We Adopted A Declawed Maine Coon

Hi Cole,

A species appropriate diet will result in a cat with smaller, drier stools that have much less odor. Please see “Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition” on Catinfo.org by Dr. Lisa Pierson, http://www.catinfo.org/

She even posts photos of cat poop! See http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood and scroll down the page.

“Cats on a low residue diet will often not pass stool every day. There is very little waste contained in this diet and so the volume of feces will be less. Also, the feces of a cat eating the diet discussed below are often dry and crumbly…

The feces from my cats also has very little odor!” ~ Dr. Pierson

A cat who’s declawed may not bury their waste if their paws hurt (see previous posts).

Our old declawed cat would poop on newspaper on the basement floor and one of the other cats would pull newspaper over it to “bury” it.

A dominant cat might possibly leave feces uncovered, but I don’t have any references for that.

A big cat needs a big litter box – or three! I like the huge Rubbermaid storage totes that I cut down like shown here http://www.catinfo.org/?link=litterbox#Types_of_Litter_Boxes,_Size,_Number_and_Location

Although Dr. Pierson doesn’t like clumping pine litter, you could try it as filler in one litter box. It does lose some of it’s strong scent after it’s been exposed to the air for a while. Your cat might prefer it because it’s softer on his feet.

Part 2.

Because your cat’s feet might be causeing him pain, you should learn about declaw repair surgery and see if it might be indicated. Not many vets are familiar with it, so you might have to ask the vets to visit Dr. Gaskin’s site where he has info, videos & a PowerPoint about it.

See Susan’s PoC post “Dr. Ron Gaskin is a good vet who performs declaw repair surgeries”, https://pictures-of-cats.org/dr-ron-gaskin-is-a-good-vet-who-performs-declaw-repair-surgeries.html

“Physical Consequences of Declawing” article by Dr. Jean Hofve explains changes that cause problems; helpful comparitive x-rays & photos, http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/physical-consequences-of-declawing/

Obesity will make problems worse for declawed cats. Please see info by Dr. Lisa Pierson, http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

Bladder inflammation & urinary problems are common in declawed cats (it’s common for them to have more anxiety, stress & pain which contribute to this problem). Proper nutrition can help (see http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth)

Since declawed (and obese) cats often suffer from arthritis, you might want to look at treatments for that as well as physical therapy to stretch out shrunken ligaments on your cats’ feet.

Arthritis info from holistic vet, Dr. Jean Hofve, http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/arthritis-in-cats/

Omega-3 oil helps; new info from Dr. Hofve, http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/omega-3s-are-essential-for-your-cat/

Other helpful info:

“Litterbox Secrets”, by Jackson Galaxy cat behaviorist, http://www.littlebigcat.com/behavior/litterbox-secrets/

“The Litter Box From Your Cat’s Point of View” by Dr. Lisa Pierson, http://catinfo.org/?link=litterbox

Hope you can let us know how things go.

Hi Cole,

Our first cat was declawed. She ended up with litter box avoidance where she would poop on the floor near the box.

We took her to a vet who had chiropractic training & he thought the cat had a slipped disc. (I believe many declawed cats end up with back pain.) This would likely cause pain when she tried to defecate, which probably caused her to associate the litter box with pain. The cat was also constipated, but two vets said blood tests did not indicate any disease. If our cat was avoiding the litter box as long as she could, this could also contribute to constipation. (Feeding kibble can also cause dehydration, urinary problems and constipation – see www.catinfo.org)

The vet prescribed some Chinese herbal pills & said it was okay to give her lactulose, psyllium or hemp seeds – whatever worked for her constipation. So that’s what we did for over a year. The lactulose was difficult to get into her and in hindsite, I don’t think it was good for her.

I believe she suffered from undiagnosed kidney disease for a few years as constipation is a possible sign according to the third – and final vet we took her to – a certified cat vet.

Our cat should NOT have been constipated as she was eating grain-free canned food. Suddenly, the cat’s health deteriorated & she was suffering from kidney disease & multiple organ failure. The cat vet said when she detects kidney disease, she starts to treat cats for it earlier than regular vets do. We tried to treat her, but she died about two weeks later.

If I had taken her to the cat vet a few years ago, she might have lived to see her 19th birthday. (We have another old cat who was diagnosed with kidney disease more than a year ago.) I found a cat vet through the site that certifies them, the AAFP at www.catvets.com. A vet certified through the AAHA might also have more training than regular vets. A vet who likes cats, attends additional feline health lecutres & educates themselves about new research might also be a good bet. It’s preferable to choose a vet who does not declaw cats, if you can find one. (See “Help in Selecting a New Veterinarian” an excellent article that lists other things to look for in a good vet,

(I suggest all cat owners get a copy of “Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life” by vet Elizabeth Hodgkins – it’s so helpful because it explains nutrition, diseases & treatments regular vets may not be aware of. She gives helpful website links too. It’s info you need so you can advocate for your cat.)

Hi again Cole, what worried us was you said in your article
‘He can’t climb trees, get on the roof, or defend himself, but he seems to do fine as an outside cat’
So he can get on the roof now can he ? It sounds pretty safe where you live and you obviously take good care of him.
It’s just sad he has problems with his paws and like all declawed cats he has had to adjust to managing as a disabled cat.
The litterbox problem is almost sure to be from when he was newly declawed and the pain in his feet was unbearable when he tried to rake litter.
It’s such a shame people have this cruel surgery done on cats when it’s so easy to provide a scratching post and have cats live a healthy happy life.
I’m glad you are giving your cat the best life you can, it was his lucky day when he came to you.
I hope his previous ‘owners’ have never got another cat !

well, I would like to share my replies to some of the comments and concerns that people expressed.

the previous owners had him as an outside cat, and keeping hiom in is a futile task.
he primarily stays in our fenced backyard.
he generally goes out shortly after i get up, and comes in long before i go to bed.
he is never out during the dark-he always want in before then.
we did move from the house with the other cat problems, and currently, there are no other neighborhood cats around.
if i am home, however, he quite prefers to be inside with people.
whilst he cannot climb trees, he is still quite adept at jumping and is often on te roof of the house.
he gets along quite well with other cats. in fact, he came in and led me outside to show that another cat was stuck on the roof (there i9s a lower section over a side door that the one cat jumps down, and he can’t jump back up from.)

Again I have to say BRAVO Kathleen! I have nothing but total respect for you and what you are trying to acomplish.
There are lots of things that are “wrong” with the USA, but I’m one of those that still think it’s the best we’ve got (of course those of you in the UK may disagree with that, that’s normal). No one can effectively work to change everything that’s wrong with our society so you have to pick your battle and stick with it. In my off-duty time I’ve chosen animal cruelty in general, focusing mostly I suppose, on dogs (although I would think it would be obvious that I certainly against the same for cats too). Here in North Carolina for instance, they have recently made most animal cruelty a FELONY, thanks to some sick idiot that set a dog on fire. It caused quite a public outcry which led to “Susie’s Law” named after the dog that got burned (she survived by the way). So I guess that’s what you need – some real public outcry!
And finally, should you succeed in getting this outlawed, I would be more than happy to go out and slap a pair of handcuffs on some individual that violated it because I just LOVE putting cuffs of the people I catch (it would involve a complicated set of circumstances for me to actually be in the aforementioned situation, but it IS possible!).

Daniel, I’m interested in anything that makes the world a better place for cats. I actually try not to fixate too narrowly on the goal of “banning declawing”, because I do realize that banning something is seldom the end of the problem entirely, and backlash effects do happen sometimes, and I can’t predict the future. I would rather see the demand for declawing disappear due to successful education campaigns, but since so many American vets seem to be actively working against that effort, I do support bans at this time. If it were ever proven to me that a ban had the unintended effect of causing more cats to be harmed, as the vets claim, I would change my position, but I have not seen proof of that come out of California. If declawing were only recognized as animal cruelty in this country (as it is in so many others), there would be no need to ban it; there would already be laws against it. I think the individual citywide bans that we have seen pass in California are good, however, because they can give us a sort of social lab in which to study their effects on feline welfare. I also think it’s good for cats when a city, especially a large one like Los Angeles, sends the message to the rest of the country that declawing is not acceptable there; that it is not consistent with their civic values. People in the rest of the country may start asking why that is and start seeking out the information their vets aren’t giving them.

Hi Anna, I’m glad you can go.
I wish I could, I’d love to meet you and all the other wonderful people who really do care about cats over there.
If you want to use any of my posters you are very welcome.
If you are on facebook you might like to join ‘The International Coalition Against Declawing’
X for Lyova

Dear Ruth:
Thank you so much for the link.Count me in. It is St.Louis, Missouri, as I understood. I will read all the information carefully, we still have time till July 17. And it is Sunday, so it works out fine with my working schedule.
May be there is a way to get a better group rate at the local hotels somehow? But there is still plenty of time for this as well.
I am starting to think about big posters. It is important they speak out for themselves when seen in the news for just a few seconds.
I agree that EDUCATION is the best way to proceed.

To: Leah,
Good job ma’am! I’ll have to think about that one! (Yes, of course I know what female circumcision is.) Congratulations for using that thing on top of your neck for something other than a hat rack!

Kathleen,
It’s really nice to know that SOMEONE gets it!
Now since I’m assuming you are still interested in banning declawing like I said about 12,000 words ago – we can just agree to disagree, OK.
Regarding people that might be for example, against banning abortion, but for banning declawing, or visa versa, it would not surprise me one bit, at least not anymore, since if I learned one thing the last couple of days it’s that a lot of people seem to have trouble understanding the corelation.
If we were physically in the same location I would give you a great big kiss (on the cheek of course) and a hug! Have not a good one, but a great one, and good luck with whatever you do!!!

Yes, I can understand the similarity between the abortion issue and the declaw issue. People who are anti-abortion and people who are anti-declaw are both trying, in their view, to protect a small, helpless creature from grievous harm due to a medical procedure that the majority views as acceptable, and which is currently legal in the US. That degree of similarity cannot be denied. Interestingly, many who fall on one side of one of these issues fall on the precise opposite side of the other issue. Not everyone, of course, but a significant number. Much can be made of that, I’m sure. But I think that those of us who are passionate about ending declawing would do well to think about this, because those who support declawing and want it to continue are thinking about it, I can guarantee you. I recently posted a comment on a YouTube video that promoted declawing as harmless, and the response I got from the person on my comment was “Have you ever heard of moral vanity? What’s your stance on abortion?” And Daniel is not the first person I have seen make the case that banning declawing would lead to the feline equivalent of a “back-alley” abortion. I personally don’t think we would really see that much of that, because a person banned from declawing their cat would be far more likely to simply dump the cat rather than pursue a declaw through illegal back alley means. It’s simply not that easy for a woman with no access to legal abortion to solve her dilemma, so the motivation to seek an illegal solution is much greater in that case. But the point I’m really trying to make is that, regardless of what your own stance on abortion may be, we should acknowledge that people on the other side of the declaw issue are going to bring abortion up as a comparison; they are already doing so, and to completely deny that there’s any similarity at all would be shortsighted. I would even venture to say that there may be things to be learned from studying the history of the abortion issue in the US: how has the majority of the public tended to view the various behaviors of each side? What sorts of tactics have been successful- however you choose to define “success”? What sorts of tactics have NOT?

Hi Cole

Good on ya for taking on a disabled cat. Micheal is quite right I don’t know how anyone can de-claw any cat let alone one as majestic and friendly as a Maine Coon.

One thing does concern me though and its as obvious as the nose on your face; its a paragraph from your article;
‘He can’t climb trees, get on the roof, or defend himself, but he seems to do fine as an outside cat’
My question is if he can’t climb to safety how can he ‘do fine as an outside cat?’ Surely you must know that despite his size he’s no match for a larger predator? Please, please do as someone said and leave your door open for him when he’s outside and please look out for him and take good care of him; after all don’t you think he’s been through enough without ending his life being torn to pieces?
I hate to have to say that but if he has no claws then sadly its a real possibility.

Daniel I really don’t know what to make of you. You have opened a can of worms on a number of issues. I can kind of understand when you talk about rights, freedom & democracy but pray tell me how a vet can basically do to any animal what we’ve seen in Ruths article and not be held accountable yet if someone not qualified as a vet did that then they would be jailed for animal cruelty. To me there is no distinction.
Yes you are right about the education bit and thats what we are trying to do which is more than can be said for the vets; it is they that are at fault for not disclosing the facts and its because they won’t disclose the truth they we have to! Don’t you see that some laws are bought about because an act that was previously acceptable is now considered barbaric, cruel and outdated?

I’m going to get really controversial now. Have you heard of female circumcision? No? Well I won’t go into detail here but I suggest you look it up then when you do tell me that because of democracy and freedom of choice that its ok for a mother to do that to her child at anything from the age of just months old up to 14. By the way thats also outlawed in England.

Hi Anna, I know who you are now of course, the gorgeous Lyova’s caretaker! I loved your pages about him !
It’s not so much a ban declawing demonstration, more of a letting the AVMA and vets know that the truth is out about the seriousness and cruelty of declawing and showing them how many people are against it. Also about educating any people around that day.
There are around 400 people going so far and thousands more of us all over the world, as far away as Auustralia in fact, who can’t be there, but are supporting them whole heartedly.
I’d love to go but it’s impossible as I’m thousands of miles away in the UK and have many commitments here to both people and animals.

https://pictures-of-cats.org/antideclawing-demonstration-st-louis-usa-2011-timetable-and-methods.html

The demonstration is no secret, it’s on facebook too and I very much admire Michael who is putting a lot of hard work into it and co-ordinating with people over there to ensure it makes a huge impact.
We are not so daft as to think declawing will get banned just like that, the way to go meanwhile is educating and we have saved around 300 cats claws we know of in just over 2 years. As Annie Bruce cat expert says, if those 300 people have educated even just one more person and they have done the same, then in reality we may have saved thousands of cats.
That’s what it’s all about, because those of us concerned love not only our own cats but cats worldwide and we can’t stand by and see them abused this way.
Can you go to the Demonstration Anna ? I’m sure you’d be much welcomed.

Yes Anna, I saw the pictures this morning (Mon.) as a matter of fact. They are absolutely horrible, no doubt about it. And I left a very long blog that includes a very real scenario of what will more than likely happen should you and your fellow “Anti’s” succeed in your dream. But I am truly more disappointed in you than all the others because of where you came from. I would have thought that you, of all people, would realize how dangerous it is to the very concept of freedom to start banning things, no matter how reprehensible they may be. I’m glad you are a fighter though because your cause is gonna need someone that can. My guess is that despite all those passionate testimonials that I have read in the last two days on this blog, and the one with the horrible pictures of the poor declawed kitty, the fact is that out of that dozen or so people, when it comes time to get up out of their comfy chair and REALLY do something, like go to a demonstration – about 9 out of 10 will give you every excuse you’ve ever heard, and a few you never even thought of, as to why they CAN’T do that (I’m sorry, I have a bad back. I’m just too busy running my own business. I can’t get time off of work. I have a sick mother at home that I take care of. blah, blah, blah). Get the picture?
Now jump over to those sickening pictures and read what I put on there. I know that I’ll never change your mind – never thought that I would! But it does make for interesting reading. So your not going to tell me whether your cute or not, huh! Oh well, it was worth a shot! Good Night Darlin’!

The link below has a couple of stories about our cat Lyova. She is the one who inspired me to stand up against the mutilation abuse.
When I feel down she touches my hand gently with her soft disfigured paws…as if to remind me how much worth she has it.

Here is the link, you are welcome to check it out.

https://pictures-of-cats.org/the-better-bush-to-hunt-under.html

Daniel, Daniel, Daniel!
Have you seen these pictures, Daniel? Please follow the link below slowly and carefully. I probably did take the desired for the reality, but I am not going to give up as fast. I am a fighter, Daniel, because if I weren’t I would have never made it here from Moscow on the last plain taking off right in front of the rolling tanks in 1991, with my little Daughter and $40 hidden in her shoe.

Some Russians tried to warn me: don’t go there, they will steel your child and take her organs out, and you will end up picking garbage on Brighton Beech. Well, none of these happened. This country did miracles for both me and my Daughter. Only poor defenseless animals are being taken apart here, and I’ll do all I personally can to stop it. Because I am here, and it is my duty now to do good for the country.

https://pictures-of-cats.org/the-shocking-images-of-a-declawed-cat.html

ANNA, ANNA, ANNA!! What am I going to do with you? I cannot believe that after all that has been said, that you would believe I would be interested in going to a demonstration to BAN declawing. OMG!!!! Do you people really READ this stuff, or just go thru and pick out the words that you don’t like? ANNA, please go back and read what Kathleen said to me last night. Pay special attention to the last sentence. I’ll save you the trouble. What she was asking was if I would support legislation to require vets to disclose all the information regarding this procedure, such as the fact that it is basically an amputation, I suppose, or at least words to that effect. Similar to that of info Dr’s are required to provide women seeking abortions (see, someone understands the similarities between the two issues, even if a bunch of you DON’T) To that I answered YES! And I would absolutely support that type of legislation – full disclosure. Let me simplify my view as much as I possibly can for those of you with limited intelligence (don’t be offended ANNA, I’m not talking about you, but you do need to read things more closely): BAN IT – NO! EDUCATE ABOUT IT – YES!! By the way ANNA, are you cute? I’m just kidding!

Hello, Daniel:

Wow that was a scary invitation (though a little funny)!
I am sure it was just to calm everyone down and redirect the issue from personal “shooting match” to antideclawing. We have to stand together here, only by numbers we can beat “power and money” of some vets, as you’ve mentioned. Remember the Wizard of Oz? We do need love and emotions of Fran, Rose, Barbara and other participants, rationale, knowledge and experience of Ruth and Michael, and strength and courage of Marines (once and always:-)Especially when they “absolutely support that type legislation 100%”

Dear Ruth: you have mentioned a Ban Declawing demonstration coming up. When and where? Could you please give us that link here? If we can make it there all together, why not to stop by that Little Mountain Church Road in NC on the way and pick up a Deputy U.S.Marshal to support us? At least from NY it isn’t too far.

There is a story about the broom I remember from my childhood. Separated into individual twigs it was so easy to break!

Ok, I get it now, you were by saying that I was “lying” making a comment on my little joke, because that’s all it was. So, hopefully you too were only joking. Was that you Ted, hiding behind Anonymous? It makes no difference because I know that you will never have the guts to come forward, but I have been wrong before…. Anyway, if you have read all of my blogs yesterday, you know that I foster dogs for the local Humane Society, and right now I’ve got several people Emailing me that are interested in adopting so I’ve got to go and do some real important work – as opposed to debating or arguing about this issue. Later Mr. Anonymous

What a brave cat,he has the heart of a lion.
As someone else remarked think what a character he would be if he was a whole and healthy animal.
How could someone disable him by taking his toe ends away,it’s too horrible to even consider.
I hope you find a good vet who doesn’t do this cruel surgery and I hope he/she can help your cat to live as best a life as a disabled cat can.
Good luck

by: Daniel in N.C.
I know that I said I was all done commenting, but I lied.

This is for ROSE, FRAN, BARBARA, ANGEL O, KATH, BERT T., O.J. (Why did ya’ do it OJ? Why did you kill your EX and poor Ron?), RUTH, aka KATTADDORRA, and especially TED (who called me a liar): Below is all the personal info you need to either call me, Email me, or if you like, drop on by for a visit. I would be more than happy to continue this debate on any method of communication you desire. If you plan on dropping by you absolutely MUST call first. Consider this ample warning that should you show up on my front porch looking and acting angry, you might be seriously hurt! You see, even though it has been mentioned a couple of times that I am a former U.S. Marine who fought in Vietnam, that was 35 + yrs ago. Currently I am a Deputy U.S. Marshal and having spent a number of years locking up dangerous fugitives I have made more than my share of enemies, so I don’t react well to unanounced visitors.

Daniel B. Hudson
739 Little Mountain Church Road
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina 28659

Home Ph. – (336)696-4890
Cell Ph. – (336)262-0697
EMail – butterflyhudson@charter.net

I don’t like being called a liar Ted, especially when I have told absolutely no lies on this blog! I was accused of “attacking” Ruth by several people for calling her “ridiculous”. First of all I didn’t call HER ridiculous, I merely said that she sounded ridiculous. An opinion, NOT an attack. But being called a liar, thats VERY disrespectful and definitely an attack (the Troll part is just plain funny, I think he’s been reading too many Hobbit books.)

Looking forward to hearing from any of you!

I have a Maine Coon and I can not understand why those people would ever have such a beautiful friendly cat of this breed declawed.
Wrong enough but to then move house without him adds to their cruelty.
Good on you Cole for taking him in with all his troubles from some doctor’s money making abuse.
Do have him seen to if you posibly can,he doesn’t deserve the pain he is in.
This terrible cruelty to innocent cats must be stopped.

Cole your cats difficulties are typical of a de-clawed cat.
The reluctance to have his feet touched is probably because of nerve damage and the reluctance to cover his mess in his litterbox is because it’s so painful to use his feet to dig with.
You’d be advised to take him to a vet who doesn’t de-claw and have his feet thoroughly checked as no cat should have to live with such pain.
De-clawing is a disgusting and cruel procedure which any right minded person would be against and want stopped by whichever means it takes.

Gee Whiz Ted, you are a real moron, aren’t you!
“The Troll”! Please, this is just too much. Where do you people come from? Is this blog linked to outer space? So sorry that I “wasted” any of your “valuable time” with any rational thought. Whoaaa!! Poor baby! If you read everything that I’ve put on this website up until this point, you would see that I’ve been nothing but civil, but you people just won’t have it any other way apparently. So, I have an idea, why don’t all of you stupid, moronic, pea brained kitty lover’s go fu** yourself! And good luck with that declawing thing, but from the level of intelligence I’ve seen in the last 24 hrs your gonna need a hell of lot more than just luck – more like a miracle! And miracles are just like Santa Claus – there ain’t not such thing, so don’t think us “Anti-Banner’s” have a thing to worry about.

Did you read the part earlier where I mentioned that my cat Jackson had been clawing up the screen door? Well, I’ve got my pliers out and he is asleep in the recliner right now, totally unknowing what is about to happen…… Of course, I’m only kidding, but you humorless idiots probably think I would. Whatever! I told you earlier that I was having fun! What, you didn’t believe me? Trust me, getting into a “shooting match” with people that have so little ammunition is a lot of fun! Question: Is there one person on this blog that has fought for the freedom that you apparently take for granted?
I’ll be waiting breathlessly for an answer, but I doubt it. “Once a Marine, always a Marine”! OH RAH!

After all that he was a lying troll out to waste our valuable time.
Abortions are the free choice of women who have the ability to speak for themselves,cats do not.
We have to speak for them and we have no right to cripple them against their will.
End of subject.

Hello Kathleen. Yes, I would absolutely support that type of legislation 100%. If you read everything that I wrote here today, I can’t imagine why you would think otherwise. Remember, I did say that under no circumstance would I ever consider having my cat declawed, despite the fact that everytime he wants in he claws my screen door and it has to be replaced before summer arrives. My late wife was also adamately against it since it would leave at cat outdoors defenseless. As far as my views about consumer protection law’s – I’ve already been castigated for drawing any parallels, so why go there? I’m sure you would probably agree with some of my political views and disagree with others since I am neither a liberal or conservative but a moderate that agrees with both the right sometimes (national security, fiscal issues) and also with the left (mostly social issues). In my opinion the declawing issue is going to end up being mostly a local issue (such as your example if Calif.), and although you may enjoy some success in very liberal locals in various places like CA. and Oregon, for example. I think it will be a tough sell in most places. But isn’t that part of the beauty of this country that you can work to pass laws to ban whatever you like, no matter how much it erodes the basic concept of freedom. Have a nice evening. I’m done with this issue!

Daniel, you have raised an important point that needs to be addressed in some way other than arguing about who is attacking who, which doesn’t help anything. Many Americans are going to share your view that declawing is personally distasteful to them, but that people should have “freedom of choice” in regard to the decision to declaw. OK, fair enough, let’s talk about that. I would like to know how you feel about laws that regulate industries to protect the consumer and prevent unethical professionals from taking advantage of public ignorance. Are those good laws? The first anti-declaw legislation in this country was authored by a cat owner who got his cat declawed without knowing what the operation really entails or the risk of long-term complications, and learned about it after the fact. He introduced a ban on declawing in his city, West Hollywood, NOT because he wanted to restrict the freedom of other cat owners, but because he wanted to prevent them from feeling the same guilt and sadness that he did when he learned what he had actually done to his cat. There are too many veterinarians in this country who fail to provide their clients with all the information necessary for informed consent in regard to declaw surgery, and there is currently little to no regulation of the veterinary industry. I know for a fact that there are vets out there that will deliberately and actively hide information from people, because selling a surgery is more lucrative and less time consuming than educating people on the more humane alternatives to declawing. I’ve seen and heard them doing it. If you oppose an outright ban on declawing, would you support legislation that would require vets to provide all the facts about the surgery, similar to the mandates that are in place in many localities for doctors to provide a certain amount and type of information to women seeking abortions?

I know that I said I was all done commenting, but I lied. Seriously, I wanted to tell you all about my cat, Jackson. He is a terrific kitty. He is a Japanese Bobtail and his story and a picture are somewhere in this website titled, “My Japanese Bobtail Story”, you should check it out, it’s a very interesting story (well, I think so anyway). I am a very active volunteer with the local Humane Society and besides Jackson I have 3 dogs of my own, and two that I am currently fostering until they are adopted. I love all animals, period! Please don’t waste your time blogging back and saying crap like “you must not love them very much if you want poor innocent cats to suffer” because nothing could be farther from the truth. All I’ve done today is speak up for FREEDOM and ruffled your feathers because I don’t see things exactly YOUR way! How sad is that! One guy said something like what’s abortion and drugs got to do with declawing cats anyway. Well Sir, if you don’t see any parallel between the attempts to ban abortion and your “dream” of banning declawing, then you are obviously not the brightest crayon in box. HO,HO,HO. Come on people, don’t stop now, this is just too much fun!

Daniel I’m glad you didn’t say more because in my book you said quite enough as it was.
If you believe ignorant people should have the freedom to pay another person to cripple their cat then you are seriously lacking knowledge about declawing.
Your spiteful remarks aimed at Ruth were uncalled for as was your spiel about abortions and banned drugs.
It’s a wonder you didn’t bring up the old chestnut of circumsion.
This is about cats paws needlessly wounded for life because there is no law to stop it.
Cole’s cat is an example,his paws lawfully mutilated and his life with less quality as is his right.
If it takes a law to stop that happening then so be it and we should all rejoice the day that law is passed worldwide.

Ok people. Let me start by saying that I haven’t had this much fun in a long time! Yes, I said Fun! Somebody said something about my “anger and frustration”. Sorry, nothing could be farther from the truth. No anger or frustration here. And I’m being accused of “attacking” Ruth, and called a “Stupid Person” by someone. Boy, you people are something else! Hi “matey”. The only one that has any real sense is Anna. Why? Because of where she comes from she understands freedom better than all the rest of us put together (and yes, that includes me too). Oh yeah, I almost forgot, my wife isn’t suffering anymore because she died on Dec. 2nd. (Please don’t offer any sympathy because it would be so meaningless since she was not a cat!) It really amazes me that rather than just “agrreing to disagree” that instead you guys would attack me and at the same time accuse me of doing the same. As far as all of your efforts go to ban declawing, GOOD LUCK, because it will NEVER happen! In this country it usually comes down to power and money – the vets have it, and you don’t.
Just my opinion. Feel free to continue attacking me because quite frankly, I’m enjoying it. It’s actually very funny reading the ranting and raving of all you kitty lovers. I’m a dog lover – finish by saying, “dogs rule, cats drool” HeHe!

Hi Anna, it was very different in our country as our vets would never declaw cats even when it was legal.
I worked as a vet nurse all my working life and in that time only one person asked about it, she was refused and told that she wouldn’t find a vet in the UK willing to mutilate a cat that way.
Declawing wasn’t specifically banned here, it was covered by the Animal Welfare Law which was passed in 2007 and bans all cosmetic surgery.
Some cities in California, USA have banned declawing but it wasn’t easy for the campaigners.
A lot of people are working on this, collecting data and facts and proof of the cruelty of declawing and the problems it often causes.
Meanwhile we are educating people too because a lot still don’t know it is the amputation of the cats toe ends.
You’ll know there is a demonstration arranged ?
Declaw vets have to get the message that this premeditated abuse of cats is not acceptable to cat loving people and that they can’t be allowed to continue doing it.
It’s all about ‘people power’ and perseverance I suppose and making your protest known as we do here if we see injustice of any sort.

Hi, Rose, Hi, Cole:

Back to the scarred little paws of the today’s “hero” of the day.I am sure you’ve observed Maine Coons and many other cats behavior outdoors many times. Remember how they like to dig the soil looking for rodents and small invertebrates? And how they need to mark their territory by scratching on the tree as high as they can just to show others they are big and the place is taken?

So what do you think is going to happen to their declawed little soft pillows (I can’t even call it paws in this case)when they are just doing what they know being a cat? May be at least for a few days or so at a time Cole should keep the kitty indoors just to let his wound heel. Until the next time he tries to just be a cat..

Can’t stop wondering what can we all really do to BAN DECLAWING? How can we organize and start working on preparing this new legislation for promotion? I am sure Michael and Ruth can give us a good advice since they’ve accomplished this in Britain, right? So where do we start, or rather how do we proceed?

To start with it’s sickening that someone took a cat that might well have been adopted by someone kinder who wouldn’t have declawed him to make him fit with their ideal of the perfect cat and then they abandoned him,even having crippled him they still felt no responsibilty for him when the time came to leave. You took him in and you have stated that his paws are mishapen but he SEEMS ok but that they get cut and need to be tended, does that not tell you that he is vulnerable? He can’t climb trees or get on a roof – but he SEEMS fine as an outdoor cat? You pay lipservice to saying you’re against declawing but STILL even though you’ve seen first hand the problems your cat has you think there may be occasions where it is “necessary”- When might that be? When is it necessary to amputate cat’s toe ends? It’s very easy to have these principles with get out clauses, you’re against it unless it’s convenient.

Finally having a go at Ruth is not on, how dare you come on here and abuse a lady who has spent hours and hours campaigning for animal welfare, she did nothing to provoke your attack on her. Drugs and abortions are nothing to do with cruelty to animals. And NO there should not be freedom of choice to declaw cats because that freedom is abused everytime someone chooses to pay a vet to ruin a cat’s feet for their convenience, therefore that freedom should be taken away by law.

Daniel has hijacked Cole’s blog to rant that’s all and chose Ruth as an easy target.
Big mistake!

Cole you did well to adopt a disabled cat but I agree with the others in that you are now responsible for his safety.
It breaks my heart to think of his misshapen paws and cut feet he hates you to touch and yet be so brave.
How can anyone not want a law against vets doing that to healthy cats?
Declawing needs banning……..and soon.

The others are right you need to protect your declawed cat because as big as he is and as brave as he is he is also defenceless against able bodied animals outside.
Attacked he could be badly injured or lose his life.
Declawing MUST be BANNED and I would fully support a law which was passed for that purpose.
Freedom is one thing,animal abuse through cruelty or ignorance is another.

What have abortions or a law against growing drugs to do with cats?

Two wrongs don’t make a right Daniel and if you think it is not important to help vulnerable animals who can not speak up for themselves then you have come to the wrong place and have only made yourself look ridiculous.

The reason your beautiful Maine Coon “rules” the rest of the neighborhood is that he is bigger than most and does carry himself as an &-male. Other cats do not know he was cruelly mutilated and is really defenseless.

So he is safe only until his intimidating looks and posture walking are not challenged by any other cat or an animal. So it is the matter of time only: sooner or later he is going to be attacked and will be lucky to return home badly bitten, if alive.

I understand it is now almost impossible to turn him into a completely indoor cat, since he’d experienced the happiness of the freedom. The only thing I am asking you to do here is to please keep the door open when he is outside at all times. That will allow your (and now ours too)big and furry but disabled Coon to at least be able to run home for shelter.

Even with the full ammunition and claws I’ve heard the heart breaking story of the cat ripped apart by coyotes right in front of the house.
The owner saw the bits and pieces in the morning. He realized his favorite animal ran for safety but was betrayed by the locked door. This man lives his life now with a scarred soul, and still cries some nights in his sleep.

Where on earth did I say your wife will just have to suffer ?
I said genuine people like her have to suffer because of others who abused the growing of pain relief drugs and that’s why a law was made.
Of course we can’t let poor cats suffer, why should we if we can stop it ?
Cats suffering won’t change any laws already made.
I don’t think I deserved your nasty comments and being called ridiculous and I thank everyone here who has come to defend me.

Don’t vent your anger and frustrations on innocent people.
You say you don’t believe in declawing and wouldn’t do it to a cat of yours so do something constructive and help spread the word to stop it.
You come across as if you think cats are of no importance and shouldn’t be protected by law.
I’ve got news for you,a lot of people think just the opposite.
You owe Ruth an apology.

You have misread the whole comment from Ruth aka Kattaddorra and have maligned a genuinely concerned person and a lot more of us also by your stupidity.
Go and fight for your freedom elsewhere if you can’t be civil.
This is a site about CATS and the welfare of CATS.
NOT about the rights or wrongs of growing drugs.
We come here to educate on CATS suffering from abuse by their doctors and will continue to do so despite people like you who think they should have no right by law to a pain and problem free life.

Hello, everybody:

Having come from the former USSR with my young Daughter I very clearly understand the word freedom.It is still amazing to me we can write what we think here without expecting a knock on the door in the middle of the night. Thank you to Daniel and other US Marines, I am sure he knows what I mean by that.

But I also think that democracy means the will of the majority goes, not an anarchy. I hope Daniel agrees it wasn’t right for someone to break recently into my car for the navigator I forgot to take off the window, because majority of people work, not steel.

So as long as majority of people in the USA are not willing to ban declawing or boycott the blood-money thirsty vets, the poor animals will be mutilated. Never would I believe that most people are blood thirsty though. The true reason is: they are less aware, there are much more of them and they are harder to reach being spread through a much bigger territory as compared to, say, Great Britain.

So it is our responsibility and a civil duty to EDUCATE population on the issue, reach out to their hearts with pictures, videos, stories, and yes, I agree, manifesting and calling the vets. As long as this does not violate the harassment laws, since legal system in the US is a powerful tool to protect democracy, fought so hard for by Daniel and many other heroes.

Daniel how dare you call Ruth ridiculous.

She didn’t say your wife would just have to suffer,she said because of others who abused marijuana your wife has to suffer.
That is COMPLETELY different

It’s you a waste of cyberspace picking on a person who genuinely cares about the suffering of ALL sentient beings whether they have two legs or four.

It’s YOU who doesn’t understand the concept of suffering if you think that because your wife suffers that means innocent creatures should suffer too.

You’ve chosen the wrong one to misdirect your spleen on matey because Ruth has a lot of support here for all she does for animals and for your information for PEOPLE too.

Kattadora, Do you have any idea just how ridiculous you sound talking about how my wife will just have to suffer because people abuse marijuana, but we can’t let the poor cats suffer! Unbelievable lady!! I could say more, but why waste good cyberspace. Like I said, it’s just like the abortion issue, some of us will NEVER agree. I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree, as they say. But I will continue to fight for your freedoms, even if you don’t understand the concept enough to appreciate them!

Daniel I’m sorry about your wife but it’s the same situation as is declawing.
A law against growing your own relief for pain had to be made because so many people abused the growing of it and used it for their own pleasure or for profit. So genuine people like your wife who it would help, have to suffer.
There would be no need to ban declawing if people didn’t abuse it and the main ones who do abuse it are the vets who do it for profit. They should do the honest thing and explain to their clients what declawing really means and educate them as to the alternatives.
It shouldn’t be about freedom of choice. Cats are not possessions, they are living feeling beings and in our country (UK) we welcomed a law to protect them.
You obviously must know suffering from your Vietnam days and on behalf of your wife and must understand it’s our duty to help vulnerable people AND animals. So you must know that those of us who love cats can’t just stand by and watch millions suffering and millions more doomed to suffer, without trying to stop it !

Ok folks, I personally would never, under ANY circumstances, have my cat declawed, but I will (and have) fight for your right to do so if that’s what you desire. To me it’s the same as the adortion issue. I do not like the idea of abortion and would never want either my wife or daughters (all 3 of them) to have one, but if that was what they chose, then so be it. To me it all comes down to freedom of choice. I fought for freedom in Vietnam in the U.S. Marine Corps and would gladly do it again given the opportunity. In my opinion, if your against declawing cats, then by all means don’t get your cat declawed. But BANNING it altogether, NO WAY! This is suppose to be a FREE country, and everytime we BAN something, it erodes the meaning of that word. It’s bad enought as it is that I can’t go out into my back yard and plant a seed in order to grow a plant that when smoked or ingested helps relieve my wife’s MS syptoms simply because of the state we live in. Let’s not make it any worse!!!!

Hi Cole, you say your poor cat’s feet are misshapen but he seems OK with it. The reason he’s OK with it is because he has no choice, he has adapted to living his life as a cripple and it sounds to me as if he has a fair amount of pain in his stumps too.
You tell us what a brave cat he is outside, just think if he still had his claws what a wonderful life he would be having now.
Michael is right, be very careful he isn’t attacked by a strange cat that isn’t afraid of him, or by a dog or a wild animal.
Cats defend themselves with their front claws, he can’t roll over and kick with his back ones because that would leave him totally vulnerable underneath.
Cats need front claws to launch up trees, in a panic he may forget he is disabled and try to do just that to escape. Some declawed cats have been torn to bits as they’ve fallen back to the ground.
PLEASE watch over him carefully and as Michael also says, take him to a vet if you can to have his stumps checked for bone splinters or claws regrowing curved.
There is NEVER an occassion where declawing may be necessary and there is no better method. Whether by guillotine or by scalpel or by laser, declawing is TEN amputations.
Each claw is firmly embedded into the bone which contains the claw cells, that bone has to be amputated or the claw will grow back.
In 38 countries declawing is banned as animal abuse, the vets who do it in your country break their oath to cause no animal to suffer.
You see your cat suffering and millions more are like him or have even worse problems. Many are killed because of those problems.
This premeditated abuse of cats is NEVER EVER justifiable.

Thanks for sharing. I was interested in your article because it kind of encapsulates a lot of what is wrong with declawing.

I find it strange that when some people move they leave their cat behind. I think that when we move we should pick a new home that is suitable for us and our cats (and dogs) if that is at all possible.

And to declaw the king of purebred domestic cats, the Maine Coon is despicable. Of course it is despicable as far as I am concerned to declaw any cat but to acquire a purebred cat and declaw him or her is blatantly thoughtless and heartless.

The classic litter box problem post-declawing seems to have occurred. This indicates that the feet are sore and permanently sore, which further indicates that there may be bone fragments left in the paw or arthritis. I am guessing as to what is happening but litter box problems by declawed cats are well documented. You might get a good vet to check out his stumps for fragments.

Two other points come to mind:

Outdoors Your cat appears to be an alpha cat and safe from other cats probably despite being declawed. But he is not safe from dogs and coyotes. There are a number of examples on PoC of dogs attacking and killing declawed cats. It is shocking. Here are some examples:

Two dogs played tug of war with declawed cat

Declaw Cats – two fictional stories based on true events (see base of linked page).

Smelly Poo

This may be a dietary issue. You might consider a change. Bengal Cat Smelly Poo.

Thanks for sharing and good luck to you both.