by Furby the Feral Feline
(Hodges, SC)
Hi everybody! It's Furby and I'm here to tell you laser declawing is wrong too!
My sweet Auntie Ruth sent me a story about a vet in the Simi Valley in California who's trying to sneakerdoodle people into believing laser declawing is safe. His name is Dr. Luis Cruz and he's over the Simi Valley Animal Vet Hospital.
No! No! No! I'm a cat and I should know. All declawing is BAD! It's embarrassing to admit it, but I fell behind the washer again a few days ago. My claws got me out all by myself. Without my claws I may have had to sit back there all day long waiting on help. Cats need claws to climb.
People talk about whether declawing is legal or not in different parts of the world. In MANY areas it's not and those are the smart countries. I'm a cat and I don't look at declawing the same way people do. The way I see it, it's just unnatural to take away something a cat is born with just because people don't want to put up with it. There are a lot of humans out there who use their tongues to hurt others, but you don't see any tongue removal surgery.
Some people need to be trained to control their tongue, and some cats need to be trained to use a scratching post. To cut off part of our toes is crazy talk. I have two cat trees with rope wrapped around them. I can scratch all day long and no one says a thing to me. I never mess with the furniture at all.
It makes me mad that this so called vet in California is trying to tell people it's OK. I'm sure he forgets to mention a few things to potential cat mutilators. Like laser declawing can cause the same damage as regular declawing. It can even give a fourth degree burn. My mama would NEVER burn me on purpose. Yet this is what those poor cat owners conned into laser declawing are doing to their cats.
Cats have to stay asleep longer to be operated on because laser declawing takes longer. That's plain dangerous, especially for an older cat. Not to mention the vet may not even be trained right to do the surgery. He sure hasn't memorized the veterinary oath very well if he offers declawing in the first place!
Declawed cats are 18% more likely to bite or bite more after having part of their toes cut off. I can't blame them. I'd bite too. I'd make the vet my first victim for crippling me.
I don't know why California hasn't shut this vet down. He's making a mockery about the San Fernando Valley area where declawing is banned.
I went and read up on this vet clinic and the man needs to have his head examined. He even says in the article found here http://web.archive.org/web/20130607001153/http://www.sys-con.com:80/node/1961355 that older cats will have more pain and take longer to recover. That doesn't make a bit of sense. If older cats hurt and take longer to recover this means then young cats hurt too. They may "recover" faster (hah) but how can this vet say the operation is pain free and then say there IS pain. Sounds a lot like someone is just money hungry and spewing a lot of double talk. We all have a lot of nerves in our toes regardless of how old we are!
A lot of you don't know it, but your Furby here is also a pet detective. I found out a few little juicy tidbits about our good vet, Dr. Cruz. Here's the link. This is another good case of a web site looking really great until you get to digging for how he's treated the cats who have come in there. Read the reviews, people. A lot of people who wrote in won't go back to him.
It also seems he treats dogs with more respect than cats because the dog owners seem to like him all right.
I'm glad I don't live out there because it would REALLY have been embarrassing to have been spayed instead of neutered like one cat owner claimed happened to her cat. People are putting their trust into this man with a laser? PLEASE!
Listen to ole Furby here when I tell you from a cats point of view. It's not just about the being legal or the money or anything else other than it's plain WRONG. When you declaw a cat, you're taking away part of what makes a cat a cat. It changes a cat. I live with two declawed rescues so I know. Misty always looks sad and never, ever plays. Neither does Cocoa, who is toothless and declawed. What fun is a cat who can't play?
It's too late for Misty and Cocoa. Their essence is gone now. They'll never act like cats again. It's really kind of creepy living with them. They eat, they sleep and they stare into space. Nothing we do will make them play. Reminds me of zombies because a part of their spirit is dead without their claws.
Shame on you, Dr. Cruz! And thank you Auntie Ruth for sending me this article. It made me madder than a cat without catnip, but I had to tell everybody the truth about declawing.
Furby
P.S. Here's my blog Michael gave me. Just in case you wonder where I've been. http://the-diary-of-a-cat.pictures-of-cats.org/
You might like to see what my Godfather wrote about laser declawing on his blog.
