says the person who has no doubt had her cat's joints removed.

Declawing is definitely a surgical procedure.  An ELECTIVE surgical
procedure for the convenience of the cat owner.  Declawing can and
frequently does result in cats with behavioral (emotional) problems.  And
is that any surprise??  It is *definitely* cruel.  It's even illegal in
many countries.

- Lynne

Dr. Josef Mengele did many "surgical procedures"
in the concentrations camps, too.

--tension

I used to think declawing was ok too.  Then I became a vet tech and saw
first-hand how cats suffer from the procedure, and how horrible the
long-term affects can be.

It's extremely cruel.  Cats are digitrade - they walk on the tips of
their toes.  When the cat is declawed the entire last bone of the paw
is amputated - not just the claw.  This causes the cat's weight to be
shifted to the pad of the foot which is complete unnatural for the cat.
It puts stress on the forelegs, shoulders and spine, which usually
causes arthritis in old age.  Plus as many as 50% of cats declawed have
complications after the procedure, and almost 20% have long-term
complications.

Never, ever declaw a cat unless the claw is injured and won't heal
properly or is diseased.

http://www.stopdeclaw.com

-L.

This is from Megan's website http://www.stopdeclaw.com.  It's a
description of the procedure and the aftermath the next day.  I could
have written this, as I witnessed it over 100 times.  While we didn't
use surgical glue (we sutured the toes) nothing is more gruesome than a
cat that has degloved its bandages after a declaw surgery.  There is
blood *everywhere*, and you can smell it when you walk in the door.
The cat writhes in pain.  It's horrible.

**paste**
"It's show time. I hold up one of Fluffy's feet and the doc begins: The
procedure is sort of a half pull, half cut kinda thing. The nail
clippers are doing their best to saw through the joint while the
hemostats are ripping it away. And please make no mistake here, this
isn't a nail trim. A cat's first joint, just like on your finger, is
being ripped out. Fluffy utters a half growl/meow of pain as the joint
tears away, even after all this medicine. The pain must be
excruciating; it is certainly a gruesome spectacle to watch. Doc fills
the gaping socket where Fluffy's toe used to be with some special glue
and squeezes it together for a few seconds. We move on to the next toe
until we're done. Now we bandage and when we're done Fluffy looks as
though he's wearing little mittens...aww.

I come in the next morning and reach for the doorknob to the recovery
room. "Crap!" I think, because the smell hits my brain before I even
open the door to see. Blood has a very specific odor, you see, and
after a while you have the ability to recognize many things: parvo,
cancer, bloody declaw cats that don't seem to like their mittens- all
by their respective smells.

Sure enough, Fluffy got a head start on removing his bandages so I
begin my day scrubbing his blood off the walls, the door, the floor,
and his cage. I clean the blood off Fluffy's fur the best I can and
begin to take off his bandages. I try so hard to be gentle but I know I
still hurt. I have to cut down the bandage until I'm right beside
Fluffy's purple swollen toes and he cries. I examine each hole where
Fluffy used to have claws and make sure they are all still sealed. They
never are, of course. There is invariably at least one or two that must
be reglued, so I sigh and get my glue. Then I drop some goo into
Fluffy's socket and squeeze his tender and bruised deformed little toes
together for several seconds. This hurts. A lot. And I feel like the
scum of the earth. I clean the last bit of blood from Fluffy's feet as
best I can without hurting too bad and hope that Fluffy will finish the
job himself before you come.

You rush in on your lunch hour and I bring out Fluffy and remind you
that Fluffy's feet are going to be very sore for a while. You already
knew that.....bye Fluffy.

Three months later you bring Fluffy in to update his shots. You ask me
why Fluffy doesn't seem like the cat he used to be anymore. He never
wants to play or do much of anything. And he has turned into a biter!
You don't understand, you tell me. Why isn't Fluffy the same? I don't
know why. "

I know why - because Fluffy's life has been changed forever.  He used
to be happy, trusting and whole.  He is now a ghost of the cat he once
was.

-L.

You all can deal with this one  I am tired of the ignorance about declawing
and the ignorance of the people that support it
Specially with someone who has never posted here before

You all can deal with this one  I am tired of the ignorance about declawing
and the ignorance of the people that support it
Specially with someone who has never posted here before