Kwayera wrote:
myfurrypanda wrote:
My declawed cat was able to groom himself just fine, and he went through the motions of scratching. He was not in pain, aggressive, or mentally unstable. He was declawed when he was quite young, and adjusted just fine. All 4 of his brothers and sisters AND his mother died within 2 years after he was born (poison from neighboring farms or getting hit by cars). He lived until he was 15, and was quite happy. Declawing a cat is not the end of the world. You can't compare the end of a cat's toes to a human's fingertips - a cat does not think of the end of his toes the way we think of our fingertips. Sure, I wouldn't give up my fingertips to have nice furniture... but maybe my toes (assuming there would be no visible scarring i.e. if I had fur).

That being said, it would be nice if you would read entire posts - I did say that I would prefer to train a cat out of it, but would declaw the cat if there were no other options. It seems like you ignored my entire post, read the last little paragraph and then made a snarky remark.

Cats use their claws in their grooming, so clearly, he wasn't able to groom himself as he otherwise would have. And yes, declawing a cat is exactly like removing your fingertips - same bones, same nerves, same tendons - except worse, because it removes the part of the bone that they use to stand on. Your cat had to adjust to an entirely new way of walking, of playing, of using his bloody litterbox. Through your rosy eyes, no, he probably didn't look outwardly distressed by it.
Sorry, toes are not the same as fingers. I'm not talking about the physical structure. More about how the brain uses it all. You just can't compare fingers and toes.

So should we put down all three legged dogs? So what if the animal has to make adjustments, it isn't living in pain. If you want to throw statistics out there, or talk about your own experiences, that is fine... that I would be interested in hearing about. I always like adding to my knowledge, and getting more information so I can make better decisions in the future. Do not tell me about my own cat, and whether or not he was happy - that's just like PETA telling you that your horse would be happier out running with the mustangs.

My current cat has her claws, and she doesn't use them for grooming. I've spent hours sitting and watching her over the years - the only time her claws come into play is when she nibbles on her feet, and even then they aren't actually in use.


BigDreams wrote:
I am so never getting married. I've never really liked babysitting.
4Horses and Holding wrote:
You know, with sperm banks and handy-dandy machinery, there really isn't much use for men. I mean, most cats will kill bugs.
aakora wrote:
I think most problems in life can be traced to an incorrect ratio of men to cats.
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