Declawing Must Cause Cats Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
By Ruth aka Kattaddorra
This article is based on Izzy who was saved from being dumped and fated to almost certain death at a Rescue Shelter where she was heading, as she had developed behavioural problems from being declawed and her family didn’t want her around any more.
Since then Izzy has lived with Carly who says:
‘Every day I see Izzy struggle because she has no claws on her front paws…she can’t balance well, she can’t climb the cat trees we have, she shakes her front paws because she knows something is missing and she can’t stand being around our other cats because they have claws and she feels unprotected…not that the other kitties hurt her or anything, it’s like she has post traumatic stress or something. It breaks my heart’
Thank you Carly for giving me permission to use your words.
YES…….POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
Poster by Ruth aka Kattaddorra
A cat’s brain is very similar to a human’s brain, we would know something was missing if our finger ends were amputated and cats know too!
We would suffer post traumatic stress disorder if those healthy finger ends had been suddenly and without explanation taken from us.
‘Izzy has trouble balancing, she knows she has no defence against other cats, she knows she can’t climb the cat trees, she shakes her paws wondering where her claws have gone, she misses them as she will miss them all her life’
This makes me feel very sad.
The evidence is there to see, the many cats suffering are obvious to see, why are vets and pro declaws still in denial?
Poor Izzy is only one of those many cats suffering and many more are doomed to suffer too as long as this cruel surgery is legal.
How much longer and how many more cats will be senselessly crippled before declawing vets admit they are ruining cats lives by their cruel surgery?
About “St” John’s comment about how Siamese and Maine Coons being moody, I disagree. Maine Coons, for one are recommended to people who live in apartments (those that allow large cats, of course) and those with children because, they are gentle and quiet cats. In fact, all three “forest” cats are known for their great personalities.
The Siamese, although very hyper and vocal creatures are quite friendly as well. It is unfair to call them “moody” or “mean” when the vast majority of them aren’t.
Maybe the “moodiness” he’s talking about was because they were declawed, but that’s not what most cats of those breeds are like.
I agree with you. “S St. John” is not a saint 😉 He is more the opposite as far as I am concerned. What he or she says does not warrant much of our attention. It is too stupid.
That lady told me she does that to all her cats and they seem fine. Meanwhile holding one like you’d pick up up a stuffed animal or a baby.
(I did that with my clawed cat and he tolerated it just as well.)
I’ll also add if people are afraid of being scratched, trim the cats claws, have them trimmed by the vet, or put those plastic covers. My cat was tolerant enough to let me clip it’s claws. Sahib was too with eventual training. Most of the time in Waldo’s later years was just to keep his claws from over growing and catching on stuff. With Sahib, grandma was concerned about claws catching on her legs and harming her if he reached up on her legs. Clipping his claws was just enough to stop that threat.
And also whenever my cat swatted me, it was usually with a soft paw, not trying to do damage.
That said there’s no justifying declawing if one can keep the cat’s claws trimmed and have the same effect without cutting into the bones.
Adding to the stupidity, I met a neighbor once in my grandma’s neighborhood, who had BOTH front AND back claws declawed on her cat(s). I tried to tell her it was a horrible thing, but she just smiled and ignored me, meanwhile proud she did such an act. If I could have spoken what’s on my mind, I would have told her strongly (adding in a few unkind words) to just get a *!?$ stuffed animal. I mean, what’s the purpose of keeping a live one if it can’t be what it is meant to be, a live animal?
That indicates she knew what she was doing. She is cruel and hard hearted.
Poor little cat, all four paws declawed!
They are the worst people, the ones who won’t admit how cruel declawing is, even after being shown proof.
They are as heartless as the vets who advertise neuter/declaw packages for kittens, or declawing discounts, it should be forbidden to advertise a supposedly last resort operation.
Yet the AVMA just stand by and let them get away with it!
Playing devils advocate for St. John _ONLY_ on the discussion of the spay/neuter and declaw done at the same time being possible.
I once saw a coupon offering those two to be done together at reduced price. It’s horrible, and unfortunate, but yes in the US the vets can and do perform both neutering and declawing together, and even at reduced cost for those sadly ignorant to find the flier in the local paper. (and deluded enough to think they saved money in the process.)
There is quite a lot of discount declaw in the USA. Here is an example:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/dr-patricia-forsythe-of-the-nearly-all-paws-animal-clinic.html
Thanks for your support by the way.
S St John where are you? Aren’t you going to come back and stand up to the strength of your convictions? or are you begging your cats forgiveness after finally realising what you’ve done? Because believe me you damn well ought to!
I think Michael ought to reduce the no. of characters allowed to stop idiots like you puffing your conceited chest out and writing so much drivel!
I was shocked to read that your vet de-claws when kittens are weaned which is at 4/5 weeks old! My God when I think of those beautiful perfect little toes that you’ve had chopped off! And this procedure according to the AVMA is supposed to be a last resort! You are unbelievably deluded and cruel.
You state ‘the reason’s cats misbehave is most often the way the humans they live with treat them and/or ignore them’ Well there you go! You’ve hit the nail on the head! Yes the way humans treat them; you mean like having their toes amputated?! Thats why they misbehave!
I quote you again; ‘if anyone has had a Siamese or a Maine Coon they would know that these are moody cats that don’t take to just anyone but once they do connect with a person, that connection is there for life’ What utter rubbish! I have a Maine Coon and he is not moody! I suppose he would be moody if I suddenly decided to chop his toes off though! He is sweet natured and friendly with everyone he comes into contact with. Actually come to think of it seems all the cats you’ve had have been agressive and moody, I wonder why?
You also pathetically try to compare the loss of the tip of your boyfriends finger with the amputation of 10 seperate toes! Unbelievable!! Of course he can still do all these extreme sports! He’s only lost the top of one damn finger! I love to see him try it after losing EACH finger at the last phalange! Oh and the bit about you being intimate? too much information thanks! oh but you love to brag don’t you?
You say to us about speaking dog, cat and horse and that we don’t know what a cat is thinking about de-clawing well my friend neither do you!! You haven’t a damn clue!
Where are you S John,crept away to lick your wounds now you know who is the idiot around here?
An apology to the good people of PoC wouldn’t come amiss then you can redeem some of your guilt at what you had done to your poor little cats by spreading the truth about declawing instead of attacking those who have known it all along.
There is one other thing which St John totally overlooks and disregards and it is this:
What right have people got to order ten mutilating, amputations of their cat companion’s toes for their convenience? It is so selfish, self-centred and unthinking. It is plainly immoral and unethical.
Wake up St John! Does your name have a significance?
The only thing worse than declawing and abandoning (which in itself both are very cruel) is declawing and abandoning the cat out on the streets.
Though it could be the owners had moved, I still didn’t find it excusable anytime to leave a cat out to fend for itself extended periods of time. That poor cat came to our backyard meowing at me and wanting to be let into our house. Though she ended up becoming grandma’s cat, not mine, I still feel bad for her, wondering what kind of cat she could have been with her claws.
Even though she’s a sweet loving cat, she still has her reservations. She doesn’t take well to having her legs or paws touched. She will pull away and try to hide. (This made it difficult for us to access a cyst that kept chronically developing on one leg.) She doesn’t like covering her litter, and is very touchy around the box. Though she was very loving and friendly with the street children (who took care of her before we took her in), she tends to be very skittish and prone to hiding inside the house. It’s in direct conflict to her seeming outgoing nature. I suspect this behavior was directly caused by the declawing.
Yes I’m sure her reservations are caused by the declawing as we hear the same story over and over about declawed cats not liking their paws touched, hiding away, not liking to cover the litter tray, etc.
Yet the declaw vets still deny it.
What more proof do they need that they are causing these problems with their cruel, money making, uneccessary surgery!
They don’t need proof, Ruth because they already know the truth however they just choose to ignore it and choose instead to cunningly focus on fleecing deluded, gullible idiots like this St John person.
And adding When I had Waldo and Grandma had Sahib, they were fortunate enough to have their claws for their entire life. (I’m glad Waldo’s previous owners were against declawing. Sahib was a stay abandoned intact and clawed. Grandma had the neuter done and kept the claws on the cat.)
Those two cats hardly ever did severe damage to anything with their claws. We provided them with plenty of things to scratch. The only damage I remember was just a tiny corner of the couch from Sahib and some ugly floor mats scuffed up by Waldo. The only times Waldo scratched me were when I overstepped my bounds and got too playful with him. I deserved it.
I saw none of the reservations handling their claws. In fact I enjoyed massaging Waldo’s claws, nails, tendon, tip, paw pad, and all. I would squeeze them lightly making the claws extend, then release to see them retract. Meanwhile Waldo went on purring or tolerating it and ignoreing me.
Try that with a declawed cat. I dare you. No declawed cat I’ve ever known will let me squeeze it’s paws like that. At best, it will pull away it’s paw, get angry and leave. Or worse it will either bite, or try to bite. That behavior alone tells me they suffer pain even years after the operation.
What saddens me though, is that a lot of apartment complexes and land lords in our city require declawing in order to have a cat. I sure hope as heck my apartment is not one of those. I don’t have a cat right now, but I am thinking as I get more moved in and have the funds I may adopt one. If I’m required to declaw my cat, I’m going to try to get written info from my vet (who I know helps people in the high rise, and has also worked with my grandma and took care of both Waldo and Sahib.) that declawing is inhumane and can’t be done. Hopefully I won’t have to even bring it up.
By the way, when I say “Dare you” I mean anyone, specifically anyone still believing declawing is harmless. I’m glad I quit believing that stuff as a teenager.
Great poster Ruth and I agree cats must suffer from PTSD afer having their toe ends chopped off,how could they not?
It sickens me every time I hear about it and I admire people like Carly for rescuing the poor cats those uncaring vets mutilate for money.
It’s out and out animal abuse yet it goes on and on,it’s disgusting.
Carly is one of life’s Earth Angels, only a true cat lover could have the empathy and patience to care for a deliberately disabled cat, it’s obvious she has made Izzy feel safe and loved now.
Michael I think that is a brilliant idea, forcing people wanting their cat declawed to watch the operation and the aftermath, only those with hearts of stone would go ahead after seeing the agony of the cat waking up in shock and pain and seeing and smelling the blood and fear.
But no, vets would never agree, they like to carry it all out behind closed doors and present the cat back to the client, cleaned up and resigned to their new condition.
Thanks to everyone for their support and kind words. We’re determined to give Izzy the best life she can possibly have from now on, even though it will forever be altered. It’s taken a long time, but she’s really affectionate to me and my husband now, and hopefully she’ll learn to trust our other kitties in time. Last night I had Izzy curled up on my left side and Sadie right on my other side and I could pet them both at the same time! It’s never happened before! I just wish there was a way I could let her know that if she had been my kitty from the beginning, I never would have done that to her and that I’m so sorry she had to go through that and that she’s safe with us.
She is at a place where she can be healed. I’d like to see more work of cat psychology and emotions. A good proportion of society still don’t think cats can be mentally damaged.
The experts state that cats don;t have a physche to feel blame or revenge or sadness or some of the complex human emotions however as soon as we believe that I think we lose some of our sensitivity. Carly I think she already believes she is safe with you and thank God she has you and your lovely litties who after all know she is different and there again if the experts are to believed how would you kitties know this?
Poor Izzy, surgically deformed and doomed for all of her life to miss out on the things that cats have a right to expect. Thank goodness that in that country that is so modern and confidant there are people who know right from wrong and who not only campaign against declawing but also help the innocent victims of such cruelty to live some sort of life.
Yes it must be heartbreaking for the people who rescue declawed cats, watching them unable to do what their clawed cats do and knowing that some vet deliberately caused this.
Annie Bruce author of Cat Be Good and a long term anti declaw advocate, said that clawed cats understand declawed cats are different and by what Carly says it seems she is right, they don’t hurt Izzy, it’s just that Izzy feels defenceless and maybe feels threatened by cats with claws.
Declawing causes terrible physical problems and mental trauma too.
I feel as sick now at the thought of declawing and as determined as when I first found out it was still legal in the USA, to help the cat loving anti declaw people over there to educate about the cruelty of it and to ultimately get it banned!
I am hoping the older generation of vets will fade away and the new ones will do better but if the system they go through to become vets promoted declawing without giving all the truth about how hard it is on the cats then maybe they will continue for generations to come. I dont understand why they do it if they can see the horrors of the effects of it with their own 2 stupid clearly unseeing eyes. I hate them and will continue to hate them with vengeance – there is not possible excuse – none at all. Probably they say ‘otherwise the cat would go to the shelter so its better than that’ – but I think not, I think if declawing wasn’t available then people would naturally try other things if there were issues. It is not a feasable option to declaw. It’s beyond cruelty, it’s unimagineably wrong. It would be like removing the trunk from and elephant, or removing the horn from a rhino or removing the spikes from a hedgehog or shortening the neck of a giraffe – if people cant see how integral and important cat claws are then they dont deserve a cat in the first place. Cats get pleasure and security and agility and strength and so many other basic needs from having their claws. Without them they are mamed and disabled and must adapt to being modified or different animals who no longer can survive outside and who have lost a huge connection to their ancestry. It is another great tragedy and it happens every day in some places. The people who do it should suffer. It’s like having a car with flat tires a cat with no claws can no longer do what it is designed to do, basically. I’d love to cause those vets enormous amounts of pain and suffering – its hard not to feel revenge in your heart in the face of such cold hearted cruelty. The deserve to be made to walk barefoot with nails in their toes so they can only put their weight on their heels. They’d end up with all kinds of problems from having to walk funny I’m sure. And they would always be uncomfortable and in pain and unable to function normally. I believe in consequence. I dont believe you can do bad things without bad things happening to you regardless of whether you understand that you are being bad or not. I just hope their lives are plagued with pain and tragedy and they get in accidents that leave them unable to walk. If only their toes would just drop off for good -thanks for your campaign posters Ruth – they are simple and clearer than the light of day. The more that see them the more that will think twice.
I had a sort of vision this morning in bed 😉 As we will never achieve a nationwide ban on declawing cats in the USA (well, I don’t think so, and if we do it will be 30 years to achieve), we should have a law that simply states that all cat owners who request their vet to declaw their cat must watch the operation and ten minutes of the aftermath. It would make them sick, I reckon.
A lot of cat owners still don’t know what the operation entails: ten amputations. Horror. It makes me sick thinking about it. Smell it:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/the-smell-of-the-blood-of-a-declawed-cat.html
See it:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/recently-declawed-cat-pictures.html
This makes me want to cry – it’s a horror story only it’s real. Incredibly sad and painful – and the ultimate betrayal of the most beautiful gift a cat gives up, innocent trust. This must be so confusing for them, such a subversion of their dignity and right to exist for what they truly are on this planet. That a cat trusts you is a most special and valuble and sweet wonderful thing, and it’s heartbreaking to know such a horrific betrayal of this happens almost arbitrarily ona regular basis and without even much notice for the victims.
Marc I am totally on your wave length in terms of the trust of an animal. It broke my heart when I had to decide that my cats cheek teeth had to be removed because of Calichi Virus and that was Necessary surgery! I can’t imagine ever doing anything that wasn’t! I don’t know how people live with themselves I think of how the cat trusts them even after dropping them off at the vets I think of how the cat has absolutely no choice how if they knew what was going to happen they could escape. It all breaks my heart time and again. I cry everytime I read about it. It is the ultimate betrayal of the most special love and trust and I agree with Michael the ‘caretakers’ ha! I use that term very loosely! should be made to watch the operation and the aftermath.
Actually, the article above is a crock!
Every domestic cat I have had in my home as a pet (more like I’m the pet & they’re the owners over so many years) were all declawed from the time they were weaned well. Trust me, THERE IS NOTHING THAT STOP THEM FROM CLIMBING TREES OR AS OF OUR CAT OF 12 YEARS NOW, FROM CLIMBING TO THE VERY TOP OF A 10FT DOOR JAM THAT IS ORIGINAL TO OUR ANTIQUATED HOME W/CUSTOM WOOD!
Each of the cats I’ve had over the years have never had a problem with declawing. It’s done at the same time they are spay/neutered so they are not put under anesthetic twice or have to endure separate surgeries for each. As for their ability to fight, that is not an issue either! The Siamese cats (siblings) I owned for many years were not only spayed, they were declawed as well. I have two uncles and two now-deceased aunts who have had their arms & chests scratched to the point of drawing blood when they came in the room where I happened to be without my knowing it. As long as I knew it, they were okay and didn’t attack. Each were like personal bodyguards, if you will. Our current cat is a sweet thing and like previous domestic cats I have had before, is neutered and declawed and yes, it was done at the same time to prevent the need to be put under anesthesia or undergo surgery more than once. Also, he was weaned & a kitten when he had the surgery and has no recollection or issues related to the surgery. Granted, he’s 15 to 18lbs in weight but there is not the first bit of fat on him despite his age. He is all muscle. As for climbing, again there’s no problem. And just so you know, CATS FIGHT WITH THEIR HIND ClAWS – NOT THEIR FRONT ONES!
My aunt, who is an herbalist and taught me to use herbal medicine, has had animals and treated them for most of her life. I learned a lot about animal care from her. While I was in my teens spending yet another summer with her learning how to find, prepare, and use herbal roots, bark, and herbs grown inside & outside, we happened to be collecting herbs in the woods that surrounding her home from 3 sides with a pond on one side & nothing but woods on the other side of the pond. I learned how to use a canoe on that pond & even how to use a kayak. While we were hunting herbs, we found a cat that was caught in an illegal trap someone set on her land despite the postings of being illegal to hunt or trap on her land.
The cat had to go to the vet b/c there was so much damage she would have bled out if we attempted to do it from her house. The most we could do was apply a pressure bandage then rip up the stake holding the trap down & in place. This cat lost the leg b/c the trap had tore too many nerves, tendons, and ligaments but she did live even though she had to learn to function on 3 legs rather than 4; and FYI, I WAS IN THE OPERATING ROOM WHEN THE LEG WAS REMOVED & SUTURED W/A DRAIN TUBE, IV FLUIDS, w/ANTIBIOTICS! I’ve actually been around and/or working in conjunction with a various number of vets while animals have been in surgery, in complicated births, and as they were at the end of their lives and in a lot of pain to the point where it was more humane to put them down than to let them suffer. In fact, on many occasions I was the one who administered the injection then held the animals as their spirits let go of the tired and worn body. And yes, I have wrapped the paws of at least a third of the cats I’ve owned that I had declawed. I even threatened to take a technician’s head off when she slapped at one of my Siamese cats b/c she refused to stay still for the tech to take blood but then again, if anyone has had a Siamese or a Maine Coon they would know that these are moody cats that don’t take to just anyone but once they do connect with a person, that connection is there for life. The tech who hit my Siamese was almost fired! The only reason she kept her job was b/c the vet put her on probation for 2 years and she was never allowed in the room or to have any dealings with any of my animals or any animals I brought to the vet center b/c I also cared for animals who have been mistreated and malnourished and this goes for animals of all sizes, including large animals such as horses, mules, cattle, etc..
Your little response on the “smell of blood” is ridiculous too. Blood is blood whether it’s human or animal although I will admit that animals likely know the difference between the two whereas our olfactory sense of smell is nowhere near as sensitive as an animals. For humans, blood has more of a coppery smell that is a lot like the smell of pennies. If you have undergone surgery where there is still trickling amounts of blood along with the requirement of having bandages replaced on a frequent basis until the area heals and no longer seeps blood, you would easily recognize the smell of the copper penny smell. The only thing that changes the smell of blood is when it’s mixed with necrotic tissue such as in the case of gangrene. A cat who has been declawed and/or spayed/neutered won’t have a smell of necrotic tissue with blood b/c the tissue never becomes necrotic as long as the one who is caring for the animal during the post-op period will never smell it as long as they listen to the vet, does what they’re told, and takes the cat back to the vet if they screw up the treatment plan, which is very hard to do b/c it’s not rocket science!
Just for your information, I’ve known quite a few people who have had their entire nail bed removed. That’s all that is missing in a cat – the nail itself. The same is done for people when a nail continues to grow back with issues so the surgeon will remove the nail again and take it all the way down to the nail bed then apply a special silver-colored solution (can’t recall the name of it at the moment) beneath the area where the nail would normally grow back but b/c of the solution, the nail doesn’t grow back and as a result, neither does the problem nail. Those who have had the nails removed don’t even notice it after a short while when it heals. The same is true of someone who has lost a portion of the tip of their finger. I dated a guy for quite a while who lost the top part of one of his fingers from the knuckle closest to the tip of the finger as it had to be amputated. He didn’t even think about it after it healed. We dated for some 6 to 8 months, went free diving, scuba diving, rock-climbing (the type of climbing where you use safety harnesses, chalk bags, & etc… not an indoor wall), kayaking, water-skiiing, and even surfing together and it wasn’t until several months after we were together, intimately so, that I even noticed the tip of his finger from the knuckle up was missing. It didn’t hurt and he didn’t miss it. If he could rock-climb without it, you know he didn’t miss it or have a problem without it! He even played quarterback in high school then again in college. It didn’t interfere with his ability to play ball and a large part of his scholarship depended upon his ability to play football! It’s no different for cats. They can lead fully functional lives without so much as giving a second thought to being declawed, esp when it’s done at the same time as being spayed/neutered, and as long as they are properly cared for during their post-operative period, they never miss the nails and again, contrary to your belief, they can fight, they can climb trees, they can mouse and catch mice, and do everything any other cat can do with all 4 paws with claws only the major difference is that they don’t destroy the furniture.
I’ve always clipped my cats’ hind claws and I have added the soft covers over the back claws when I can think to pick up a pack but the cat I have now chews them off so I don’t even bother covering them but I do keep his claws clipped really short but not in the “quick,” to prevent as much damage from his climbing as possible.
You need to do some major research; the author of this article needs to do some major research as well because mos, if not all of what’s listed above is BS! The reason’s cats misbehave is most often the way the humans they live with treat them and/or ignore them. They must have stimulation to keep them fit and happy otherwise they get bored and when they become bored, they don’t want any contact with people and they become majorly destructive and not in a playful “Look what I can do” manner.
Do some homework before responding with some of these idiotic comments. And again, there are many people who have worked with animals all their lives who have been and continue to be in the operating room when their animal is being operated on – even when it comes to simple procedures such as spay/neutering and declawing! I’ve actually been in the trauma unit helping a family friend and surgeon care for a family member who cut his upper thigh through all the layers of dermis down to the muscle and tendons/ligaments, and to the bone. I scrubbed in and helped with holding the retractors while the surgeon debrided the wound, which was huge as it was the result of a kick-back from a chain saw he was using to take down branches when he worked with a tree service then accidentally hit a knot in the tree causing the saw to kickback. He almost died of blood loss before he got to the trauma center. I know I beat the air-lift copter to the hospital! His wife was some 8mos pregnant and couldn’t handle being in the same room without passing out from the blood and from being able to see the bone so I stepped up for her to have someone family-related close by and it helped even more b/c I knew the surgeon and wasn’t in the way b/c I knew my way around a trauma room along with surgical instruments. I used to suture my own cuts rather than taking time to go to the surgeon to have it done & I reset my nose twice after I broke it as a teen and young adult during the height of my adrenaline junkie days where a day without a motorcycle dirt bike race or a day out sailing or free-diving was a bad day! It’s how I unwound from being juiced and wired up after working and I worked 2 jobs during the week w/the night job falling over a Saturday night then worked up on multi-story girders with safety harnesses & hard hats to pay living expenses & upgrading my car b/c I hung out with the drag racing crowd as I was a participant in the illegal racing back in the day but back then we raced American Muscle cars, not the rice burners on the road today.
Again, think before posting. And unless you can speak cat or dog or horse, how do you know what an animal is feeling regarding the subject of declawing? Wild cats and strays wouldn’t know what declawing is so they wouldn’t have an opinion, if you want to add a bit of logic to your thinking.
I am going ague against you. I quote you and then respond:
Claws are an essential part of the cat’s anatomy and are used extensively for climbing. If your cats can climb trees it is because they are wonderfully skilled at adapting to injury and amputation. They have strong arms that can grab a tree despite a loss of their claws. This is not an argument for declawing. It is an argument for celebrating the domestic cat’s mental and physical strength even when mutilated by people like you.
How do you know? All you can do is observe behavior. You cannot get inside the head of a cat. Also you are, in typical human style, likely to justify declawing by saying such things. You have a distorted mentality that allows you to hurt a cat for your own convenience.
Your cats seem to be very aggressive for some peculiar reason and your aunts and uncles seem to have been very stupid in allowing themselves to be scratched. I have had three very small and insignificant scratches in 25 years of cat ownership and it was my fault each time.
Pure rubbish and you know it or should know it. Cats swipe with their forelegs and if in a hold their hind legs come into play.
I presume they were bleeding after the operation when at home. Nice. Well done.
This is a quote from an article that is for the benefit of people who think declawing is easy on the cat. It is not. It is brutal on the cat. If everyone saw the operation, they might not have their cat declawed. Your comment is ridiculous in dismissing it out of hand in an insulting way.
Rubbish. The claw and the last joint of the toe is removed. It is akin to removing the last phalange of the finger. It is bone and claw. The whole lot. If you believe what you say I am shocked and saddened for your cats.
Sorry, I disagree very strongly. It is you who needs to do research. You think declawing is removing the nail only! Shock. You are foolish and dangerous. And please don’t insult people by saying what they write is bullshit (BS). That is rude. I can only conclude you are ignorant. The author of the article is a retired vet tech and cat advocate. Her views are shared by millions of people in Europe.
Exactly, so how can you say that a cat does not mind being declawed?! You must be deluded.
The problem is that declawing is part of your culture. You are blind to it being a cruel and unnecessary operation that is a crime in the UK. And the UK sets higher veterinary standards than the USA. US vets are immoral to declaw. It is madness and totally in breach of their oath. Of course their oath is worthless.
S St John, the author of this article has done 5 years of serious research on declawing, the AMPUTATION of the cat’s last toe joints, NOT ‘only’ the claw and is here to tell you now that your comment is a load of rubbish (to put it politely as we don’t use the disgusting term BS here that you do)
Michael has quashed all your arguments so I won’t waste my time repeating what he has so rightly said. I will only add that you obviously don’t know or maybe don’t care that declawing is supposed to be a last resort operation for SERIOUS scratching problems, NOT done to kittens at the time of neutering. This is the lazy way our for people like you who know so little about cats you can’t teach a kitten to use a scratching post, you pay a vet to cripple the poor creature instead!
YOU need to do some serious research on this legalised abuse which is banned in 39 countries so far, countries where vets don’t break their oath to cause no animal to suffer.
Oh I really can’t wait for the day this CRUEL uneccessary surgery is BANNED worldwide then people like you won’t have the pleasure of cats in your life if you don’t accept how they come WITH the claws they are born with because they NEED.
YOU are seriously IGNORANT so I won’t even bother trying to be civil to you!
What a long spiel of rubbish by this S John person who is so thick they think declawing means removing the claw like a surgeon removes a person’s toe nail.
Boy I’ve met some people who write tripe but this takes the biscuit and like the author of this well researched piece of truth I’m not going to even attempt to be polite.
There’s not a lot more to be said thanks to Michael and Ruth attempting to educate you S John,we all know who has made the idiotic comments around here and it isn’t us,you shouldn’t be allowed within miles of any cat.
Thank you Ruth. This person is dangerous to cats.
Yes, dangerous and typical of why declawing still happens, because people like this spread their ignorance and other ignorant people who can’t think for themselves or who don’t do any research, may believe them.
Declaw vets must love them helping the dollars they earn by mutilating little kittens, to roll in.
Michael I couldn’t agree more; I think you have very eloquently told S St John exactly why she is wrong to cruelly amputate and 4/5 week old kittens claws. She is lucky you are a gentleman because I would have chosen words not often used on here.
I have to steel and restrain myself 😉
I haven’t read such a egotistical outpouring of sheer rubbish and totally boring content for many a long year, S St John you take the biscuit for pig headed stupidity and the awful thing is you are a danger to animals and cats in particular because you think you know it all. Don’t come on here trying to tell us what’s what about declawing, we KNOW what it involves, sadly you don’t seem to as you think it is merely removing the claw, you need to do some seious research yourself before you try to tell other people what is right and wrong. So do I understand that you have had kittens declawed just after weaning? At a mere few months old? I don’t know what veterinarian you work in league with but he/she is obviously as ignorant or downright uncaring as you yourself are. Michael has taken your stupid post to pieces and his comments speak for all of us who have put the time in and know what we are writing about, so I’ll leave you with a comment that you will probably not understand as it’s a great and wise English proverb and it goes like this: “Hinny, don’t try and teach your granny to suck eggs”
lol good one Babz and let’s hope she ‘puts that in her pipe and smokes it’ too
Luckily everyone here has already told you how seriously misinformed you are, especially about how much of the cat’s digit is removed during a declaw surgery, so I don’t have to. All I have to say is that if your cats didn’t appear to have any serious, negative consequences because of being declawed, then your cats are lucky. Because the only cat I’ve ever known that was declawed does have serious problems because of it. Plenty of human children suffer abuse but don’t show any outward symptoms of it in their behavior…does that make it ok to abuse kids? I feel sorry for your animals and hope that one day you’ll realize that just because you own an animal doesn’t mean you can treat it any way you like.
Carly you are so right.Those of us who bother to learn about the cats we share our lives with know that cats hide their pain just like threatened abused children hide their suffering incase they are made to suffer more.
It’s heartbreaking that person’s cats were crippled young,the person needs to see this,
Only the claws S John?
I think not!
https://pictures-of-cats.org/the-shocking-images-of-a-declawed-cat.html
let’s hope they feel sick with guilt now they know just what they paid to have done to them as innocent kittens.
Thanks for your kind words about my posters Marc, I make them as simple as possible so as to focus on the point that declawing is cruel and causes problems, I think pictures stick in some peoples minds better than words do.
I’m always happy when I see my posters being used in various places, I just hope they save some cats claws.
No one does posters like you, Ruth. They do stick in the mind. They make a strong statement.
Thank you Michael, it’s thinking up new ones the hardest bit, but when an idea comes it doessn’t take long to find the graphics to tell the story in pictures as well as words.
So true, but unfortunately the newer generations seem even more motivated by money than most of the older ones. I pray for the animals! 🙁 The AVMA even condones declawing.
Yes, I wonder if we (humankind) are making progress in cat welfare. Do you see improvements? A change in mentality and improvements in cat welfare? I don’t believe I do.
Vets in the USA only figured out that a cat felt pain about 40 years ago. That is what I read. It is a major reason why they didn’t use pain killers after declawing. Some still don’t as I understand it.
On that basis, today, I don’t think a lot of them (most of them?) consider the emotional impact of declawing. Some do. Certainly my vet would but we are in England and the vets here think declawing is barbaric.
I would doubt there is a single scientific study on the emotional impact of traumatic surgery that is a multiple amputation on cats or dogs.
If there is please tell me.
You are so right! Many vets don’t give post surgical pain medications. I met a vet that treated all pets as if they were unfeeling, animated clods of clay. Shame on him! My vet certainly does give pain medication, even if it is only for limpin due to bones spurs. Thank God for him and his kind!
Too often people, vets included, think of animals as property and not living, breathing beings. As a result these animals are mistreated, neglected, and abuse. Look at the human medical industry: They use animals for experimentation under the guise it helps humans. With modern technology, animals are no longer needed for most experiments!
The same idea applies to declawing. The AVMA condones it under the guise that it is good if the owner needs it. They neglect to determine if the cat needs it. After all, it is the cat who has to live with the results of the decision, not the owner. Vets continue to perform the surgery, not for the health of the cat, but for the cushion to the wallet. Shame on those vets!
As far as scientific studies on the emotional impact of traumatic surgery on cats and dogs, I did read that some scientists believe that animal amputees experience phantom pain just like their human counterparts. Here is a link to some of the studies that I have seen:
Lets spread the word and get this barbaric practice ended! Together, we CAN make a difference!
Hi nice to see you on PoC, you’ll see Michael has at least 150 articles on declawing and also many of my posters here and we have saved a number of cats claws through his site.
It would be good if you wrote an article too, the more of us to educate about the cruelty of declawing the better.
Thank you! I love your posters and hope we can eradicate declawing forever!
Great comment and thanks for the link. I will study that. It still makes me mad to think that right now a kitten is losing parts of his paws for no good reason.
Glad I could help. The information on my site is a little old, but it still is true. I have been very busy lately and have not made many updates. If you have any information or criticism you would like to share with me and/or my site, PLEASE let me know. I would love to share! Thank you!