Questions To Ask Your Vet BEFORE You Declaw Your Cat:

1. EXACTLY what is the procedure you specifically use to declaw? Is it laser, surgical or blunt cut?
2. Exactly how long will it take for my cat to fully HEAL from surgery?
3. What is the standard 'Physical Aftercare Treatment'? Standard Psychological Aftercare Treatment?'
4. How shall my cat use the litter box with injured paws?
5. What resulting cat behaviors have been medically researched regarding the declaw procedure?
6. Where can I find this medical documentation? (Hint: if you doctor does not know - BOLT NOW!)
7. What are the percentages of ill results? (Club footing? Tendon damage? Nerve Injury?)
8. How will the vet go about fixing any of these ill results, should they occur?
9. What medical documentation on psychological repercussions of declawing has been done by the veterinarian profession?
10. What percentage of declawed cats become biters and pissers?
11. What are the long term effects of stripping a cat of it's natural ability to exercise it's shoulder muscles when it uses claws to do so?

Things to Seriously Ask YOURSELF Before you Declaw Your Cat:

1. Are you prepared to deal with potential messes outside of the litter box initially, or possibly permanently, due to surgically removing your cats toes?
2. Are you fully prepared to do all steps required of 'Aftercare' for as long as three to four months?
3. Will you be content knowing your cat may in the future bite, or suddenly fear everything in sight as a result of stripping it of it's primary defense system?
4. Have you taken into consideration the cat's potential fearful behavior around the family dog, once it's defense system is taken away?
5. Are you fully aware of the muscular system of a cat, the importance of the claws to this system, and the potential long term consequences of ending a cat's ability to maintain it's physical body.
6. Are you perpared that your once very affectionate Fluffy may suddenly become totally scaredy-cat Fluffy, permanantly? 
7. Has your doctor completely answered all of the above VET QUESTIONS to your satisfaction?
8. Will you love your cat no matter what, after you choose to declaw it: even if it pees, bites, becomes unfriendly or limps? Will you FULLY ACCEPT ANY CONSEQUENCES for YOUR SOLE DECISION to surgically remove it's toes?

Our Planet Is A Sad Mirror Of
The Dis-Connected State of Mass Human Heart

Multiply each instance of human ignorance and stupidity within one neighborhood, by as many neighborhoods as a state contains. Multiply the state's neighborhoods with all the other state's neighborhoods and view our blocked consciousness on a national level. Our behavior toward those beings we call 'our pets' has GOT to change! Here is just a sampling of issues some humans face in the face of another human's irresponsibility:

When I became involved in cat rescue, it was not intended. It was due to multiple births that occurred on my lawn via three stray wandering felines over a period of 2 months. In a neighborhood where ignorance supercedes responsible pet care; desirous of being socially responsible, I nursed the babies from their starving mothers, vaccinated and altered them and properly socialized them for homes with humans. I put all of them on a hi-grade nutrition plan to boost their health and provided them with organic grains for litter. All totaled, the count amounted to 22 felines.

When I initially contacted shelters for assistance, I was turned down by every single rescue group, to which I found the common ailment excuse was; overcrowding.  To worsen that condition, most rescue groups were fully engaged in OUT OF STATE rescue services to Katrina victims! While I applaud the efforts of so many compassionate east coast humans, the result of those 'outside' efforts was that assistance to our own community animals was avoided almost completely. As a private homeowner, I was forced to figure a way to find homes for dozens of cats all at once.

Dedicated To Teddy Bear, Who Succumbed To Distemper

Unfortunately, upon the two and half month mark, when kittens are generally able to be released to new homes, the first batch of kittens housed in my garage, contracted distemper from yet another wandering stray in my yard. Unknowledgeable of the high resistance of the virus, though I did not permit contact with outside cats, apparently, the lawn area where I let the kittens romp while cleaning cages, became a breeding ground for this very dangerous microscopic organism. Once one kitten contracted it, all became exposed. Against a full time work schedule, I was trapped with six sick kitties, of which no one would take, amidst caring for my 14 yr old renal kitty and six more of my own 'permanent' rescues and nursing a newly born batch of five.

Two months and unbelievable vet fees later, I managed to save five of the distemper cats and get them healthy again. Beloved Teddy, the first to aquire the virus, died on his fourth day of contracting it. After bringing him to his family for a last goodby view, I told him it was ok to go as he had moved beyond ataxia and was begining to heave. He passed close to midnight in my arms, under a starry summer night. It broke my heart. Teddy was THE most vibrant and affectionate kitten of the whole group.

By this time, the second batch was growing into their third month...then into their fourth. By now it was almost Xmas and I thought FOR SURE that people would be looking to adopt kittens against a generous loving 'family' holiday atmosphere. But Xmas season was a disaster as crazed people were all focused on buying, buying, buying ANYTHING but adopting a loving fuzzy being.

Amidst the Xmas rush, with thousands of dollars placed in advertising, posters and promo cards, a total of three calls came in from the newspapers, even with expensive photo ads placed. I ran the ads for six months straight! Not one good lead came from the papers. I took the kitties to two huge cat shows and adopted a Saturday morning Petsmart 'showcase' ritual for five months straight, compliments of the graces of Lyn Serino of PFA (People For Animals Org) who enabled me to do the weekly store gig.  February and March were considered 'dead months' for adoptions at the store; a common term by shelters who know the cycles of cat adoptions very well. By April the first few batches of adorable kittens from the other shelters came streaming in. By May and June - the stores were swarming with baby fuzzballs and people who only wanted baby kittens. Many of the shelters only brought the kittens in knowing that their elder kitties would not even be looked at.

I sat with my own elder group of 9 and 11 month olds, week in and week out; all dressed up in outfits, leash trained, stroller trained, car trained from months of visits to Petsmart...and watched THE most well trained, most healthy kittens and cats of all the cats available, get passed over for people who on impulse thought a baby kitten would 'be good for the family dog'. As I talked to the people again and again, I was astounded by how little most of them knew about the 'BASICS' of raising kittens or caring for cats.  

The Sad Adoption & Return Of Maya and Dali

A Typical Story Of Human Ignorance

Sometimes, no matter how carefully we screen potential adopters; through vet checks and home inspections etc., we still fail to fully detect the blatant human LIARS. These are the people who put up a great front, but have darker intentions from the outset, in which they purposefully set out to deceive the shelters from the get-go. These are the dangerous people because they are the ones who most often will do anything NOT to accept responsibility for their own actions. In which case, it is the animals who ultimately suffer when they are brought back to the shelters due to ignorant human mistakes, or worse yet, are released to the streets due to human embarrassment over admitting what these liars have done.

I managed to adopt two boy kitties, Maya and Dali out to a young divorced father of a 3 yr old son. On first look the guy seemed GREAT. I patiently explained to him over 2, (one hour) qualifying /integration instruction visits, that should he have ANY questions or problems, I was there to assist him. On a home inspection visit, I explained about long term behavioral practices, diet and nutrition, integrating new toys & cat trees and instructed him about nail clipping and initial bonding training.

I explained declawing has been known to cause behavioral problems and assured him that I wanted 'his' success on behalf of the kittens future lives and the wonderful 'lifetime' impact they would have on his son. He assured he would call if there was ANY problem. He signed the non declaw agreement and then, from a state of total arrogance, abruptly dismissed EVERY SINGLE one of my 'integration into a new home' instructions!

Maya and Dali as Kittens

Instead of spending a precious week or two, sitting quietly for a few moments each day in a designated 'introduction' room with the new babies, he immediately let them have run of the house, before he even established that he was the new caretaker. Within a month or two the kitties, left on their own 10-12 hours a day, found a couch to dig for fun. Rather than call me immediately for educative assistance, (which he was instructed to do), upon A NEIGHBOR'S suggestion, he rushed down to the nearest vet who would declaw them. (Later on, he learned that the neighbor who directed him to the declaw doctor, was contending with her own declawed wall pisser, which she'd initially failed to reveal.)

  
Images depict: Surgical declaw, bandaged kitty, laser declaw

Out of the blue and a month later he called me in a panic and said the kitties were pissing everywhere, but didn't want to admit it had been going on for a while. Why did he not call me, I asked? He said he hoped it would 'go away'. By the time he finally called me, he was now anxious to quickly dump the problem back on the shelter that helped me adopt them out. For when they finally peed on his fine couch set, he simply prepared his son by telling him they would get a fish and that bad kitties could not live with them. He couldn't wait to get rid of them. He didn't want to give details when I probed to find the core root of the behavior. He didn't want to try to solve the problem.

After a second call to me the next week requesting I come collect the cats, I probed him further. Knowing I'd find out when he returned them that they were declawed, he fessed up that he had DECLAWED them. Without proper education regarding the 'declawing recuperation process', and impervious to the physical pain he caused his kitties, he did not allow any 'heal time' for their paws. They were simply expected to scratch their newly wounded paws in the rough cat sand and do their business as usual.

WORSE YET: when I went to pick up the kitties, he stated that the doctor who performed the surgery gave him no 'after care' instructions. He simply cut off their toes, GLUED THEM SHUT, and the kitties were returned the next day with no bandages. Though the doctor had suggested switching to newspaper for litter the first few days, the man stated that' they were running around just fine' when they got home, so he never bothered to change out the hard Sweat Scoop particles.

Well, imagine YOURSELF going in to a doctor & having all of your fingertips cut off; having the skin glued shut and then going back to work the next day to say...a typing or carpenters job. Bang a few nails with those sore fingers and tell me how much time YOU think you'd need to recuperate from such surgery!

HUMAN IGNORANCE of an animal's pain factor is
ASTRONOMICALLY ASTOUNDING!

So people...here is SOMETHING IMPORTANT
for new or first time pet owners to know:

Vets who gladly take money for declawing don't EVER have to deal with the consequences of a newly healing kitty. They don't tell the new owners that in some cases, it may take a few MONTHS for the paws to correctly heal because not only do they have 20 separate wounds to heal out, scar tissue often forms. With every step a kitty takes, it places an uncomfortable pressure on the scarred and wounded area! Vets don't tell new owners that it may be too painful for them to scratch their wounded paws against the sand grains in the litter box. They don't explain that it is as painful to lick the sand from the wound as it is to scratch against sand with a wound.

And if a vet has botched the job and caused a 'club foot' condition, WHO DO YOU THINK will pay the consequences of the bad surgery work??? Where is the vet to be found when your traumatized kitty suddenly hides from everything and everyone, fearful of being unable to defend itself due to lack of claws? Where is your vet when your once well behaved kitty suddenly finds comfort in peeing on your soft couch over painfully peeing in sand?

Vets who hide behind their technical medical degrees and SWEAR that declawing is non harmful DO NOT REAP THE BAD CONSEQUENCES of their surgical work! 90% of them do not educate new owners about proper 'after care'. 

This particular uneducated new owner allowed a vet to convince him that declawing was 'completely harmless' to his cats DESPITE our meticulous efforts to offer 24 hr free assistance and prior education that specifically addressed declawing. Without proper aftercare instruction, and no desire to do the work involved anyway, the owner THEN took to locking them in the basement for the day, when they started to pee on his couch. Meanwhile, their litter box remained on the third floor. So they took to re-scenting his laundry in front of the washing machine.