Lets Cut Through The B.S.

Lets Cut Through The B.S.

by Kelly S.
(Silver Creek, NY, USA)

After watching Michaels very poignant video about the act of declawing, I felt compelled to write this. My own experience has taught me many things, not the least of which is just HOW cruel declawing is.

I am not talking about the obvious (and well documented) long term effects, but the procedure itself. I think in educating people we tend to focus on the long term. We always talk about the early onset arthritis, the behavioral issues, the declawed cats surrendered day after day to shelters, and the complications such as neuroparxia, 4th degree burns, and bone regrowth. What about the procedure itself? What about the pain, stress, and emotional damage that it causes?

Many pro-mutilation folks like to argue that declawing is no different than a “routine” spay/neuter procedure. Nothing can be further form the truth. First of all, NO surgery is “routine”. It may be a “simple” procedure, but anytime an animal (or human) is under anesthesia, there is nothing routine about it. I have been a tech for 20+ years. In those years I have done anesthesia and recovery on thousands of spays and neuters. During recovery, these animals are groggy, a little stressed, and most are simply trying to figure out what just happened. After a few hours, they are mostly back to themselves, not in any obvious pain, and are eating and drinking normally. These same animals that return to the vet for rechecks, etc are the same happy-go-lucky little balls of fur they were before the procedure. You can check their incision site without having to restrain them or having them get upset with you.

After a declaw, cats are stressed, exhibit fight or flight response, are in obvious pain, and many bleed profusely in the first 24 hours. Most in the clinic will not eat while they are there, sometimes up to 48-72 hours. These same cats, upon return to the clinic want absolutely nothing to do with being there. They are at best shy and afraid, at worst downright vicious. They will not allow you to touch their feet and examining them is always difficult.

So, do YOU think they know what happened to them? Do they remember? Of course they do. It is blatantly obvious. This place hurts….that is all they know. They will forever look at humans differently.

If you are in a car accident, or have a traumatic injury, won’t you remember that? Will you not always be a little leary of any situation that reminds you of it? Why is an animal any different? If you reward them for using the sisal post, they respond. If you feed them at 4 pm every day, they will be sitting by their dish at 10 minutes of. If you HURT them, they remember that too.

I have seen the horror in their eyes. I have seen the excruciating pain these normally very stoic creatures are enduring. I have cleaned up the blood. I have had to sedate them post-op to prevent them from injuring themselves further. And I have seen the fear months and even years afterward every time they are put in a carrier or come into the office.

People considering declaw need to be made aware of not just the long term effects, but the emotional damage they are doing to their cat just by putting them through it.

Kelly S.

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Lets Cut Through The B.S.

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Dec 23, 2011
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Not having a go
by: Leah England

Kelly I’m not having a go you’ve written a great article however I have to ask……how can you work there and witness cats having their toes chopped off day after day?


Dec 15, 2011
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Cant get my head around it
by: Edward

Man I cant get my head around why people have this done.
If I lived in America and my vet said to me do you want your cats claws hacked off Id soon be finding a new vet.
I wouldnt trust anybody who would hurt cats like that.
If everybody knew what happens and Kelly is making sure they do as best she can then surely vets would have to stop doing it if nobody trusted them.
I love our cats claws.
Ed


Dec 15, 2011
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Brilliant Kelly
by: Ruth

A brilliant and very educational article from someone who knows the truth about the cruelty of declawing and isn’t afraid to speak out about it.
We in other countries can research it and look at videos and pictures and hear dreadful stories about it but as we have never seen a cat being declawed or cared for him afterwards, we can’t usually get the true horror of it over as you can.
But having said that, Michael did a great job with his video, it was as if he WAS the cat in pain in the bloody cage.
I think it’s around 3 years now since I discovered it was routine in the USA and Canada and began gathering UK troops to help those good people over there who want it stopped. Since then there is not one single person here who hasn’t recoiled in shock and disgust that it’s allowed to go on.
It’s no use explaining that the declaw vets push it, the people here don’t understand how any person who loves cats could even contemplate having their claws surgically removed.
It’s totally unthinkable to us and that is before they know it’s not ‘only’ removing the claws, it’s amputation of the cats toe ends.
Yes declaw vets are mainly to blame but people who even consider declawing their cat must share the blame too.
I very much admire Kelly and other vet techs who are determined to let everyone know the truth.
Yes as Michael says, it’s time for tough talk.
Obviously ‘nice’ doesn’t work !
UK troops are with you all the way Kelly x

Kattaddorra signature Ruth


Dec 14, 2011
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Great title
by: Ruth (Monty’s Mom)

Great article with an even better title! Reading it reminded me that my little guy Monty is not only lucky to be alive, he’s lucky to have kept his claws. If I had left him at animal control, where I took him after catching him at 8 weeks of age, animal control would have killed him. Once I brought him home my husband’s friends were pressuring us to declaw him. I wasn’t buying it and did not want to do, but their insistence that you “have to” declaw cats was getting to my husband. He was saying that I had to declaw the cat or put him back outside. It wasn’t until I found information on the true horror of declawing that my husband relented. Were it not for the Internet and people willing to tell the truth Monty would have lost his claws. He’s still feral in many ways, having had no human contact or handling prior to 8 weeks. What would he be like if he’d went through that horrible mutilation? He would never have trusted me again. He hates the vet as it is. He wouldn’t be the same happy little cat. He never would have been able to outside even with me there. He would never have climbed a tree. He wouldn’t be able to pick up a treat in his paw and bring it to his mouth. He wouldn’t be able to play in the same way as he does now. He wouldn’t be able to scratch and stretch. He wouldn’t be the same cat at all. His life would be dominated by suffering and dealing with the trauma of losing his claws. I researched declawing because I had watched him and it was plain to see Monty enjoyed using his claws. I didn’t feel we had the right to take that source of pleasure away from him.


Dec 14, 2011
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Love it
by: Michael

God, I love this article because it truly is time to cut through the BS as you so rightly say. And there is so much BS in the world. Declawing is dripping in BS and it all comes from vets who want to hang onto that precious income at the expense of the innocent cat and the cat “owners” who simply don’t get it. They will never understand that declawing is plain wrong. And the fact that they don’t understand is either self denial or they are idiots. Sorry that is rude but declawing is far worse than being rude. It is time for tough talk.


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