Posted on 01/29/2012 7:56:10 PM PST by Altariel
We weren’t expecting a free dog - just countering the image of that. And I’m not sure how much vet treatment he had before-hand. I know we had him neutured, and some other stuff too.
Both of our dogs have been rescue mutts - and both have been GREAT dogs. The one we have now it was sad - he was perhaps 4 months(?) old when we got him. Was found starved and wandering some country road in another part of the state. We took him inside the house - and he couldn’t / didn’t know how to climb the stairs! We figured he must have been in a cage or something his entire life. It was surprising how long (days) that it took him to get used to them, even doing a face plant once (going up and carpeted luckily)!
Declawing a cat, on top of the painful surgery, is cruel because you leave the cat absolutely defenseless. Declawing is never a no-big-deal-thing. When, not if, the cat gets outside accidentally, he/she is at the mercy of every dog and mean spirited kid it encounters. Cats have claws for a reason.
My Golden lasted to 13yo. He was an awesome dog. We had him fixed as a puppy but regretted it later as he grew into one of the most handsome Goldens I'd ever seen. Downsized dogs now - Papillons. Even the adults are like having toddlers around :-) But I wouldn't trade 'em for anything.
I have a relative that is a "hobby breeder". She's very good at it and has sold some of her Samoyeds as far away as Finland. In 10 years she's probably only had three or four litters from eight dogs.
My cat is an indoor cat and will always be so. There has never been a “when” with the cats I’ve had. As for the “painful surgery”, they are under anesthesia and on pain meds afterward. My cat was fine after 2 or 3 days. The argument of it’s a terribly cruel procedure is pure bunk, imo.
Only if you consider removing the third bone of your finger, which contains your growing nailbed, an innocuous procedure and good for a person.
Declawing is not simply removing a claw, the whole third bone of the cat's toes are removed. It is a convenience surgery for the owner, period.
A considerate and responsible cat owner is able to direct the cat's natural scratching to an appropriate place, such as a post covered in carpet or jute. Then you don't have to cut off 1/3 of every toe.
If an owner is unable to control the cat's behavior, short of cutting off its toes, the owner should not have a cat. The rescue has every right not to want their charges abused by senseless and maiming surgery.
Its amazing how being blind she had adjusted..She knows the house by memory and I can no longer rearrange furniture and if something (like my purse on the floor) she bumps into it...What is funny is sometimes she ends up in the middle of the living room and comes to a dead stop...she doesn't know which way to go...She has learned to walk just barely touching the wall. Has no trouble finding her food and water bowl. But she could use a nose bumper for those times she gets a little confused...
She went blind within a week from a disease called SARDs. Its rare and there is no cure. My vet brought in an eye specialist vet to look at her, I am sure he also wanted to learn about it cause according to my research, last year there was only 4000 cases in the US. When she goes down the 2 steps to be let out she figured out a way to do the steps without falling...I watched her and she puts her paws at the very edge of the step without her nails not touching the cement step, then she knows its safe to step down...She has misjudged only a couple of times and fell down the steps...I cannot believe how smart she is....
Oh, Papillons are wonderful dogs (and very smart). They are one of the few small breeds I have considered in my old age as I think that the big dogs get harder and harder to lug around and groom.
Oh my. Well, I think sometimes dogs do better with things because they don’t know they are supposed to feel sorry for themselves. They just get on with life, once they figure out it’s not going to change. Good for you and good for her. I have loved my old ones best. Puppies are fun, but dogs are best after about age 7. They get better and better.
In a kitten, only the nail is removed and the nail is not attached to the tendon. It is a minor surgery. Now when they get older and the nail is attached to the tendon or removing the back nails which are attached to the tendon from birth, that is cruel because it is very painful for the cat, I agree. The procedure was described to me by the vet before I had it done. It is not the same for kittens as it is for adult cats.
Listed below are the methods of declawing. As you will see none of them involve removing just the claw. They all involve amputation or severing a tendon.
Nail Clipper Onychectomy
The nail clipper onychetomy is performed by using a guillotine-like instrument (Resco nail clipper) to sever the third bone from the rest of the toe. Nail clipper onychetomy is major surgery that involves the use of general anesthesia.
Nail clipper onychectomy is an invasive procedure and requires a couple nights stay at the animal hospital.
Scalpel Disarticulation
Scalpel disarticulation involves using a scalpel to sever the last bone in the toe. Like nail clipper onychectomy, scapel disarticulation is an invasive procedure. It is performed under general anesthesia.
Laser Onychectomy
Laser onychectomy is the latest form of declawing kittens. The procedure involves using a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser to remove the third toe and nail bed.
An Alternative Method
Flexor tendonectomy is a procedure in which a veterinarian cuts through the tendon that allows for a feline to extend and retract its claws. Flexor tendonectomy is less invasive. However, nails will still need to be clipped as uncut nails may growth into foot pads causing pain.
www.Funkstownvet.com/declaw.html
www.declawing.com/htmls/declawing.htm
I grew up in a vet's office ... I've seen it done and it is an ugly and very painful surgery. While the tendon may or may not be attached in kittens does not change the fact that the third bone of the toe is removed.
Please understand this surgical procedure before you wave it off as no big deal, that's all I ask. Your vet obviously simplified the description of the surgery ... for what reason, I'll never know.
I have four rescue cats all were kittens all have been declawed, they
Never go outside and believe me the way they use those paws at the cat
condo and sides of chairs ect. my home and furniture would be destroyed. They all came home from the surgery just fine and are very
happy healthy kittys.
Thank you!
I wasn't a small dog person till we got these guys. We have four now and they are great. All are full grown but range from 6 pounds to 20 pounds and the 6 pound female rules the roost.
I can give each one a leg marrow bone and they spend all day trying to outwit each other in trying to steal all of the bones. Great fun!
You said that the only the claw was removed and that the surgery for a kiten was not the same as for a grown cat. All I did was point out that you were incorrect.
I did not make any comment other than that. You were incorrect in what happens during the surgery. Period.
kiten should have been kitten
Man, this is so spot on!
I am so sick of the holier-than-thou “pet” people in “rescue” who think no-one is worthy. Meanwhile, they make anyone feel guilty for not “rescuing” an animal rather than going to breeders.
I object to the name - if you didn’t literally save the animal’s life, it’s not a “rescue”.
*I* (actually, my aunt and mother) rescued a tiny 3-week-old kitten from a bizarro kid who abused animals - he had stolen her, it turned out, but since he pathologically lied we didn’t know until many months later what had happened. So after Mom and Aunt literally rescued her from the boy (”stole” her out of his hands after I had tried to comfort the baby he abused), I and my German Shepherd raised her.
And we didn’t need permission. (The actual “breeder”/owner was glad she ended up in a good home when he found out about it.)
I used to work for a vet and we did quite a few declaws (you’re correct about how the procedure is done). However, to do it should be a personal matter between an owner and their vet. If that’s what it takes for the cat to have a long term, happy home, I don’t know what business it is of the rest of the world. Honestly.
Spaying and neutering could be considered just as maiming really even moreso, you are completely removing a hormonal system from the animal —any woman whose gone thru menopause likely understands what that’s like! But those are politically correct because the animal rights people like the outcome. There are actually some health issues associated with spaying and neutering, especially before maturity. I think it’s time we stop telling other people what they can and can’t do with their pets, if they are responsibly taking care of them and not burdening the rest of us with them.
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