DECLAWING IGNORANCE OF SOME VETS AS WELL AS SOME PEOPLE

DECLAWING IGNORANCE OF SOME VETS AS WELL AS SOME PEOPLE

by Ruth
(England)

It is incredible that a vet said of the newly declawed kitten in the poster below,

’THE CAT LOOKS UNAFFECTED’

Anyone who looks can see those bandaged paws are hurting very much. Anyone who looks can see the bewilderment and shock in the kitten’s eyes.

Anyone who looks can see that little kitten’s life is ruined by the very cruel and unnecessary operation known as declawing.


Photo collage by Ruth.

If vets, who are trained to notice everything about any animal in their care are so ignorant and blind to the suffering they cause by this premeditated abuse, then no wonder we often read the following remarks…(I’ve left the spelling just as it was written)

…”Why shouldn’t I declaw my cat if I want to? Animals are property! What I do with mine is NONE of your business!”

“Why shouldn’t declawing be legal. I like my furniture, thank you!”

“I used to work at a vet clinic and declawing really wasn’t a big deal for the cats. Most cats are more annoyed with the stupid bandages on their paws then the actually discomfort.”

“It wouldn’t be a good idea to ban declawing because USA kitties are naughtier.”

“No way is declawing cruel, it is minor surgery that is not that big of a deal.”

“Declawing is not cruel. They are put under during the procedure and don’t feel a thing.”

“Declawing may hurt. But in the end the money you pay for declawing will be worth it. You can play with the cat more. Carry her a lot. Because you have no fear that she will scratch you. Even just the front paws cos the back doesnt realy do anything.”

“As cruel as some may believe it is front paw declawing can be very beneficial to your household.”

“If you get a bad cat just give it tap on the head and shout “No! Bad cat!” in a deep voice until you can get it declawed. If you couldn’t get it declawed you’d have to hit it forever….”

Finally, how sad is the following case! In pain and shock, bleeding and with urine seeping into the wounds.

Advised by the vets to leave it as cleaning it would make it MORE infected.

Question. I just picked my cat up from getting declawed and her paws are bleeding. On the way home she also peed in the kennel and got it on her paws. When I called the vet and asked what I could do since she was still bleeding and she got pee all over her paws and her fur they said not to clean it. That it would make it more infected. That just seems like bad advice. Wouldn’t pee do more harm than water? Please let me know what to do.

Answer.I’ve heard of people in desperate situations using urine to disinfect wounds so I think its okay. I would just listen to the vet.

LISTEN TO THE VET? I THINK NOT!

Those vets should be teaching their clients to clip their cats claws, they should not be encouraging them to have their cats finger ends amputated instead.

Here in the UK we don’t look at our cats and think ‘Agghhhhh horrible claws’ Most of us don’t even trim our cats claws unless necessary, as cats can take care of their own given the right scratching equipment to do their own manicures.
But in a culture where cats are mostly strictly indoors and claws seem to be such a big deal, then surely trimming them regularly is an easy enough thing to do.

What difference doing it for a cat than a baby or any other animal?

Kattaddorra signature Ruth

Comments for
DECLAWING IGNORANCE OF SOME VETS AS WELL AS SOME PEOPLE

Click here to add your own comments

May 04, 2012 Non cat owner NEW
by: Anonymous

They are cats!!! They are born with claws! If you truly want a cat then you have to accept everything that comes with one. Not modify an animal for your own selfish needs. Gosh what if people did that to people! Just saying.


Sep 13, 2010 I have to agree
by: Leah (England)

I have to agree it’s this ownership thing again. Its the ‘I own it so I’ll do what I want with it’ I’ve never heard such a load of selfish crap in all my life.

I saw a documentary on TV recently about women in America who have decided not to have kids. Fine you may think; their choice but no actually not fine. They have created a market that likely causes tiny baby monkeys to be ripped from their mothers arms so that these numbskulls can adopt the poor little souls & have a go at playing mommy. What about when the monkey reaches sexual maturity and becomes agressive? Yup you guessed it just like a de-clawed cat it will be dumped and then they’ll probably get another and do the same thing again. I despise anyone who thinks they have the god given right to modify an animal to suit their needs.

So back to cowardly anonymous who is so sure of his convictions he can’t even add his name or a pen name, YOU DID INTENTIONALLY HURT YOUR CAT MR!! (OR MRS OR WHATVER YOU ARE!!) So you have a baby? Wow big deal. Did you know there are lots of babies in England? Did you know that their are lots of cats too? and that some of these cats actually live in the same house as the baby? Noooo! I hear you cry! surely not?! Get educated pal! here in England we do not pay some money grabbing butcher to turn our cats into defenceless pitiful creatures for the dog and baby to maul! We get off our backsides and teach the dog and child to respect the cat! Get real get educated and stop torturing animals!


Sep 13, 2010 Have to have
by: Colin J

It’s the have to have mentality of a lot of Americans,it doesn’t matter at what cost to the cat,they just have to possess one.

They want wild cats domesticated so they breed the wildness out of them,they want cats like soft toys so they get cats declawed.They want silent dogs so they get them debarked.

The why shouldn’t I have what I want attitude along with the cat is lucky to have a home attitude so what if it loses its toe ends to do that just stinks.

Can’t they get it into their thick skulls that they are the lucky ones,they are blessed with having the life of a beautiful innocent creature in their hands.
They have no right to pay some cruel money loving vet to abuse that cat on their behalf.

Ruth is right,it’s the ignorance of both the vets and the people who happily hand their cats over to them without asking what will happen.

Thank God not all Americans are the same but possessions do seem to mean more to a lot over there than they do to us here.


Sep 13, 2010 Vets not entirely to blame
by: Ruth

I agree that vets are mostly to blame, but not entirely.
For a start it’s not compulsory to have a cat and I think even the person with the lowest IQ knows cats have claws. Surely that leads to the thought that cats have claws because they need claws. Those people must know that scratching posts and pads exist for a reason. They obviously haven’t bothered to learn anything about cats needs before taking one into their home.
Everyone who declaws their cat hasn’t been offered it by their vet, they themselves have asked about it and even if they didn’t know it was more than the claws ‘removed’ surely they could think what it would feel like to have their own finger nails removed !
The very word declawing, here in the UK strikes shock and horror into our hearts,even the hearts of the people who don’t know that it’s more than the claws removed. No one here would hand a cat over for surgery without knowing exactly what it entailed and the outcome of it.
Sorry but I think anyone who has a cat declawed is not a fit person to have any cat in their care.

Kattaddorra signature Ruth


Sep 12, 2010 There is a learning curve here
by: Kathleen

I think it may be helpful for us to try to keep in mind that the average cat guardian tends to rely on the information given to them by their veterinarians regarding the health and well being of their cats, which is why I place the blame for declawing more squarely on the vets’ shoulders. How can we expect laypersons not to be in denial about the facts pertaining to declawing when they are led in this denial-outright LIED TO, in fact-by the very people they have been conditioned to trust? Veterinarians represent a kind of authority figure to many pet guardians, and it sounds to me as if the anonymous poster is hesitant to believe people on the Internet whom she’s never met over the words of someone she has placed her trust in, however misguided that trust may be. To “Anonymous”, I would say that veterinarians DO lie about declawing. I have seen and heard them do it. They minimize or simply omit many facts to make it appear acceptable to people like you who may be trying to protect others in the house, such as a child or another pet. And they do it because surgery is a big-ticket item for them. What your vet SHOULD have done was teach you how to trim the cat’s claws at home, which would have kept everyone in your home safe from scratches while still being humane to the cat. Or he/she should have offered to trim the claws for you in the clinic, as often as needed, with no fee and no appointment necessary, as I have seen some good and progressive vet clinics do. Or he/she should have counseled you on managing interactions between cats and dogs in a multi-pet household, or referred you to an animal behaviorist if the situation was extreme. Or she/he should have offered you the option of plastic claw caps, which again, can be applied by the clinic staff if it proved difficult for you to do at home yourself. Declawing is NEVER necessary; there are SO MANY other things that can be done about the claws instead. Did your vet present you with any of these options? As for your cat, PLEASE keep in mind that there IS a link between a cat being declawed and later developing a problem with biting and/or litterbox avoidance, despite the stubborn refusal of the AVMA to acknowledge this fact because the shelter workers who see it firsthand are not “scientists”. These behaviors do not develop in all declawed cats and do not always develop in a mere few days’ time, so if you do see these things in the future, please try to be understanding of your cat’s situation and the fact that he is likely in pain or in fear of pain, before you do something drastic and irreversbile again.


Sep 12, 2010 Facts by a vet for anonymous
by: Ruth

Fact: There are many potential medical complications of declawing. Documented short- and long-term physical complications include:
Pain
Hemorrhage (bleeding)
Laceration of the paw pads
Swelling
Reluctance to bear weight on affected limbs
Neuropraxia (transient motor paralysis)
Radial nerve damage
Lameness
Infection
Abscess
Tissue necrosis
Wound dehiscence (re-opening of surgical site)
Incomplete healing
Protrusion of 2nd phalanx (middle finger bone)
Claw regrowth
Scurs (growth of deformed claw segments)
Retention of flexor process of last bone (3rd phalanx)
Chronic draining tracts
Self-mutilation
Dermatitis
Lethargy
Palmigrade stance (walking on wrists)
Chronic intermittent lameness
Chronic pain syndrome
Flexor tendon contracture
Aggression
Cystitis (bladder infection associated with stress)
Fact: Many studies show that complications are extremely common.


Sep 12, 2010 Wow
by: Fran

Your cat didn’t get declawed.Did he go to the vets and say”Excuse me but could you see your way clear to amputating my last toe joints?”
Of course he didn’t,it was you who got him declawed.
Now it’s you saying he is in no pain and he’s 100% what he was,except he’s not running.
Well surprise surprise,2 days after a major operation to remove ten healthy much needed parts of his body he’s not running.
Wow.
So you have a baby and a dog,will you get the dogs teeth removed if he bites the baby?Will you get the baby’s finger ends removed when she starts drawing on the walls?
Oh no I forgot they’ll go themselves like your cat did and ask for those painful operations to be done to them.Then they’ll come home and you will say they are fine.
Hah


Sep 12, 2010 You DO NOT love your cat
by: Rose

You DO NOT love your cat and you HAVE intentionally put him through pain so don’t bother trying to convince us otherwise.
You don’t know much about cats,the fact that they hide their pain and of course he isn’t running, he will never run properly again or come to that walk properly.
Cats walk on their toes,now your cat has no toe ends he will be walking on the stump of bone left behind when the vet cut or burned through the last bone which the claw is embedded in to.
YES cut or burned through bone,tendons and tissue.
Make no mistake what you have paid to have done to your cat was major surgery resulting in a disabled cat for life.Have you heard of phantom pain from missing limbs?Painful nerve endings?They are things your cat faces amongst many more.
So the dog got his nose scratched,no doubt it taught him a lesson.Oh but he can get his revenge on the defenceless cat now and make his life more of a misery than it will already be now thanks to you.
As can the baby,pulling his tail and ears.Until he bites her of course.
Let’s just hope you don’t blame that poor cat if you once again fail in your duty to him and don’t make sure he is safe from harm from your baby or your dog.


Sep 12, 2010 To anonymous
by: Ruth

This is exactly what my article is about, the declawing ignorance of people like you.
How on earth can you say you are against it yet put your cat through it ? I hope the corrupt vet who amputated your cat’s toe ends warned you that problems can and probably will occur anytime from now for the rest of his life? No of course he didn’t, he’s rubbing his hands in glee that another mutilated cat will be returning for mental and physical problems at some point and for expensive medication for painful arthritis in his later life. That’s if you don’t dump him meanwhile of course, either outside defenceless to be killed by healthy animals or at a Shelter to be killed or caged for life. PLEASE remember YOU caused any problems he will have, YOU, not the cat,so you owe him his lifetime of care and whatever medication he may need.
As for the baby,well how about when she crawls around,it will be YOUR duty to ensure she doesn’t maul the cat. He will naturally retaliate with a nasty bite whereas it would have simply been a warning harmless scratch to teach her animals are NOT stuffed toys,they are living beings who feel pain just like she does. As for the dog, what had it done to the cat ? How much more it can do now the cat is defenceless ! Yes it can happily terrorise the poor cat now and it will if YOU don’t watch over them,just as you should have done rather than crippling the cat.
I hope the pain isn’t too agonising for the cat when the medication wears off, of course he’s hyper now, have you never been in dreadful pain and then felt the relief of pain medication ?
Think exactly what you have done and don’t come here boasting about crippling your cat for life and trying to justify it to the many people who know declawing is the worst kind of cat abuse possible as it is pre meditated abuse, by YOU and by your vet !

Kattaddorra signature Ruth


Sep 12, 2010 To anonymous
by: Barbara

So, another cat is mutilated because of a baby and a dog. And no, your cat didn’t get declawed YOU had him declawed, you made the decision and you paid a pimp to hack his toes off.But if the procedure was done on Thursday and you posted on Saturday it was a mere 48 hours since declawing, I’m wondering how your cat is chasing flies etc and kneading with wounded paws, though your comment “not running of course” is very telling. Presuming he was given strong pain medication afterwards and I’m wondering if the “hyper” you describe is actually a pain killer high and I’m fearful of when it wears off and reality bites those poor wounded paws with their stumps.
I fail to see how you’re against declawing when you’ve scurried to avail yourself of it, did it not occur to you that as the “owner” of cat and dog that YOU should have ensured the hanging from the dogs nose didn’t happen, and as for the baby in the house so what? YOU are the parent, it is your responsibility to ensure baby and cat are safe, having the cats toes amputated is just plain selfish, ignorant, unnecessary cruelty.
Protest all you like but that cat is NOT 100% the way he was, he is now disabled and is likely to start peeing around the house and biting, so then you’ll be bleating about the baby again and you’ll end up getting shot of the cat.
I’m so tired of hearing this same old story.
It’s too late now for yet another cat, his life is ruined, his toes are gone, and all he has left between him and the rescue centre and probably euthanazia is you, God help him.


Sep 11, 2010 interesting
by: Anonymous

My cat got declawed this past thursday. to be perfectly honest, i see no change in him what so ever. he’s actually in no pain at all. he’s happy, alert HYPER! chasing flies around and other bugs. not running of course but he’s still 100% the way he was when he went in. everyone has their own opinions on declawing to be honest im against it. but after him hanging of a dogs nose by his claws was crossing a line. and theres a baby in the house and i wouldnt want her to get scratched. i love my cat and would never intentionally put him through pain. as i type this right now he’s laying next to me in bed kneeding away at his blanket purring like a motor boat.


Sep 06, 2010 Great
by: Mel

Another great write up Ruth.
Well done.
I agree something needs doing with your posters.This last one especially is a really good point of comparison that ervey other living being has nail trims,not amputations.


Sep 05, 2010 Pure genius
by: Sue

This poster is pure genius Ruth!

Most Americans are so obsessed with cats claws and thinking they have to be trimmed that it would surely hit home to the pro declaws if it was blown up very large and printed off for the protest.
Far better claws trimmed regularly than finger ends amputated!

If I was over there I’d print a stack of them off anyway and leave them around public places.

I hate to think how many more cats will suffer ten amputations before next July.

Please Americans,do something meanwhile too.


Sep 04, 2010 Ignorance is NOT BLISS!
by: Jo Singer

Ruth,

They say that “ignorance is bliss”, and from just the few examples you cited on your post, I can just imagine the thousands of “blissed out” people who don’t care about their cats. That’s right! These folks don’t love their cats… their cats are property much the same as their furniture and carpets.

The statements that you quoted turned my stomach, and I wanted to scream!

What is far more alarming is the ignorance displayed by veterinarians who wantonly continue to engage in this cruel and indecent procedure and sell their clients a bill of goods just to make the mighty buck. They scream to the rafters that declawing is a simple and safe procedure so why don’t they disclose exactly how the surgery is done! Oh.. I know… the clients might change their minds!

I so admire the work that you do to help spread the truth and educate folks who are willing to listen. As far as I am concerned anyone that chooses to declaw their cats shouldn’t be permitted to have one. Cats are not property or toys to play with. They are intelligent, sensitive and emotional animals who suffer so greatly at the hands of so-called professionals who supposedly chose their profession because they love animals. But this is not love.. it ranks high up on the scale of animal abuse.

Thanks for posting this blog, Ruth. Maybe someone reading it will think twice and decide whether they really love their cat. Bravo!

Jo Singer


Sep 04, 2010 Ignorance is NOT BLISS!
by: Jo Singer

Ruth,

They say that “ignorance is bliss”, and from just the few examples you cited on your post, I can just imagine the thousands of “blissed out” people who don’t care about their cats. That’s right! These folks don’t love their cats… their cats are property much the same as their furniture and carpets.

The statements that you quoted turned my stomach, and I wanted to scream!

What is far more alarming is the ignorance displayed by veterinarians who wantonly continue to engage in this cruel and indecent procedure and sell their clients a bill of goods just to make the mighty buck. They scream to the rafters that declawing is a simple and safe procedure so why don’t they disclose exactly how the surgery is done! Oh.. I know… the clients might change their minds!

I so admire the work that you do to help spread the truth and educate folks who are willing to listen. As far as I am concerned anyone that chooses to declaw their cats shouldn’t be permitted to have one. Cats are not property or toys to play with. They are intelligent, sensitive and emotional animals who suffer so greatly at the hands of so-called professionals who supposedly chose their profession because they love animals. But this is not love.. it ranks high up on the scale of animal abuse.

Thanks for posting this blog, Ruth. Maybe someone reading it will think twice and decide whether they really love their cat. Bravo!

Jo Singer


Sep 04, 2010 Ignorance is NOT BLISS!
by: Jo Singer

Ruth,

They say that “ignorance is bliss”, and from just the few examples you cited on your post, I can just imagine the thousands of “blissed out” people who don’t care about their cats. That’s right! These folks don’t love their cats… their cats are property much the same as their furniture and carpets.

The statements that you quoted turned my stomach, and I wanted to scream!

What is far more alarming is the ignorance displayed by veterinarians who wantonly continue to engage in this cruel and indecent procedure and sell their clients a bill of goods just to make the mighty buck. They scream to the rafters that declawing is a simple and safe procedure so why don’t they disclose exactly how the surgery is done! Oh.. I know… the clients might change their minds!

I so admire the work that you do to help spread the truth and educate folks who are willing to listen. As far as I am concerned anyone that chooses to declaw their cats shouldn’t be permitted to have one. Cats are not property or toys to play with. They are intelligent, sensitive and emotional animals who suffer so greatly at the hands of so-called professionals who supposedly chose their profession because they love animals. But this is not love.. it ranks high up on the scale of animal abuse.

Thanks for posting this blog, Ruth. Maybe someone reading it will think twice and decide whether they really love their cat. Bravo!

Jo Singer


Sep 04, 2010 Sickening
by: Jane A

The tragedy is that there are so many ignorant people like those who wrote those comments.
Ignorance can be excused but cruelty can not.
Nor can any vet who refuses to see the harm they inflict on innocent animals.
Or maybe they do see that but don’t care.
How anyone could look at that cat and say it looks unaffected is beyond belief.
The truth is those cold hearted cat abusers only see what they want to see and that is swollen bank accounts stuffed full of blood money.


Sep 04, 2010 Worse still
by: Ruth

Thank you everyone for your comments.
Actually Maggie the spelling was much worse, somehow some of it was corrected when the article was posted.
Cruel was written CRULE
Furniture was written FUNITURE
and so on.
Yet these ignorant people think they have the right to have an opinion on the abuse of cats and what is worse still they do have the right to have cats in their power and do anything to them they wish to do.
Also,other ignorant people read their remarks and pass them on.
I just hope they also read our articles and comments and it makes them stop and think.

Kattaddorra signature Ruth


Sep 04, 2010 Declawing is ‘no big deal’
by: Maggie

If declawing was no big deal, then why is it that it’s banned in 38 countries around the world. You can waste your time with excuses, pro declaws, but the truth will always shine through. Declawing IS cruel, and anyone who doesn’t believe that doesn’t deserve to walk this earth.

Also, once these people have learnt the truth about declawing, I suggest they also learn proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. It was quite funny seeing those people prove their stupidity…


Sep 03, 2010 “Unaffected” Is Relative
by: Kathleen

I would hazard a guess that the vet in question has seen declawed cats in MUCH worse condition than this on the morning after. It’s easy to say a cat looks “unaffected” when you compare a scene like this to the ones that look like an abbatoir.


Sep 03, 2010 Sick and angry
by: Leah (England)

When I see and read things like this I feel sick and angry all at once.

Morons like the ones in Ruths article ought to be shot.

Its all down to attitude, generations of believing de-clawing is ok and the fact that cats are 2nd class citizens in America and Canada. Its shocking how they are treated. If it happened in this country the vets would be faced by angry mobs.

And that poor kitten, how can anyone inflict that horror on such an innocent baby? Actually shooting is too good for the vets that do this to kittens; they should have their finger ends chopped off and then they should be shot.

They are all an absolute disgrace. Property or not NO ONE has the right to inflict this on any animal! Put me in a room for 10 minutes with anyone who thinks they can.


Sep 03, 2010 Cruel people
by: Edward

Man that little kitten looks so miserable and her paws held up must mean they hurt.This makes me cry.
Its right that every person and other animals get nail trims so why should cats suffer getting their toes hacked off instead.
I dont know how anybody can do it man.
Those horrible comments you copied make it plain that a lot of cats live in fear and pain from their people.
I dont know how anybody cruel can live with themselves.
Hitting a cat all its life it it couldnt be declawed Ive heard it all now man.
Ed


Sep 03, 2010 Idiots
by: Rose

I would like to grab all those brainless idiots including the vet who made the stupid remark that the kitten was unaffected.
Then I’d punch their lights right out and make them sorry they were ever born.
It would be worth a spell in prison to do just that.
It’s a good thing I can’t go over to the protest as I’d probably get us all locked up.


Sep 03, 2010 Pure ignorance
by: Barbara

It’s quite plain to see that the kitten in the picture can’t put any weight on it’s paws, they must be throbbing like mad because the pupils of his/her eyes are enlarged and there is obviously a lot of pain. How can someone, anyone, look dispassionately on and say the kitten looks unaffected, especially someone with a qualification in animal medicine!
How right you are Ruth, listing all the other animals that have their claws clipped, so why do cats have to be robbed of their toe ends? This makes me sick to the stomache.
Gail of Boston, YOU have nothing to be ashamed of even though a lot your fellow countrymen are ignorant and cruel enough to allow this to happen, you are not, nor is your SIL, there ARE good people, it just seems impossible to educate the ignorant.

Barbara avatar


Sep 03, 2010 Ashamed to be an American
by: Gail (Boston, MA USA)

Considering those ill-advised and ignorant posts, it almost makes me ashamed to be an American! How cruel these people are…beginning with the ‘alleged’ vets who should know better.

The other night, my sister-in-law had to bring their cat to the vet. Now this cat is 15, weighs in at 7-lbs. and is a wild-child, but she knew something was wrong since he was favoring one of his front paws.

Come to find out, one of his (thick) claws had overgrown and punctured his pad! This cat has always had a wild streak in him and doesn’t even like to be petted very often – that’s just his personality, so checking his claws is nearly impossible. (This is the cat that tamed the Alsatian, ending up as best buddies.) They had to sedate Midget and it still took 3 people to hold him down in order for the vet to trim his nails and clean up the pad.

The point being, even going through an ordeal like this, SIL would never ever consider a declaw even though others have suggested it. May I say that she was born in the UK? She stands toe-to-toe with the rest of us that cats are born with claws and if one cannot handle that, they should not own a cat – period.


Sep 03, 2010 No brain cells
by: Fran

Anyone with even a single brain cell could see that kitten is suffering!
Mind you Ruth I think those whose comments you wrote had no brains at all.
People like that shouldn’t be allowed within a million miles of a living creature.
They are not fit people to have even a flea in their care.


Leave a Comment

follow it link and logo