@Lilah: I'm surprised at how hard it's been to find people who *won't* declaw a cat right off the bat. I'm scouting homes for the kittens my cat had about 6 weeks ago, and everyone who shows a little interest goes on to ask if I'm getting them declawed or if they'd have to do it. It's going to be hard enough to say goodbye to the little fuzzies, I don't want to send them somewhere their kitty-fingers ripped out :( #anthonysowell
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Questioning Everything
11/05/09

@CynicalPink: Go online and google cat rescues. Many of them have online applications. Use one of these apps as a template that you require potential adopters to fill out. Asking if they plan to declaw is always one of the questions to ask because the majority of rescues won't adopt out to a person that plans to or even elude to the possibility of declawing.

DO NOT ADOPT TO PEOPLE THAT HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH DECLAWING!!!!!! Your kittens will thank you. #anthonysowell
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girl.of.your.dreams
11/05/09

@Lilah: Another perspective, though I don't disagree with you: When I had cats, I got them declawed (front paws only, of course) because of my allergies. I was fine with the cats sharing my living space, but learned quickly that if they scratched me, I would break out in hives. They were indoor-only shelter cats, and I truly believed that I was giving them a safe home and at the same time making it okay for me to be around them.

I totally understand why people think it's cruel, and I think if I were to get cats now, I would get caps for their claws instead of having them declawed. When I had it done years ago, I hadn't heard anything about it causing any kind of long-term problems.

Just wanted to point out (not to you specifically, just in general) that not everyone gets cats declawed simply to protect their furniture. #anthonysowell
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CynicalPink
11/05/09

@WashingMyHair: Oh I'm already going through the shelter I got mama cat from. PAWS does ask if the person plans on declawing the cat, but I'm not sure "no" is mandatory.

Also, I'm being double selfish by trying people I know first so I can trust that my little buddies are going to be okay and I can maybe see them again. I'm surprised at how many people (people I like!) care more about their furniture than their pet. AND it's worth pointing out that I'm living with a whopping *4* cats right now and my furniture looks just fine. Toys and scratching posts, people! GAWD... #anthonysowell
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girl.of.your.dreams
11/05/09

@Lilah: Oh, and of course no one should ever put a cat down because of its scratching behaviors. #anthonysowell
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