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| Declawing |
| My views are based directly on real life experience one of my cats was declawed without my consent while being boarded at a Vet. I saw what it did to that cat. I saw the personality change and I still carry scares from his resulting personality change over 20 years ago. #2 The research I have done since then, around 20 years of it, has all been correlated and helped established my point of view on the subject. #3 Declaw is a controversial subject that basically breaks down into two opposing groups. Those that own Cats and those who love Cats. Both sides holding firm to their point of view. The major point of difference being ownership versus love. Most owners think of a cat as their property. Which in their point of view gives them complete rights over the welfare of the cat. They feel perfectly justified to put their personal wants above those of the cats Most cat lovers on the other hand consider a cat to be a sentient being and treat them as such rather than property. They feel the cats well being far out weighs any inconvenience the cat may or may not cause. These are two fundamentally different an opposing viewpoint that will never meet. The only hope you have of changing someone's point of view on this is by education. The education begins: Facts not Fiction Over twenty other countries and the City of West Hollywood have all banned declawing unless it is medically warranted for the cat's health Among 218 cats relinquished to a shelter, more (52.4%) declawed cats than non-declawed cats (29.1%) were reported by owners to have inappropriate elimination problems." Source: World Small Animal Veterinary Association - 2001 The incidence of behavior problems following onychectomy in cats; two months to five years (median 11.5 months) after surgery: "(33%) developed at least one behavior problem. "(17.9%) had an increase in biting habits or intensity." "(15.4%) would not use the litter box" Source: World Small Animal Veterinary Association - 2001 Cats walk on their toes. Declawing is in reality ten separate amputations Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Professor of Behavioral Pharmacology and Director of the Behavior Clinic at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and internationally known specialist in domestic animal behavioral research, explains declawing: "The inhumanity of the procedure is clearly demonstrated by the nature of cats' recovery from anesthesia following the surgery. Unlike routine recoveries, including recovery from neutering surgeries, which are fairly peaceful, declawing surgery results in cats bouncing off the walls of the recovery cage because of excruciating pain. Cats that are more stoic huddle in the corner of the recovery cage, immobilized in a state of helplessness, presumably by overwhelming pain. Declawing fits the dictionary definition of mutilation to a tee. Words such as deform, disfigure, disjoint, and dismember all apply to this surgery. Partial digital amputation is so horrible that it has been employed for torture of prisoners of war, and in veterinary medicine, the clinical procedure serves as model of severe pain for testing the efficacy of analgesic drugs. Even though analgesic drugs can be used postoperatively, they rarely are, and their effects are incomplete and transient anyway, so sooner or later the pain will emerge". Here are the links for more info- Pawprints and Purrs ~ Dedicated to the Welfare of Animals Educate!! Don't Amputate!!! declawing horror stories ClawsForever Declaw Petition Softpaws Cat nail caps http://www.softpaws.com www.catscratching.com DE-CLAWING.COM: A Clearinghouse for Information about Declawing on the Net http://www.de-clawing.com/ Declawing http://community-2.webtv.net/zuzu22/STOPDECLAWCOM/ Feline anatomy information about claws, skeleton, and muscles http://www.specificbreed.com/html/anatomy.html |
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