rcd@opus.UUCP (03/24/84)
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I hope I can keep this as a soapbox sort of item without flaming.
It always saddens me to hear of people trying to give away cats because
they wanted to have their darling female have "just one litter" to have
some sort of fulfillment, whatever that means. I have never been able to
understand how it can be fulfilling to let kittens be born and then killed.
[I will say "euthanatized", or "put down" if you insist, but never "put to
sleep". Sleep and death are not the same.] May I implore everyone to have
your female cat spayed BEFORE that first litter? If you have an ordinary
(non-show, non-pedigree) cat and you don't have certain homes lined up
before the cat ever gets pregnant, you will almost certainly have to take
some unwanted kittens to the pound, and only a small percentage are
adopted.
If you have a male cat, have him neutered when he reaches "puberty". You
may not help reduce the cat population - a female in heat will attract any
male in the vicinity - but your cat will fight less, spray less, and
generally be more suited to a long, healthy life around humans.
The spay/neuter operations are significant alterations to the cat, but in
the long run they will give you a happier, healthier cat without unwanted
offspring. However, there is another operation that people have performed
with alarming regularity that is unnecessary and to me, cruel: declawing.
There is no need to declaw a cat. It does not benefit the cat in the
least. What it does is solve a problem for lazy humans. Cat's claws can
be clipped so that they will not cause problems - in fact, they can easily
be clipped quite short without harm. The claws are an important part of
the cat's behavior. Whether your cat lives indoors or out, it needs to
climb and jump, and it uses claws to hold on while doing so. In the wild,
the cat would use its claws enough to keep them short by wearing them down;
what you do by trimming is simply making up for the lack of opportunity to
wear the claws naturally.
What you do when you have a cat declawed is the equivalent of having your
fingernails surgically removed. What you do when clipping claws is the
equivalent of trimming your fingernails. Think of it in these terms. Now,
would you miss your fingernails if you didn't have any? Would it be worth
having your fingernails removed just so that you wouldn't have to trim them
or worry about catching them on things?
--
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcdmaggie2@iwpba.UUCP (maggie2) (03/26/84)
I also put off declawing my strictly indoor cats thinking it
was cruel. But I could find no way to keep them from clawing
my furniture and draperies when I wasn't home. Clipping them
doesn't help much. My cats have no problems climbing without
their claws (only the front ones were removed) - they still
can get on windowsills, the refrigerator and also their
climbing post (which has a platform at the top). I don't
think declawing can be compared to having my fingernails taken
out. The procedure may be the same but I'm capable of understanding
why I shouldn't scratch the wallpaper off the wall or climb on the
curtains!
M. Czajka
...!ihnp4!iwpba!maggie2akl@wbux5.UUCP (03/26/84)
(munch! munch! ...burp!) I too, had to decide between torn pillows, frayed couches and air-conditioned curtains or my cats' claws. After quite a few days of serious debate, I chose to have him declawed, front claws only. All my neighbors say that I have one of the most active, friendly and well-adjusted cats around. He's neutered, AND an indoor pet as well. I agree that a cat who spends most of his time outdoors needs claws for protection from intruding dogs and cats. I also think that declawing all four feet is unnecessary. However, if your sanity is on the line, as mine was, declawing is not as bad as it can be made to sound. The most important thing is to get a good vet; I asked a friend of mine to refer me to one. Merlin was the first cat I had declawed, and I plan to have any future indoor cats declawed as well. BTW, Merlin is an all-white shorthair with blue eyes; he's an albino and as usual with these sort of cats, he's stone deaf. Anyone else out there have a deaf cat? From the musical keyboard of: Anita K. Laux wbux5!akl Bell Communications Research West Long Branch, NJ 07764 -- From the musical keyboard of: Anita K. Laux wbux5!akl Bell Communications Research West Long Branch, NJ 07764