Please help the cats that have been declawed

& help spread the word of the pain it causes. 

This post was originally published in 2009.  I interview cats on how they felt after being declawed.  Reading over what they said, still brings me to tears.  They are just three of so many that feel this way.  Since then, I have spoken to 100s of others cats that have been declawed.  Many with behavioral issues ( aggression- biting & attacking, pee and pooping out side the as well body pain issues like severe paw and back pain.

Some declawed cats are extremely sweet and are described by their owners as  “fat and lazy”.  What these owners don’t realize is that these cats are less active because of the intense nerve pain in their paws that these cats are experiencing when they walk.

I have been the proud person of 6 cats (Winston, Juliette, Joey, Makia, Serafina, and Ella) since my early 20s.  All of them wanted to scratch the furniture and with a little patience and some training every single one of them learned not to scratch the furniture within the matter of a month or so.

It is my opinion that if people take the time to be conscious and learn how to communicate with their pets more effectively, this issue of teaching cats not to scratch is easier to train than a teaching puppy not to grab what they shouldn’t.

If you have declawed your cat or you have adopted a cat that has been declawed, there are a few things that you can do make amends for human cruelty.  Tell your cat that you are so sorry that either you or the people who declawed them were so unaware of the pain that it can cause. Tell them that you regret and people around the world are trying to stop animals being declawed all together.  Tell them that you love them and that you are going to make their body feel better.  Then get them adjusted by a chiropractor.  Often when cats have been declawed as kittens their body can become out of alignment because of distorted distribution of weight trying to avoid the pain in their paws.  Put them on a CBD treat.

My cat Ella likes https://treatibles.com/product/soft-chews-for-cats-100ct-feline

Use “The Pet Psychic” code for 10% off. 🙂

Acupuncture can also help.

Learn to watch your cats body language signals when you pet them to notice if they are in pain.  Mouth closing, body freezing, twitching of the tail, staring at you or in another direction, growling, biting, and getting up to leave are just a few.

If your cats skin twitches or rolls when you pet them down the back chances are they have pain.

I recently posted on Facebook that NY State just banned Cat Declawing!  This made me proud to be a New Yorker.

A few of the comments made me realize that some people do not know that declawing cats actually involves amputation of part of the cat’s paws.

Attached below is a pdf that explains more.

 

2009 Article:

I know a lot of cats that have been declawed.  Before I was an animal professional, I didn’t think much of it.  When I was ten years old a family friend gave us a large orange female tabby cat named Samantha.  She was previously an indoor only Park Avenue, NY City cat.  When she came to our house she became the barn cat.  She was declawed.  Though it did not stop her.  She could jump four feet in the air and grab a bird in flight and climb the ladder to the hayloft with ease.  Dotti, another declawed cat, could hunt mice and climb trees.   A few years ago, I was called into talk to three cats in the same home. Two had already been declawed and one was scheduled for the following day.  I was mortified and haunted by what they told me.  They were in excruciating pain. It hurt to walk.  They felt mutilated, traumatized and upset with their person.  The other cat was so frightened about what would happen to her the next day that she wouldn’t come out from under the bed.  What I learned that day is that declawing a cat means the vets AMPUTATE part of the cats paw!  They cut at the first joint!  Cats walk on their toes.  I was sick for days and unfortunately I could not convince the owner to stop declawing the other cat.  It was one of those times that I could not “meet a person where they are at” nor could I have compassion for her.  I felt she was abusive with awareness and I found it hard to forgive her for getting the third cat declawed.  I wanted to take all three cats away from her.  I felt she didn’t deserve them.

Declawing cats is cruel.  West Hollywood and San Francisco already has already put a ban on declawing cats and Santa Monica is expected to give final approval to a measure next week.  Malibu and Beverly Hills are also considering declawing bans.

Let’s hear it from the cats that have been declawed:

Dottie:  I was declawed because I ripped my persons favorite chair.  I have never been in so much pain.  I survived a coyote attack and being in its jaws was nothing to the feeling of when I woke up and noticed that I didn’t have part of my paws.  I hated my person so much after that that I ran away and found a new family.

Magic (recently declawed):  I couldn’t swallow for weeks after my surgery. It was hard to breath I was in so much pain.  I didn’t understand it.  I need my claws to climb.  I think because I don’t have my paws my body doesn’t work right.  I can walk and play, but it feels different.  My neck hurts a lot and so does my back.  I never thought people could be so mean.  I hated my people so much that I kept biting them.  They have been talking about giving me away to someone else.  But then you came over and told me they didn’t know any better, they didn’t know it was cruel, and you kept telling me how sorry you were for me.  That made me feel better, because you understand how terrible it felt and if I were your cat you wouldn’t have declawed me.  I wish you told my people earlier.  I am learning to trust and love them now.  I don’t bite anymore and they are going to keep me.  I am learning to forgive them.

Susan (the cat that was declawed the day after I told her people how the other cats felt being declawed and how scared Susan was): I felt so blessed that you came over and talked us all through it.  I hate my person more than anything now.  I can’t stand to look at her.  I try to throw up on her things as often as I can.  I have a good life with my other cat siblings, but I hate my person so much that at times I wish she would stop breathing.   Before this happened I loved her more than anything.  I would comfort her when she was upset and I would try to be perfect.  It didn’t mean anything to her.  If I had enough courage I would run away.  I feel half a cat with out my claws.  I don’t know if I could survive outside.  I wish I had a different life.  I wish I was brave enough to run away.

 

declawing cats