To all cat owners...

[Etoille]

Originally Posted by Phelps McManus

Two of our cats are fascinated by it and do occasionally play with it. All of them drink though. We also have water bowls in their "dinner" area that we change out daily. We top off the fountain daily and clean it maybe once a week (sometimes every other week).

It is just something to entice them to drink when you aren't around. Cats instinctively prefer drinking running water.

my cat back in chicago is fascinated by running water. we never got him a fountain but my mother has taught him the exceedingly bad habit of drinking from a gently running bathtub faucet. i used to have to chase him out of the bathroom when i was drawing a bath because sometimes he'd even jump in with me.


and science diet & iams ftw

[chaos]

I was using some expensive ass Purina shit at first, but i switched to Iams just because I can find Iams anywhere, that other stuff I could not find except at a few places.

I think I may try out that water fountain thing, I sometimes worry that my cat isn't drinking enough. He will not drink all day, then drain his bowl. That can't be good, i figure.

[Araxen]

Originally Posted by Phelps McManus

Two of our cats are fascinated by it and do occasionally play with it. All of them drink though. We also have water bowls in their "dinner" area that we change out daily. We top off the fountain daily and clean it maybe once a week (sometimes every other week).

It is just something to entice them to drink when you aren't around. Cats instinctively prefer drinking running water.

Ahhh...I did not know this. I will have to get a fountain.

[Arbitrary]

I had a cat declawed for the first time. He was completely unresponsive at the vet and the second he got home (it honestly took < two minutes) he ran and hide and tore out his stitches.

I was pretty surprised a cat could bleed that much and not die. The vet didn't believe in bandaging feet when I asked him why I had no foot bandages on my cat.

We rushed him back, his wounds were cleaned, feet bandaged, the cat spent a few days at the office, I got another vet bill (wee) and his left paw was half-gimped forever.

I would not ever do it again ever. On a related note, my cat had one testicle that was hidden so when he was fixed at the same time as the declawing I got to spend a bunch of money to not accomplish anything as he still had one active ball. When I took him back for a follow-up I was told that the vet could explore for 400+ or use a catscan which would be 2000 motherfucking dollars.

At the end I spent 350 dollars on a cat that was free to make him a housecat which totally failed on all levels. This spring he was made an outside cat and was hit on the highway within two months.

So.

I do not recommend declawing cats~

[Etoille]

you declawed a cat....which made him disabled .....then you made him an outside cat....that got ran over...but the end note there is i do not recommend declawing cats?

lol hon i wouldn't recommend pets for you.

[Aegdaien]

Originally Posted by Arbitrary

I do not recommend declawing cats~

You should never own a pet again.

[Lithose]

Originally Posted by slitz

Is declawing actually legal in the states? That's cruelty to animals and should be punished by chopping off the balls of the owner.

You, also, should not own animals..

Its people like you that forced me catalog countless animals for destruction when I worked at the SPCA, people that coddle their animals rather then own them and then act fucking surprised when they tear the shit out of someone.

You should love your animals, but they are just that, animals..They are your responsibility. A cat's front claws are used for gripping pray, a house cat has *NO* fucking reason to have them, the only thing it will do is destroy your furniture and or harm a child/guest when its frightened.

De-clawing cats lowers the rate they are put into the pound, and it lowers the rate they are taken from their owners for harming people...

[Phelps McManus]

Originally Posted by Arbitrary

I had a cat declawed for the first time. He was completely unresponsive at the vet and the second he got home (it honestly took < two minutes) he ran and hide and tore out his stitches.

Vets typically don't send the cats home with bandages, because owners can't tell if they are too tight. The owners are responsible for keeping it in a small room (bathroom) with an e-collar until it is healed.

[chaos]

Originally Posted by Lithose

You, also, should not own animals..

Its people like you that forced me catalog countless animals for destruction when I worked at the SPCA, people that coddle their animals rather then own them and then act fucking surprised when they tear the shit out of someone.

You should love your animals, but they are just that, animals..They are your responsibility. A cat's front claws are used for gripping pray, a house cat has *NO* fucking reason to have them, the only thing it will do is destroy your furniture and or harm a child/guest when its frightened.

De-clawing cats lowers the rate they are put into the pound, and it lowers the rate they are taken from their owners for harming people...

It also lowers the length of their fingers, because you have to cut them the fuck off. Why even get an animal if the first thing you do when getting it is mutilate it's paws in surgery?

I understand that the act of declawing encourages more people to adopt and thus saves some lives, but stories like Arbitrary posted happen all the time, and hey whatever, he learned something so that's a good thing, I don't know I just can't fathom why you would want to take on the responsibility of an animal and then do that to them.

[Twobit Whore]

Uh cats get run over all the time... and not all of them are declawed. He was just a bad pet owner.. getting the cat declawed wasn't the reason it got killed.

[Lithose]

Originally Posted by chaos

It also lowers the length of their fingers, because you have to cut them the fuck off. Why even get an animal if the first thing you do when getting it is mutilate it's paws in surgery?

I understand that the act of declawing encourages more people to adopt and thus saves some lives, but stories like Arbitrary posted happen all the time, and hey whatever, he learned something so that's a good thing, I don't know I just can't fathom why you would want to take on the responsibility of an animal and then do that to them.

Stories like arbitrary happen because people aren't responsible with their pets. My cats have always been declawed, they live long, happy lives, lounging in complete comfort. I have *never* had an incident where the cat has been harmed during or after the procedure, probably because I knew how to care for them after words.

I guess you also things its mutilation to have them neutered, right?

People have these things done to their animals because they do love them..They are responsible owners. My last year at the SPCA we put down a few hundred..No, not a few dozen, a few hundred cats that were given up by their owners because they scratched a new baby...The cat was only playing, it was used to using those claws..Of course now that its scratching an infant, its a different ball game.

Those owners, like you, had no fucking business owning an animal.

[Phelps McManus]

Originally Posted by Lithose

You, also, should not own animals..

Its people like you that forced me catalog countless animals for destruction when I worked at the SPCA, people that coddle their animals rather then own them and then act fucking surprised when they tear the shit out of someone.

You should love your animals, but they are just that, animals..They are your responsibility. A cat's front claws are used for gripping pray, a house cat has *NO* fucking reason to have them, the only thing it will do is destroy your furniture and or harm a child/guest when its frightened.

People who don't believe in declaw are fine owners. I have 2 cats with claws intact that rarely cause a problem. If someone gets "the shit" torn out of them, they probably deserved it. Children and guests are much more likely to get harmed by a dog than a cat, but you don't see owners muzzling them.

I mean I sympathize with your viewpoint in the sense that people who refuse to declaw their cat but are OK sending it back to the pound are hypocrits.

[Lithose]

Originally Posted by Phelps McManus

People who don't believe in declaw are fine owners. I have 2 cats with claws intact that rarely cause a problem. If someone gets "the shit" torn out of them, they probably deserved it. Children and guests are much more likely to get harmed by a dog than a cat, but you don't see owners muzzling them.

I mean I sympathize with your viewpoint in the sense that people who refuse to declaw their cat but are OK sending it back to the pound are hypocrits.

No, injuries from cats are higher..They just aren't as severe. Cat bites are also worse then dog bites in most cases because of the infection they can cause.

Dogs are also a lot different in their temperament. A dog can be trained to head a heel command, even if it doesn't like someone, a cat can't. I have seen people require stitches from a cat that freaked out at nothing more then a simple, playful petting. (My mother owns a dog grooming chain).

Cats are temperamental creatures, their claws are meant to kill things..The math is not hard to figure out here. If you feel like you can handle your cats with claws, and feel your home is reasonably trafficked sparsely enough that those cats won't be in situations where they might be pressured or frightened, then absolutely, keep the claws. Most owners aren't in that situation and instead are just "appalled" by the "savagery" of the "mutilation" and choose not to have it done..So the cat pays later with a needle for being what it is, a cat.

[Drakain63]

I never was a cat person. I'm allergic to the dander, and to me cats just seemed spoiled (we had a fussy long haired cat when I was little). I had a beagle for years while I was in jr high though college, so I thought I'd be a dog person the rest of my life. Then I started dating my future wife, who had two cats at her dad's house. I really didn't care for either of them, but sure enough, when she and I got an apt together, she wanted a kitty.
Our first cat, Ayako, was from a shelter. We got her a scratching post and kept her claws. She's never touched the furnature once (clawing that is). We've gone though 3 posts now that she's just demolished, but I'd rather buy a new post than a new couch.
A few years later we got our second cat, Kikyo, from a friend of the family who had a few outdoor cats and found herself with babies. Kikyo has her claws as well, and she's never touched anything either.
It's all about behaiviors. If you see them touch furniture, put them on the post. If they attack hands or feet, put them on the post. When a cat scratches, they're trying to relieve stress. I've never found the spray bottle to work. My cats love water though. Ayako would jump in the shower if we let her.
As far as the water goes, my two cats love the fountain. They batted at it at first, but now they won't drink anything else. Food you should start out with wet and slowly mix in some hard food untill they start eating well enough. Just make sure not to overfeed. Look at the serving size on the package and don't go over that. My cats get about 1/2 to 2/3 a cup of food a day (don't be afriad to get the more expensive stuff). Their weight is right on target and they have very soft coats from the better food.

[chaos]

Originally Posted by Lithose

Stories like arbitrary happen because people aren't responsible with their pets. My cats have always been declawed, they live long, happy lives, lounging in complete comfort. I have *never* had an incident where the cat has been harmed during or after the procedure, probably because I knew how to care for them after words.

I guess you also things its mutilation to have them neutered, right?

People have these things done to their animals because they do love them..They are responsible owners. My last year at the SPCA we put down a few hundred..No, not a few dozen, a few hundred cats that were given up by their owners because they scratched a new baby...The cat was only playing, it was used to using those claws..Of course now that its scratching an infant, its a different ball game.

Those owners, like you, had no fucking business owning an animal.

The situation you describe is the case of an irresponsible owner. I take care of my animal, train him when not to use his claws, and don't leave him unsupervised around infants. I think I'm a pretty goddamn good pet owner, and I don't really give a shit if you think I'm not just because I don't want to cut off the ends of my cat's fingers. It's vanity, it is nothing like spaying or neutering.