Comments on: Laser Declawing

By: Nita Solheim

Nita Solheim — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:52:49 +0000

Declawing a cat is a very selfish thing…If not allowing it to be the way it was created, then one does not deserve having it for a pet companion…It is A VERY PAINFUL THING AND MANY TIMES CHANGES THE CATS PERSONALITY AND THEY BECOME BITERS. CATS ARE VERY SMART AND TRAIN WITH PATIENCE NOT TO CLAW OR SCRATCH FURNITURE, GIVEN A SCRATCHING POST AND SPENDING TIME IN THE BEGINNING TO TEACH THEM. MANY PEOPLE THINK BECAUSE IT WILL BE AN INDOOR CAT, IT DOES NOT NEED ITS CLAWS – HOW WOULD WE HUMANS LIKE TO HAVE THIS DONE TO US? IF FEAR OF FURNITURE BEING DAMAGED, THEN GET YOURSELF A DOG OR ANOTHER PET COMPANION AND LET A CAT BE A CAT!!!

By: Kuhn

Kuhn — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:31:40 +0000

I, too, use a pit-bull who stands out as the most supportive animal I have ever owned. Soon, a new dog breed will arrive together for that media to blast, as they have accomplished rotties and dobies in prior many years. Unfortunate that media sensationalism breeds so much inaccurate info.

By: christina

christina — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:59:49 +0000

i would like to know what is the cost for this proceeder.. My kitten is 8 weeks old and am looking to get this done as soon as possible

By: Tina

Tina — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:01:22 +0000

My kittens were declawed by laser about a week ago. They have been fantastic since the time they returned home – no bleeding, no limping – running around like little speed demons. They were even climbing their 5 foot plus tower the next day. They have done “ok” with the newspaper pellet litter, but I think we will all be glad when they can go back to their normal litter.

As to the comments about us humans having it done. My father had all his toenails removed and my brother had all his joints in his toes removed due to RA. Both of them were sore, but the pain was controlled with medicine. After they were healed, they both walked fine and said that they would do it again.

None of us can actually know what a cat does or does not feel, we can only assume based on human emotions. Given that, I would make the assumption that if my cat had the choice between living in my home declawed or going back to a shelter (perhaps even being put down), I’m sure they would choose to live with me.

This morning, as many mornings, I was awakened by my cat “kissing” me. He slams his nose into my cheek and rubs it all the way to my mouth – does this sound like an unhappy cat?

By: Nita Solheim

Nita Solheim — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:13:09 +0000

I think People are very selfish who have their pets declawed…It is very painful and I pray someday will be illegal in the U.S. as is in most countries…How would we like to have our fingers cut to the knuckles…Animals were created with claws for a reason…because someone is so concerned about their precious furniture, then they should not have a cat if they cannot train and spend time with them…Cats are very smart and respond to training very well..I have worked in animal rescue for over 10 years and been a pet owner most of my life…Cats hide their pain…those who make this choice naturally think it is all ok…it is not ok with the cat…You have taken away something precious to them by mutuliating …they need their claws for many reasons..Cats are incredible and do adjust, but humans who chose to do this are only thinking of themselves and I believe are very selfish…I feel strongly enough about this after doing much research and much follow up on those who have had this done to their cats – changing these beautiful loving affectionate cats into pets that do not want to be handled, start biting, and untrusting.

By: Clovis

Clovis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:45:24 +0000

Howdy Marie and Scorpiogirl!
Yes, the laser declawing procedure IS VERY expensive, but there is such a difference between the new surgeries / procedures and old ones (just like surgeries / procedures for humans).
For Little Guy (with the Yesterday’s News) it was not a good experience… He just flat out did NOT like it and wouldn’t use. He held off using the little box for one and a half days, which caused me to start freaking out! I franticly did searches and for a while thought it was a side effect of the anesthesia. He scratched and scratched in the litter box and let me know he was NOT happy. I emptied the Yesterdays News out of the litter box and filled it with his regular cat litter and he jumped right in and took care of business. Little guy just flat out didn’t like the pellets that Yesterdays News uses. I don’t think I would enjoy standing on them either. Litter box usage returned to 100% normal when I got rid of the yesterdays new and switched back to what Little Guy was familiar with.
I too wish that “people” could grasp the fact that some land lords and management companies will not budge an inch concerning their policies to bring a feline into your home.
You either find a way to deal with or accept the situation or you walk away leaving a potential Best Friend in a cage with a very, very uncertain future (especially if you live in a small town with an overcrowded shelter. Sadly many shelters still kill animals that are not adopted, it is still the way things work sometimes. You do what you must and you accept responsibility and make a commitment to love and cherish your adopted forever friend!
I will be here for Little Guy ALWAYS!
(I’ve even made plans for him in my Will.)
Scorpiogirl:
In all honesty when Little Guy came home (the next day), he jumped out of the carrier and went about his life as if nothing had happened. He climbed around on me and let me know his food bowl needed attention…
Little Guy expressed no discomfort at any time (paw related) after the surgery. He even let me inspect his paws with no problems or aggression. He actually has always liked having has paws massaged (before and after surgery).
I just can’t even begin to imagine walking away from that cage and not having Little Guy in my life. Especially after the shelter worker informed me his days were counting down.
Like I said above, the ONLY problem we had was his 100% dislike of the Yesterdays News litter. I even tried it a few weeks later with the same lack of results. I’ve yet to meet a cat owner that has had any good experience with Yesterdays News (people I’ve met face to face). If it works for anyone and their cats that’s GREAT, but I think it’s NOT a very good product!
Take Care Everyone!

By: Marie

Marie — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:42:13 +0000

Thank you Clovis, and thanks to all who understand when a happy forever home for kitty requires declawing, and post their experiences, positive and negative without hype and dramatics. Thomas showed up with no collar, un-neutered, starving and freezing in our yard a few weeks back. Newspapers, community notices and calls to the SPCA did not reveal any previous owner. He was sweet and friendly, and it was either us, or the overcrowded local shelter. I knew we’d have to get him declawed within weeks and trained him to Yesterdays News, and elected to get laser declaw done at the same time as the neuter, because of the expense of separate surgeries, on top of his first two sets of shots (over $100 each time).

Even the two together was very, very expensive, but necessary. He is doing really great tonight, and despite early tenderness in one paw, eventually was batting away at my hand with both paws and purring and play biting gently with me before laying down beside me for the night. The collar (which he would have for the neuter anyway) seems to be more of an issue for him, actually, but he’s sleeping as comfortably as that will allow, as I type this!

As others have said, we humans whom they own are the ones who are in distress about laser declawing, not our fur person friends, and obviously not the vets who perform it. … p.s. I am noting the same thing about not covering/digging around in the litter box, but am not worried about it. Easier to find and remove the poop, I should think …!

By: scorpiogirl

scorpiogirl — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:15:04 +0000

Clovis if you are “listening”, I’m curious to know at how many weeks was your ‘little guy’ showing absolutely no signs of discomfort? I just had my ‘little guy’ Brody laser declawed 6 weeks ago. He still alternates holding up one front paw and then the other. Aside from that paws are nice and pink no sign of surgery. Brody’s other human slave thinks this may be his ploy to get more treats, attention, kitty kisses, etc…

By: iciclenet

iciclenet — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:58:01 +0000

I love kitties!

By: Deb

Deb — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:28:06 +0000

Gwen, altering an animal does not prevent the “humping” you are talking about. My 10 year old cat who’s been neutered a long time ago, still gets frisky with his toys (if you know what I mean). Neutering males helps take away their territorial aggression and helps stop them from spraying your entire house. Spaying females helps prevent that aweful infection of the uterus called pyometra.

At one point, I had 3 cats in my care. Two were male, and one was female. I was not about to risk their health or contribute to the pet overpopulation by not neutering. It’s bad enough that our local shelter was euthanizing hundreds of cats a week at one point because the number of unwanted cats was getting way out of hand and no one had room for them. And this was all because of irresponsible owners that refuse to neuter their cats.