[QUOTE=Anne FS;8117306]
Teach your new kitten/cat to let you clip their nails. It’s so easy. Don’t declaw.[/QUOTE]
the cat outlined in my original post is a marvel at letting me clip her claws. It does not stop the destruction of my couch. She can still hook those clipped short claws and rip away.
I was looking starting to look at kittens as one of my cat’s health starting to decline. Lots of places got crossed of my list, quick.
I look at these agreements the same as “Forever Home” or no resale clauses in horses. IF you want to control what happens to a kitten - KEEP IT FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS.
I’m not saying that I would or would not declaw a cat, or that I wouldn’t get it spayed/neutered, just that as the owner, that is my decision.
FYI, it’s not always easy to teach a kitten/cat to let you clip their nails. Some cats, sure. All cats? NO WAY. Mine have pretty good manners for cats, but clipping nails has never been easy, nor has simply picking them up.
[QUOTE=Rackonteur;8116939]
In most other countries it is not done. It considered cruelty.[/QUOTE]
Yes, and oddly, Americans are more offended by docked tails on dogs, which, in comparison to declawing is virtually painless.
Why are you shopping catteries anyway? If you want a cat of a certain breed, why not contact breed rescues? [/QUOTE]
Just like purebred dogs, there are good reasons to go to a breeder if you are really looking for a specific breed and temperament. I’ve never owned a purebred cat, but I can see why people would choose a well-bred kitten for the same reasons I have bought pure-bred puppies.
[QUOTE=Rackonteur;8116939]
Why are you shopping catteries anyway? If you want a cat of a certain breed, why not contact breed rescues?
There are so many cats out there who need good homes. You are blessed enough to have cats showing up at your door. Keep taking them in. Just don’t declaw![/QUOTE]
Mostly I am shopping catteries because the breed I am looking for doesn’t often appear in rescues near me, they are generally on the other side of the country. However there are several breeders who are only a few hours away.
Since I have moved I seem to have lost my cat attraction mojo! The local kitties haven’t seen my “Cat Wanted” signs yet, and I’m in need of a friend.
[QUOTE=Paks;8117044]
Just curious what breeds of cat are you looking at.[/QUOTE]
I’m mostly looking at Scottish Folds, though have been toying around with the idea of a Siamese, or maybe both!
Since you do not currently have a cat, I would take this moment to evaluate what you are willing to put up with in terms of clawing and destructive behavior.
While there are many things you can do to mitigate scratching and other cat-related destruction, it does often take a fair bit of work - creating a cat-friendly environment with perches and places to look out the window, providing varied scratching surfaces, designating playtime each day, trimming their claws, etc. And, despite all this, some still prefer to scratch on the sofa or climb the curtains every once in awhile. You just can’t be 100% sure what you’re going to get. (My cat scratched the carpet until I got the formula just right - she needs a horizontal cardboard scratcher that’s in the middle of the room away from walls and furniture so she can really get her full body into the scratching. Now she leaves my carpet alone.)
If you feel uncomfortable with any of this I would urge you to reconsider getting a cat, especially a purebred from a cattery. If you were, like, saving an unadoptable cat’s life and the only way to make things work was to declaw I might be slightly less hard line about this, but I still can’t think of a scenario in which I’d say, “yes, declawing is better than the alternative.”
If you really want a cat but know you won’t be able to deal with the scratching, I’d suggest you take another poster’s advice from upthread and look for a shelter cat that has already been declawed and give it an indoor-only home.
It is unfathomable to me that anyone who actually understands what the process of declawing entails could still consider declawing a cat.
I think there is a lot of room in the “responsible pet owners” club and I don’t have to 100% agree with everyone’s personal philosophy to acknowledge that they are doing right by their pets. That said, declawing a cat is 100% abusive, no gray area there. Thankfully more and more vets are refusing to perform the surgery.
[QUOTE=eventerchick517;8117396]
I’m mostly looking at Scottish Folds, though have been toying around with the idea of a Siamese, or maybe both![/QUOTE]
If you are going to get a Scottish Fold make sure you read up on Osteochondrodysplasia If they have the folded ears they have the condition. So you need to be prepared for what you are dealing with. They haven’t been a recognized breed in the UK since 1974 because of this condition. Other than that I don’t know much about them.
I love Siamese. Very people oriented. Mine is curled up at my feel right now (I’m teleworking). They enjoy playing fetch which we do a 3 D version of throwing the object onto a 5 level cat climber and the cat has to search for it. I prefer the traditional or the classic types not the Extreme show types that are out there. Anytime you go extreme you get problems. I literally cry at what the extreme breeders did to the Burmese (people oriented like Siamese but not quite so active). Thank heaven there are traditional breeders out there and there is even a guy who imports cats from Thailand to increase the genetic diversity and increase the breed health.
Whatever breed you get just like you’ve done with the strays let the kitten choose you. Don’t get one the breeder has to dig out from behind the furniture unless you want to be doing that yourself. Don’t worry that shy kitten will find a home. When I got my guy I thought I wanted a seal point but the seal point kittens kept going behind the couch and under the end table. The blue point almost demanded my attention. I asked the breeder how it went with the next group that showed up to pick a kitten. She said one of the seal points came right out and sat on the girl’s lap. So he chose his home.
Good luck on kitten searching. Keep us up to date on how you are doing.
[QUOTE=french fry;8117541]
That said, declawing a cat is 100% abusive, no gray area there. Thankfully more and more vets are refusing to perform the surgery.[/QUOTE]
So if someone is on coumadin, and their physician says either declaw the cat or get rid of it, your solution is to try to rehome the cat? How is this helpful?
[QUOTE=threedogpack;8117591]
So if someone is on coumadin, and their physician says either declaw the cat or get rid of it, your solution is to try to rehome the cat? How is this helpful?[/QUOTE]
I don’t know what coumadin is. I am not a vet and I do not play one on TV so I can’t tell you what my solution would be. Perhaps the vets I have taken my cat to would make an exception for certain circumstances, but they are very upfront about the fact that they will not declaw and, not being interested in declawing, I haven’t discussed it further.
ETA: Just looked up coumadin. Wouldn’t a cat owner be in just as much danger from bites as scratches?
[QUOTE=french fry;8117604]
I don’t know what coumadin is. I am not a vet and I do not play one on TV so I can’t tell you what my solution would be. Perhaps the vets I have taken my cat to would make an exception for certain circumstances, but they are very upfront about the fact that they will not declaw and, not being interested in declawing, I haven’t discussed it further.
ETA: Just looked up coumadin. Wouldn’t a cat owner be in just as much danger from bites as scratches?[/QUOTE]
they might be in as much danger from bites as from scratches. Depending on the cat. My daughters cat will bite, the two I own would have to be pushed to extreme lengths to bite, but they will use their claws when playing.
I’m just tossing that out there as something to think about because of your 100% statement.
[QUOTE=french fry;8117604]
I don’t know what coumadin is. I am not a vet and I do not play one on TV so I can’t tell you what my solution would be. Perhaps the vets I have taken my cat to would make an exception for certain circumstances, but they are very upfront about the fact that they will not declaw and, not being interested in declawing, I haven’t discussed it further.
ETA: Just looked up coumadin. Wouldn’t a cat owner be in just as much danger from bites as scratches?[/QUOTE]
Most cats rarely bite, as most dogs don’t bite, but they can draw blood unintentionally with a quick departure from your lap.
JME, but my cats got over the biting stage very early, and only drew blood once on a very bad day. I can wake up and find scratches that weren’t there when I went to bed.
[QUOTE=threedogpack;8117614]
they might be in as much danger from bites as from scratches. Depending on the cat. My daughters cat will bite, the two I own would have to be pushed to extreme lengths to bite, but they will use their claws when playing.
I’m just tossing that out there as something to think about because of your 100% statement.[/QUOTE]
Here is the AVMA’s stance on declawing under certain circumstances:
“The American Veterinary Medical Association recognizes that in most cases declawing is not medically necessary. In cases where immune-compromised people are getting scratched, the AVMA deems it appropriate to consider declawing as a last resort after you’ve tried everything else. The ASPCA also strongly opposes declawing unless cat scratches are causing harm to the health of the cat’s guardian.”
While I respect the AVMA’s stance, I personally do think declawing is abusive (definition: “human infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense or survival”) even under those circumstances and I would attempt to rehome the cat within my family/friends before declawing. If it somehow came down to declawing or putting the cat down, I…don’t know what I’d choose. It would involve a lengthy discussion with my vet.
That being said, none of this is relevant to the OP’s query. As far as I’m aware she is not immuno compromised or particularly at risk for complications from cat scratches and, if she were, the simple solution would be not to get a cat.
[QUOTE=red mares;8117623]
Most cats rarely bite, as most dogs don’t bite, but they can draw blood unintentionally with a quick departure from your lap.
JME, but my cats got over the biting stage very early, and only drew blood once on a very bad day. I can wake up and find scratches that weren’t there when I went to bed.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=red mares;8117623]Most cats rarely bite, as most dogs don’t bite, but they can draw blood unintentionally with a quick departure from your lap.
JME, but my cats got over the biting stage very early, and only drew blood once on a very bad day. I can wake up and find scratches that weren’t there when I went to bed.[/QUOTE]
This has not been my experience at all, from years volunteering at a shelter, pet sitting, and with my own cats. Maybe you’ve had very nice cats or have been lucky, but cats IME bite way more frequently then dogs. The playful ones bite in play, the pissy ones bite to tell you off, the quirky ones bite just because, the overly affectionate ones may ‘love nip’ (which absolutely will draw blood). In my current herd, 2 of 3 are frequent biters and the third will try to bite if pressed (such as at vet or giving medication).
[QUOTE=Forktomouth;8117646]
This has not been my experience at all, from years volunteering at a shelter, pet sitting, and with my own cats. Maybe you’ve had very nice cats or have been lucky, but cats IME bite way more frequently then dogs. The playful ones bite in play, the pissy ones bite to tell you off, the quirky ones bite just because, the overly affectionate ones may ‘love nip’ (which absolutely will draw blood). In my current herd, 2 of 3 are frequent biters and the third will try to bite if pressed (such as at vet or giving medication).[/QUOTE]
I’ve never had a cat that wouldn’t bite and they usually aren’t defensive, “I mean business” bites. They’re either playful bites or overly enthusiastic love nips.
My current cat loves to “mouth” (she’s as soft-mouthed as a labrador and never actually chomps down, her teeth are just really sharp!) and although I don’t encourage it, it does still occasionally happen. She has definitely broken the skin.
[QUOTE=red mares;8117335]
I look at these agreements the same as “Forever Home” or no resale clauses in horses. IF you want to control what happens to a kitten - KEEP IT FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS.
I’m not saying that I would or would not declaw a cat, or that I wouldn’t get it spayed/neutered, just that as the owner, that is my decision.[/QUOTE]
Well, just like puppy contracts - if you don’t like the terms, find a different breeder. Many breeders consider things like spay/neuter to be THEIR decision, not yours. In general, if you don’t like the terms of someone’s contract, they probably don’t want you as one of their puppy/kitten homes either. Just a difference of opinions, and probably a better match out there for both parties.
If they have a no-declaw clause, chances are the breeder will work with the kittens from the get-go on training/habituating them to proper scratching outlets so it would probably be a non-issue.
The breeder started out my Ragdoll kitten on cardboard scratchers, and that’s all he ever liked. Once in a while he’d go for the sisal-wrapped posts of the cat tree if he wanted to get a good stretch on.
But even as a kitten he never once offered to scratch anything inappropriate.
Seriously? Cats claw stuff. That’s not new information.
If you can’t handle the thought of some holes in your furniture, then you probably shouldn’t have a cat. 
And yes, most cats will bite given the right (or wrong?) situation. But cats that are declawed have been proven more likely to be defensive and prone to biting.
Good luck to you OP. I have always loved the look of Scottish Folds. I grew up with Burmese and Siamese cats - you eventually learn to deal with the noise. :lol:
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