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Post by Phyxius on Jun 27, 2008 21:19:44 GMT -5
surely the other family if shopping for a kitten is prepared for one and will do great. It isn't like they grabbed one from a box in front of the Walmart. Hey! My current cat (Tobias) came from a box in front of the Wal-Mart! Second most laid-back cat I've ever had...
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Post by freckles on Jun 27, 2008 22:07:01 GMT -5
My Cat Wakes me up And Sleeps in my Bed sometimes Pets are nice My Cat likes to sit on my Printer/Copier and Look at my Parakeet I wonder what it is thinking
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Post by Phyxius on Jun 27, 2008 23:09:56 GMT -5
Lunch...
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Post by sheyd on Jun 30, 2008 11:37:26 GMT -5
The girls were SO excited about the kittens! We left the tiny one in the other room, so they thought they only had one kitten. They LOVED the tabby, he is so fun and sweet - so we asked "its ok then that we didn't get a smaller one?" They said YES - this one is great! So we said "you wouldn't want to get another one then?" They thought we meant and get rid of the tabby, and asked how we could get rid of one now that we have it home and love it... so then we brought in the baby and said "so you don't want this one too?" You should have HEARD the squeals! You would have thought they won the million dollar lottery! They renamed Sergio (the baby) Bear - because he looks like a little black bear when he is being "ferocious", and cuddly like a little teddybear when he is being sweet. Not totally sure about the new name for the tabby, yet.
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Post by freckles on Jun 30, 2008 11:41:22 GMT -5
My Cat is a Tabby too It is a Girl Cat, it has been Fixed so it cant have kittens It likes to eat mice
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Post by Phyxius on Jun 30, 2008 12:03:55 GMT -5
Not totally sure about the new name for the tabby, yet. Toby works...
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Post by sheyd on Jun 30, 2008 14:49:54 GMT -5
Ok... now I am ANGRY. That little ginger kitten - Keevin - we wanted to add him to the family (one kitten per child). Except they had a problem with my adoption papers, because I said I wanted to declaw. They gave me information on alternatives (which I already knew) but did NOT give me the information that unless I agreed to declaw I would not be able to adopt him! I wasn't even given the OPTION to agree not to declaw. They refused to even answer the question about whether it would be required to not declaw until I stated I would if given any option. Then I was simply told I would not be allowed to adopt him "but we would be happy to assist you in adopting an already declawed cat".
I know there are many people who truly think it is horrible to declaw, and to them I am sorry - but I don't. What I DO think is horrible is that they don't state their "no declaw" policy clearly but instead deny applications. I already wrote an angry letter to the director of Animal Allies. I am just furious.
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Post by rocko on Jul 1, 2008 9:18:46 GMT -5
have you ever researched what they actually do to "declaw" a cat???
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Post by rocko on Jul 1, 2008 9:31:40 GMT -5
they are removing not just the claw, but the tip of each of their little fingers.
I had cats and just trimmed their nails weekly and didn't have any scratching issues. Oh and I put catnip on the rug I wanted them to scratch on.
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Post by sheyd on Jul 1, 2008 9:37:00 GMT -5
Yep - because the nail is so intricately attached to the bone, they actually have to amputate the last bone of the paw - if they don't the nail could grow in deformed and end up requiring amputation of the paw. So yes - I am aware it is an amputation. It is a surgery to remove a portion of anatomy that outdoors especially they do use. However, for an indoor cat, once the pain of the surgery is done (and yes, I know it hurts - so does neutering) they adapt and have no balance issues, don't get thrown across the room from accidental clawing, don't get stuck on furniture and clothes, don't claw children accidentally or on purpose, and don't injure each other. Much like neutering, it is the price to pay to live in my house - and frankly, I think it is worth it for them, don't you? A lifetime of love, food, safety, and NOT getting thrown across the room (as Jim says) or getting in trouble for doing what comes naturally to them. The life-long pains involved with clipping nails and getting in trouble from claws, and getting less attention due to having claws is greater than the pain of the surgery. Cat destruction is one of the major reasons for them being abandoned or given up to the shelter.
Do you know they cut off baby piglets' tails so they don't chew on each others' tails and get infected? It is an amputation, too - but worth it. So is this, to me.
Regardless of whether someone believes in declawing or not - every shelter has a right to set their own rules, but those rules should be clearly posted. If they want to not give out kittens to people who will declaw - fine - but they should make that very clear prior to people looking at them.
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Post by shattered on Jul 1, 2008 11:03:58 GMT -5
What do you mean by "thrown across the room"?
They cut off piglets' tails in these hideous factory "farms" because all the animals are crammed in so close they go nuts and start acting out. This is why they debeak chickens in battery cages. This has nothing to do with normal animal husbandry.
None of my cats is declawed, nor will they ever be, but I do have friends who have declawed cats, and they have recovered nicely and seem perfectly content.
Do be aware, though, that some cats become biters after being declawed, because they feel defenseless without their claws.
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Post by sheyd on Jul 1, 2008 11:48:16 GMT -5
I started a Soapbox thread on to declaw or not - that is where that comes from. Jim was saying the pain of surgery is better than the pain of being thrown across the room when the claws sink in. Actually, my uncle owned a pig farm, and he did the same things. Piglets will chew on their siblings' tails, and they end up infected. Piglets chew anything... cute little things though! I have had two cats that were not declawed - it was a problem both times. The furniture and rugs were wrecked - not because they TRIED to claw it (well, one did : but because their claws would catch when they were trying to jump or when they happily kneaded. The other issue was when they were happy and kneading on people - the one cat was pretty good about her claws - never deliberately used them on people - but poked holes in whoever she was kneading on. I actually had holes in jeans from her! It got to where she wasn't allowed on a lap, because she would always hurt you. The other declawed cat was before I had kids. Cat scratches are easily infected, and they always do happen. It isn't worth the risk. I also wouldn't declaw if a cat is older and used to it - they learn to balance, jump, everything, using their claws. It is mean to do that to an older animal. My little boys are still very young kittens, though. They will spend most of their lives only knowing what it is like to have back claws. They will learn to balance, play, jump, everything, as declawed cats. They also have no exposure to animals other than those in my house who are friendly to them, and my girls know how to handle animals. They have no need to ever feel threatened. Oh - and shattered - they already DO bite! They are just kittens! That is why we named the little black one Bear - cause he likes to lay on his back and look all mean as he hugs/scratches your hand and bites you! He looks like a little black bear cub! Oh - and we named the tabby Teddy (if we can remember to call him that).
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Post by rocko on Jul 1, 2008 14:08:32 GMT -5
90% of the problems you listed can be fixed with regular nail trimming.
My sister little boston terrier dog poked holes in her leather sofa with his nails...make she should have cut his feet off.
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Post by sheyd on Jul 1, 2008 14:24:22 GMT -5
I disagree. I DID the nail trim thing - they still scratch things, catch on things, and poke holes in things, even trimmed. The trimmed claw is still a claw, and the trimmed area often has rough edges. Granted, that cat HATED trimming, because she didn't grow up with it, but even trimmed, she was destructive. The other cat I lived with that wasn't declawed wasn't mine, so I didn't trim.
I HATE nail trimming. I have cut the quick before (and there is yet another source of pain for a cat with claws) and am always nervous I will do it again. It is a pain in the butt for both me and the cat. I have seen cats tolerate it well - but it is just tolerating. There comes a point of diminishing returns on sharing your home with an animal, for both the animal and human. I would rather step in cat puke/hairball with bare feet (yet another joy of pet ownership I have often experienced) than trim its claws.
It isn't cutting off the cat's paw - and it heals and the cat is perfectly happy after that.
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Post by sheyd on Jul 1, 2008 14:28:05 GMT -5
Or perhaps I should just have left the cats at the shelter since I am so horrible a pet owner? There are so many cats put down every year, what is a few more?
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