DECLAWING-PLEASE READ THIS!
Cats ARE trainable! I have living proof! 3 of my 4 cats still have their God given claws. (unfortunately Taffy was declawed by her previous owners.) Teach your cat to use a scratching post, all it takes is a tad bit of effort on your part. NOTHING has ever been destroyed in my home due to my cats having their claws intact.
Kitty not learning to use the scratching post fast enough? Then try this alternative SOFT PAWS-vinyl caps that glue to your cats claws. Looks silly? Yes, maybe, but alot less traumatizing for your cat!
I have also found the product FELIWAY helps stop a cat from scratching where you do not want it to. Mainly a spray for stopping unwanted litterbox problems, a few squirts-3 days in a row will do the trick and will take you no more than 30 seconds. That is a lot less time than it will take your cat to recover from the trauma of declawing!
DID YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT A CAT'S CLAWS? :
Cats have retractable nails, also known as "claws". Unlike most mammals who walk on the soles of the paws or feet, cats are digitigrade, which means they walk on their toes. Their back, shoulder and leg joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves are naturally designed to support and distribute the cat's weight across its toes as it walks, runs and climbs. A cat's claws are used for balance, for exercising, and for stretching the muscles in their legs, back, shoulders, and paws. They stretch these muscles by digging their claws into a surface and pulling back against their own clawhold - similar to isometric exercising for humans. This is the only way a cat can exercise, stretch and tone the muscles of its back and shoulders. The toes cause the foot to meet the ground at a precise angle to keep the leg, shoulder and back muscles and joints in proper alignment. Removal of the last digits of the toes causes the foot to meet the ground at an unnatural angle that can cause back pain similar to that in humans caused by wearing improper shoes.
THE DECLAWING PROCEDURE:
Declawing involves 10 separate, painful amputations of the third digit up to the last joint of each toe.
(EQUAL TO A HUMAN HAVING THE LAST JOINT OF THEIR FINGER AMPUTATED!)
The cat's claw is not a nail as is a human fingernail, it is part of the last bone in the cat's toe. To remove the claw, the bone, nerve, ligament and tendon must all be amputated.
Contrary to most people's idea of declawing, surgery involves severing not just the claws, but whole phalanges (up to the joint), including bone, ligaments, and tendons! Complications of this amputation can be excruciating pain, damage to the radial nerve, hemorrhage, bone chips that prevent healing, painful regrowth of deformed claw inside of the paw, and chronic back and joint pain as shoulder, leg and back muscles weaken. Many cats also suffer a loss of balance since they can no longer achieve a secure foothold on their stumps. Some cats are so shocked by declawing that their personalities change. A cat relies on its claws as its primary means of defense. Removing the claws makes a cat feel defenseless and it can either become very defensive and resort to biting, or withdrawn and paranoid.
**MY TAFFY WAS THE ONLY CAT WE HAD THAT WOULD NOT LET US TOUCH HER PAWS-ISN'T THAT A COINCIDENCE??!!
W. Hollywood the 1st to ban declawing in United States!!
HELP A STRAY - HERE'S HOW
There is an estimated 60million homeless cats in the United States. Many are due to their owners abandoning them or they are born into the mass litters that happen everyday due to female cats being not spayed and tom cats being left unneutered.
If you have the heart and home, please take in one of these homeless kittys. But PLEASE, before taking in ANY animal, whether a stray or not, you must think of the following:
Are you committed to caring for this homeless cat for maybe 15-20years?
Are you willing to give it a safe and loving home?
Will you supply it with good, nutrious food and feeding bowls
Will you give kitty a few nice resting places it can call it's own "bed" when not joining you in yours. :)
Will you give your cat proper identification by giving them a collar and name/phone/address tag
Will you give them play time, fun toys and treats
You MUST supply them with proper vet care which will include an initial exam, test for diseases, vaccinations (yearly) and SPAYING OR NEUTERING your new addition
When that beautiful cat has found you, first look for an identification tag on the collar. If the cat isn't wearing a collar, it may still be someone's. Post signs in your neighborhood about a "found cat". Call your local Humane Society and Animal Shelter to see if someone has reported a lost cat.
When you have come to the conclusion that this wonderful feline will now be taken into your loving home, take some caution if you have other cats. Isolate the new cat until you can have it checked over by your vet so that you don't expose your healthy kitties to any unfortunate disease the new "sibling" may have, such as Feline Leukemia. After kitty gets a clean bill of health, continue to keep him separated from your other cats for awhile and do a slow integration. Even though you do this, there is NO guarantee any or your felines will truly get along-my home is proof to that one!
Taking in a homeless cat, gaining their trust, having them grow to love you, is one of the most rewarding and wonderful things I have ever done in my life! It is truly a beautiful experience!
SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR CAT!
Each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born in the U.S.A. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. As a result, millions of healthy, loving cats, dogs, kittens and puppies face early deaths as a form of animal control. Others are left to fend for themselves against automobiles, the elements, animals and cruel humans.
What can you do to stop the suffering? SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS!!!
Cats and Dogs Multiply fast. They first go into heat at 5 months of age - sometimes earlier, and they can have litters twice a year! That is why there are so many homeless.....so many euthanized.
Spaying (ovario-hysterectomy) is the surgical removal of the reproductive organs (ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes) of the female. Neutering (orchectomy or castration) is the surgical removal of the reproductive glands (testes) of the male. The outer is left, only the testes are removed. Females and males should be spayed or neutered by 6 months of age.
Female cats can be spayed when in heat or pregnant. This can usually be done up until a few days before delivery. These surgeries can take longer, and can therefore cost more. Spaying before having a first litter or heat cycle is usually a simpler procedure. The heat cycle in cats start as early as 6 months and occur every 3-4 weeks during spring through early fall. The gestation period for cats is 63 days. Female cats can become pregnant again as soon as 10 days after giving birth (while still nursing the first litter).
Health Benefits of Spaying and Neutering:
Spayed kitties no longer feel the need to roam to look for a mate. The result is that they stay home and have less chance of being involved in traumatic accidents such as being hit by a car. They also have a much lower incidence of contracting contagious diseases, and get into fewer fights.
In males, neutering decreases the chances of developing prostatic disease and hernias, and eliminates the chances of developing testicular cancer. It also reduces problems with territorial and sexual aggression, inappropriate urination (spraying) and other undesirable male behaviors.
In Females, spaying decreases the incidence of breast cancer (the rate goes down to almost zero if the spaying is done before the first heat cycle!). It eliminates the chance of developing a serious and potentially fatal infection of the uterus experienced by many mature unspayed animals (pyometra). Spay surgery also eliminates the heat cycle and associated mood swings and undesirable behaviors, and the attraction of all available males to your yard.
The simple fact is that spaying and neutering greatly increases the lifespan of your pet and increases quality of life as well!
Please! Spay and Neuter your cats & dogs! If you take a cat or dog into your home - be a RESPONSIBLE pet owner!! You wouldn't get rid of your child if they had 'accidents' in the house, or if they became overly excited when guests came over! Too, too many of our precious cats and dogs are put down, and for NO GOOD REASON!
Click below and read one persons account of a trip to a shelter where they viewed a precious furbabies last moments. It is very moving - but shows there is NO REASON this needs to be happening in our world today!!! This MUST STOP!
CLICK HERE FOR PAGE 2 OF IMPORTANT INFO!
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