SEBASTIAN’S DIARY (Part 5)

Hi Sylvia Ann.You are right, I derived no pleasure at all from writing Sebastian’s diary,in fact it caused me a lot of grief.But it had to be done, as if it even saves only one cat from being crippled for life, it was worth it.
I love writing,so does Babz and I think we inherited that love from our late mam, along with our love of cats.
But Babz hasn’t as much time as me as she goes out to work, now I’m retired I wonder how I found time to go too!
Yes there is so much cruelty to animals and birds and fish,it’s unbearable to start thinking about it all and it’s happened since human life began.
What right have we humans to think we own this planet,after all, it was animals here first !
Like them we are born, we exist by eating and drinking,some of us breed and then eventually we die.
What good do we do ?It annoys me so much when anyone says animals are ours to be used otherwise what are they for.And they certainly are used, as food, clothing, entertainment,to be experimented on etc etc
Well what are we for ? Surely to be caretakers for those creatures I’d say !
Definately not to use and abuse them.

Though Sebby-Wee is crippled for life,there still may be some hope.

There was a time when people blinded canaries with needles, split the tongues of caged magpies, sewed shut the vents of chickens in the belief that their agonizing death improved the flavor of the meat. The list goes on.

We’ve progressed an inch or two since then. Though we lag almost 4,000 years behind the bull-dancing Aegeans, Spaniards with a conscience are having second thoughts about their national pastime. Nowadays you can buy meat and eggs from ostensibly range-free hens. At least a few animal shelters screen people wishing to adopt a dog or cat. Some of us want to ‘save the whales.’ Yet animal rights legislation (in countries with a semblance of law)lags far behind that for human righst. Geese are still force-fed. Death for veal calves is a merciful release. The lives of most agri-biz animals are hell.

It’s impossible that you derive pleasure from writing this diary. You can’t enjoy describing the reality of animal abuse. Yet you and your sister persist in the face of a mountainous indifference, of shoulder-shrugging incomprehension. What is so staggering, this lack is often observed in people who rigidly adhere to what they deem right conduct – though only toward their species.

At our local ‘crab races,’ the revelers wear ‘crab hats’ (sculptural headgear with flapping brims of rubber legs and claws), toss dying crabs onto a plank and hoot with rapture while pounding the plank so hard and fast the terrorized crabs – who lived all their days in peace and quiet – scuttle down the plank in their pitiful attempt to flee the terrible drumming. Are their persecutors Yahoos? Probably not. Many of them may be pillars of the community.

But how can this be? Do introverts have hearts, and extroverts a pump? Do you have to be ‘pensive’ to feel a grain of pity? Is an instinct for mercy found only in those whom Hardy described as ‘the more thinking among mankind,’ solitary souls who shun The Madding Crowd? Which doesn’t fly. Plenty of animal rights proponents are extroverts. Plenty of introverts don’t give a tinker’s toot.

For all our vigor in beggaring the language, some saintly individuals redeem the rest of us. You and Barbara work on behalf of creatures too weak to escape the clutches of people who like to maim and kill. You’re suited to this by a gift for writing that flows from your compassion. While progress is slow, it’s chugging along, thanks to you and your sister, and the rest of the caring people on this website. Nevertheless, there’s a ubiquitous, stony indifference to pain that isn’t ours. But drops of water crumble granite into dust. The day is coming when unfeeling vets will have to find some other means of fattening their purses than crippling defenseless animals.

Write on.

And right on.

Thanks everyone for your comments.Sorry to keep making you cry Tracey, I think between all of us who come to PoC we could make another ocean for the world, with all our tears.
Part 6 is on its way ……..

Also just wanted to say (then got so dammed angry I forgot) that I’m so pleased that de-clawing on PoC comes up so favourably on Google. I never realised.

Thats all

Thanks Michael and Ruth yet again an amazing article and a beautiful poem.

Yes Ruth, I’m crying again! Reading about poor Sebby always does this to me.

Sorry I’m late with my comment but I think you know my Virgin Media emails have been down (yes Michael you were right about them!)

Trouble is with me I not only think about the horror thats already there on the surface I always think about what could potentially happen; such as if the cruel bitch threw him out for example and he was unable to climb a tree or fence to escape a dog or defend himself cornered.

That vile dog and boy who live with him knowing he’s defenceless hurting him.

I always look deeper into things which is another reason why I get so upset.

I just feel so much for poor little Sebby because I know this happens for real.

People out there, don’t! Please don’t do it! Don’t you realise you will disable a healthy cat for life?

Your cat could accidentally get out or be let out by a burgler/contractor anyone! How would he defend himself! He can’t! Anyone or anything could do exactly as they wish with him.

Don’t you see? claws are attached to the cat by bone! Yes bone! Imagine someone cutting through your bones for no reason while you were asleep then offering you no pain medication!!

Cats come with claws!! Claws are for life!! Get it declawers?!

Hello, nice to ‘meet’ you.
Many on line petitions set up by Americans and Canadians have been started and abandoned.
But we do have one we started, which is the largest on line and will never be abandoned, in fact it’s growing all the time with signatures from all over the world.It actually helped to bring about the ban in some Californian Cities last year.
It’s nowhere near enough yet to influence the AVMA or any declawing vet but hopefuly one day it may help bring about a total ban.The comments say it all as to how people feel about the cruel operation called declawing.
If we lived in the USA we’d be out on the streets with paper petitions and educating everyone as to the truth, but as it is we can only help a little bit on line.
Please sign our petition and pass it on to everyone you know and hopefully they will pass it on too:

I am just so sad that humans have to be so mean to cats and other animals.

1. All animal shelters, rescue centers should sign serious contracts with those who adopted cats – no de-clawing.

2. Have at least some kinds of follow-up 6 months or a year after adoption, it can be done by volunteers. The last shelter I adopted Alto and May, we signed a contract. But do they follow-up? I doubt it.

3. Reaching veterinarians not to perform the de-clawing service. Start at the universities where they get the education, and their clinics.

Organized petitions are needed!

That horrible mom,I want to strangle her moaning on about the money she’s spent on that pooor cat.He didn’t ask her to did he.There’s so many people like that too in reality who think furniture and money are more important than cats.
The sooner the whole of America gets the message that declawing isn’t acceptable to the rest of the world the better.
I hope Sebastian’s pages are getting through to those ignorant people.

I had a feeling that woman wouldn’t want to put up with Sebastian biting and soiling in her precious house.
What is so horrible is that people actually do that.They have a cat declawed then blame the cat for side effects and chuck it out or take it to a shelter.
I suppose we have to be thankful she didn’t chuck him out to fend for himself and because she didn’t do that I think she has a guilty conscience.But she doesn’t feel guilty enough to look after the poor crippled cat and keep that boy and his dog under control.
I must say I was glad Sebastian got away from them 2 as he’d never have a happy home with them and that mom person.
I feel sorry for Julie and I think when she has her own home she will be a kind person to cats.

Please Ruth make Seb go to someone who cares.

OMG what am I like,the story has to be true to life so what chance has it of ending happily.

Hi Pammy as I read it he’s back in the Rescue Shelter with other unwanted cats where that awful woman adopted him from….not at that cruel vet’s place.

After part 4 of his diary, I’d really hoped that Sebastian’s mom had understood exactly how traumatic an experience declawing was for him. When he saw his carrier brought out I’d been hoping that she was going to take him to a non-declaw vet for some pain relief.

Her tears were obviously crocodile ones as she dumped him back at the shelter without a tinge of remorse or regret for what she’d had done to him. The only emotion she expressed was anger at having spent money on him.

Sebastian’s diary is really educational. Not just for pro-declawers, but also for people like me who cannot comprehend the mentality of people who get this done to their cats. Maybe its because I’ve grown up in a country with a world wide reputation for kindness to animals. Or maybe it’s because my own mother taught me to respect animals, but I really can’t get my brain around the fact that some people knowlingly subject their cats to such cruelty. If they care so little for their cat’s welfare and happiness it makes me wonder why they bothered getting one in the first place. I don’t recall ever reading that having a cat was a legal obligation, so ownership should be left to the people who will love and cherish them.

It breaks my heart to think about the true number of “Sebastians” out there in need of our help.

Poor Sebastian has hit rock bottom through no fault of his own. How can we be a more spiritual and intelligent species when this sort of thing happens..and when sticks of furniture mean more than a life?
When i read this episode, i had to walk away and compose myself. I feel compassion for Sebastian and disgust for this ignorant and selfish woman! To be alone at night, in a cage, at the vets and hear all his fellow cats meowing must be the loneliest he has ever felt.
I shouted “Hooray!” when the vet told that woman off. She should be banned from keeping any animal. Her selfishness and her ignorance is outstanding,and she cannot undo what she had done to Sebastian, or make him better. The only good thing is that he is free of her!
He now has the longest night. I hope he dreams of a lovly home where he is dearly loved and looked after properly, by someone who understands….
AND I hope is dream comes true please!!

Ruth I remember that poem you wrote a while back,it’s great that it fits in with Sebastian’s story so well.
I feel sad for him but I’m sure you will make it as happy an ending as is possible for a declawed cat.
I can hardly wait for part 6 now.

Michael I’m so glad Sebastian’s story is being read, thanks again for allowing me to write so much on PoC. It was a good day I came across your site and met you and others as committed as I am to getting the truth out about declawing.
When I first took up the cause in November 2008 I wrote a blog called ‘One voice singing in the darkness’ but Babz joined me immediately and we were two voices and from then it grew and grew until now we have joined wth many of the same mind. Quite a few have fallen by the wayside along our journey and we can’t blame them as it is a heart rending, sometimes seemingly hopeless quest. I think the AVMA and declaw vets hoped we’d get disheartened and go quietly away but we didn’t,we all joined forces with people from all over the world and we also now have 3740 signatures on our petition.
Another thank you to Finn for the signatures from Denmark and for eye catching banner,I’m sure it’s brought even more signatures.
I find writing usually comes quite easily to me but this Diary has been very difficult, trying to tell the story but with not too many gory details to put people off reading it.
And not forgetting it was Maggie’s idea to write a Diary,our stalwart Australian ‘troop’

2 more parts to come yet and Sebastian’s story is told.

Oh poor Sebastian! Dumped because he couldn’t handle the torture of declawing, how horrible! His ‘mom’ was such a nasty peice of work, but she resembles pro declaws perfectly. Cruel, shallow, corwardly and lacking any form of concern towards their suffering animal.

I wonder if Sebastian will find a home… I hope he does, he’s been through so much already….

Thanks again, Ruth!

Thank you very much Ruth for having the commitment and stamina to fight for their claws. I too found that this story made me tearful – so sad.

The page “Declawing Cats” on PoC gets noticed. Your work helps it get noticed.

If you search in Google.com it is listed 2nd in the search results (July 2010). Your stories are read.

Little by little we do what a cat can do better than us – use persistence in our struggle for simple commonsense and decency. We only ask for what is right and decent. It shocks me to think that many people don’t get this.

This is another brilliant diary entry and the poem breaks my heart all over again. Sebastian has sunk about as low as a cat can get and he has no power to help himself, it’s terrifying that we, supposedly guardians of animal life, have the power to subject them to things that leave them with constant pain and fear. I don’t know what’s coming next to Sebastian, and neither does he and I suspect he is in total despair right now.

Hi Ruth. Thank you for telling this story, which has brought many tears to my eys. Yes, actually just thinking some of it almost causes psysical pain, but still that is nothing compared to what these poor declawed cats endure.
We humans may be the master species of this World, but does that give us the right to inflict unnecessary pain on other creatures just for the sake of e.g. our furniture? Declawing does not solve that or anything alse, as Sebastian’s Diary so brilliantly reveals. It just cause new problems.

I’m still hoping for some sort of a happy ending – or at least just a bit happier, but if the plot still keeps close to reality, it’s a slim chance… 🙁