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?
