Tips on Cats? Not in my book!

by Barbara
(England)

I’m sure every right thinking visitor to PoC will want to comment on these words of wisdom, which are on a site called “Tips on Cats”, the site claims to tell us how to take care of our cats and this is what it has to say about declawing:

Firstly after saying that there is more than a small dispute around whether we should or shouldn’t be declawing cats it then says that the benefits of declawing cats are obvious “although the drawbacks are especially related to your pet” (I‘d have said ENTIRELY!) it then lists what the author sees as the advantages of amputating your cat’s fingers which are of course, sickeningly, the same old chestnuts wheeled out again:

1) Saving on reupholstering or buying furniture (and it even says due to a cat’s necessity to scratch so it’s not as though the author doesn’t realise that a cat NEEDS to scratch)

2) (If you think this is bad wait till advantage number 3) declawing pet cats makes them less dangerous around kids other pets and so forth.

3) Here is the one that has made steam come out of my ears!

MOST PET CATS WILL TURN OUT TO BE MUCH MORE DOCILE EVENTUALLY AFTER THEY HAVE HAD THEIR CLAWS EXTRACTED. THE VALID REASON FOR THIS IS NOT EVIDENT, BUT IT’S A PLEASANT BENEFIT A LOT OF CAT OWNERS HAVE DISCOVERED OVER THE YEARS.

This is horrifying! To think that this information is out there on the Internet for anyone to come across who is thinking of declawing. It is pie for them, HERE is all the justification they need to get their cat down the roads to the surgery and get those fingers off quick smart!

Here are the disadvantages that this blinkered author has come up with:

1) The cats will continually need to be a home cat, since they will be virtually defenceless without their front claws around other felines and animals (their front claws are how they keep predators away from them).

2) Certain breeds are known for being well behaved and will keep their claws retracted, unless they need to guard themselves.

3) Your cat will have to learn to readjust their equilibrium with the elimination of the claws. All claws are a means of stability for felines, since they walk on their toes — instead of their paws as other four-legged animals do.

Again horrifying because this person actually KNOWS that declawed cats are defenceless, and that they need to re-learn how to walk on their shortened paws

In summarising this person has the nerve to add
“What must you do?

When you ponder the pros and cons; declawing felines comes down to need. In case your feline claws at your furnishings and won’t take to a scratching post, then it will be inevitable they need to be declawed. The same goes for felines that don’t learn how to maintain their claws retracted while having fun with you, your other pets and your children. On the same note, you don’t need to unwittingly decide to declaw them simply because it looks like the thing to do, or a friend says it has to be done.”

NEED to be declawed? And for goodness sake, the kids can maul, the dog can maul, but OH NO the cat can’t fight back.

Please folks get on this website and put this person right!

http://tipsoncats.com/declawing-pet-cats-is-it-necessary/

Barbara avatar

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Tips on Cats? Not in my book!

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Dec 30, 2010 Keep up the good work
by: Anonymous

Well done Barbara,yet another ignorant fool given a few home truths!


Dec 24, 2010 Bad tips
by: Edward

Its people like that who spread ignorance and its a good job Barbara did spotting this one so we can make sure the real story gets told.
Ed


Dec 22, 2010 Crass ignorance
by: Sue

It’s fools like that writer who cause a lot of grief for cats.
I’ve never seen so many comments on an article!
Let’s hope they all stay on.


Dec 21, 2010 More needed
by: Anonymous

Good work Barbara!

I’ve had my say on there but looking again one or two pro declaws are creeping in.

We need to go back and put those idiots right!


Dec 20, 2010 Over and over
by: Leah (England)

Is this person for real? Never before in my life have I heard such utter drivel thrown together in one article!

Surely anyone with a grain of intelligence would view it with the utter contempt it deserves. It is blatant disregard for the cat and promotion of cat abuse all in one article. Thank goodness Barbara found the website and alerted everyone so that we could leave comments and educate readers so as not to take it seriously. Mind you it seems as though no one has as it hasn’t been credited with a single comment in agreement (no surprise there).

Even the sentence in brackets the author is so inept they have to state the obvious; ‘their front claws are how they keep predators away from them’ no shit! I always wondered what they were for! And even that isn’t strictly true as they don’t keep predators away but they do at least give them a fighting chance if predators attack.

‘Declawing pet cats make them less dangerous around kids, other pets, and so forth’ Oh so before declawing they were REALLY dangerous then? What are we talking about here? Wild animals or domestic cats?
What is it with this ‘children and other animals’ rubbish all the time? How do the other 38 countries where it’s banned cope with these marauding beasts attacking children and mauling other animals? It’s all so pathetic and stupid it’s almost funny.

We just seem to be repeating ourselves over and over because of the amount of thick skulls we have to penetrate but I know that as long as I can sit at a keyboard, I have breath in my body and I can use my fingers that’s just what I’ll do; repeat myself over and over for as long as takes until its banned for good.

BTW the idiot thats written this has also done an article on litterbox issues and conveniently forgot to mention that declawing causes litterbox avoidance. I commented on that as well just as a timely reminder. I don’t know if anyone else wants to add a little reminder of their own?


Dec 20, 2010 Tips on Cats or BS for the Uneducated?
by: Kay & Coco @ Serenity Farm

I checked out the site and was amazed at the amount of drivel it contained. I can not ever condone the declawing of any cat for any reason. Here on the farm Coco comes and goes as she pleases, without her claws to afford her some small protection from winged and furred predators she would not last a minute. Even though she does call her four dogs to her rescue on occasion to chases away whatever animal has sent her up a tree. ( last week it was a cow!) In the house Coco has her scratching post in my office. ( It is very well worn.) She has not tried to use her claws on any of my furniture. Maybe it is because her post is a real tree limb my husband cut to mount on a 12x12in stand. I think scratching post wrapped in rug fiber only teaches a cat that it is OK to scratch on cloth.
I admit I have very little real knowledge about cats. But I do know that any animal equipped with claws has them for a reason. Just as I know any animal equipped with huge teeth such as canines has them for good reason. Should I now consider having all of dogs teeth pulled out just because they, as youngsters chewed up my husbands best boots and devoured my new red leather handbag. I am at a loss as to the thinking of people who want animals of any kind and then want to alter that animal to suit the humans whims. Thanks for sharing, I now have another site to add to my list of sites not to go to. Warmest holiday wished to everyone. Kay, Coco and all the critters here at Serenity Farm.


Dec 20, 2010 That’s propaganda, not tips!
by: Gail (Boston, MA USA)

Well, I also put my 2-cents in on this blog. What a bunch of B*S*! Obviously, the writers are totally ignorant, or don’t care.

The scary part is that some people may believe this crap! Here’s hoping those who want to know the truth leave that site and gravitate here. After all, even Google says of PoC: “…Pictures of cats, probably the best on the internet and much more…”

Well done, Michael.


Dec 20, 2010 Terrible tips to be avoided like the plague
by: Michele S.

What a terrible web site, and very worrying that some people make think the article on declawing is written by someone who knows about cats. Thanks for bringing it to our attention Babz.


Dec 20, 2010 Tips on Cats? Not in my book!
by: suse

Thanks for writing this i am not as good with words but this covers just about everything i wanted to say about that deluded author and her article.


Dec 20, 2010 Thanks
by: Mandy

Thanks for sharing this. My blood boils every time I see an article like this.


Dec 20, 2010 Tips on Cats? I THINK NOT!
by: Jo SInger

The internet is loaded with informationa about cats that is so inaccurate it makes my blood boil. “Tips on Cats” really takes the cake!

What is extremely dangerous about the false advice given on many of these websites, of which this one is particularly glaring, and proves my point extremely well. These so-called feline-experts profer inappropriate information concerning feline care.

What is most frightening about websites like “Tips on Cats”,are those well meaning first time cat owners, eager to learn about what is needed to enable them give their cats the excellent care they wish to provide, when they visit a site like this, fall into the hands of these “experts” that don’t know “squat” about felines or their needs.

New cat owners are easily impressed with “fancy” websites which post an abundance of “helpful” links, but interestingly, in many instances the advice given by the feline expert linked as a resource on the totally inadequate website, is diametrically opposedd to the accurate information contained in many of these resource links.

So after checking out some of the resource links provided on “Tips on Cats”, it is obvious to me that the owner of “Tips on Cats” has not read the very information they are providing with these links. YIKES!

Not only that, the grammar, writing style, spelling and language of this particular site is compellingly shoddy, which hopefully might be a clue to readers that the author of the site doesn’t know his/her A*s from his or her elbow.

You have given a great example that demonstrates how dangerous the internet can be when researching how to care not only for cats, but any beloved pet. Thank you.


Dec 20, 2010 What ?????????
by: Silvia

What do these people have between their ears and protected inside their skull? It certainly cannot be brains, because I have never read such misguided twaddle in my life!The danger is of course that other such misguided morons will think this is the latest “definitive bible” on being a good owner, such is the extent that they live their lives according to the latest so called information. Where do they come from? All i know is that if you want to own a cat, you should be prepared from day one for the fact that they have claws. End of! To say cats become docile is so stupid, what has really happened is the cat has become crippled. Some good ownership that is eh?


Dec 20, 2010 Just for something to write?
by: Jane

Well that takes the biscuit.It looks like the writer of those tips has just rattled off a little bit about declawing just for something to write.
Yes with no comments that could do a lot of damage.
Good work Barbara bringing it to notice!


Dec 20, 2010 Well done Babz
by: Rose

I’m glad you have exposed that idiot writer,a page like that could do untold damage and undo all the good anti declaws have done.
I love your style of writing,you obviously put a lot of research into your topic and that shows!
It annoyed me most where it said declawed cats become more docile.If they call it docile being scared to move from a safe windowsill because of being at risk of abuse from kids and dogs,then they want certifying as insane.
I’m off to comment now on that page too.


Dec 20, 2010 Not in my book either
by: Ruth

That article is dangerously ignorant !
Thank you for finding and sharing it Babz, anyone coming across it without any comments about the truth of declawing might have taken notice of that rubbish.
The writer knows nothing much about cats and worse still what bit they do know, like the need to scratch, they gloss over with no explanation.
I’m so glad to see comments on there and hopefully you’ll get a lot on here too.
We do seem to have to repeat over and over again the cons of declawing and how cruel it is, but if it saves cats claws then it’s well worth it.

Kattaddorra signature Ruth


Dec 20, 2010 Thanks
by: Michael

Thanks, Barbara for highlighting this website. It is upsetting to see people still peddling misinformation about the brutal practice of declawing.

There are enough cat “owners” in the world who do not realise what declawing really entails. To have this sorry state of affairs reinforced by this author is very sad.

Michael Avatar


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