declawing is a pretty barbaric thing, actually. it is akin to removing a persons fingers to the first knuckle. it can lead to a cat “stepping up” it’s defense system and becoming more likely to bite. it can throw off their balance (imagine trying to walk with no toes left) declawing is illegal in most countries other than the US.

some people go so far as to say that declawing is akin to mutilation. if you would define mutilation as inflicting ten different, painful amputations on an unsuspecting animal unable to understand why merely for ones own convienience, then i would, too.

Declawing a cat is the equivilant of amputating your finger at the first joint. It is a very painful procedure and America is one of the few (if only) countries where it is still legal.

Even if you don’t intend for your cat to go outside, there is always a chance s/he could sneak out. I work at one of the oldest no-kill cat shelters in the country; I get so many calls of cats bolting out of the house on moving day, getting out a window when the screen comes loose, or sneaking out the door when an inattentive visitor comes by.
You would be amazed at what a cat can do if s/he is scared or determined enough.

Part of my job involves giving behavior advice to frazzled cat owners. We receive so many behavior calls where a cat has become more become more aggressive (since they no longer have their primary means of defense) or refuses to use the liter box (using the box becomes painful because the gravel gets in the empty sockets of their paws) after being declawed. Of course this is not always the case, but there is a good chance of it happening.

There is simply no need to declaw a cat. A good scratching post will solve most problems, and the rest can be solved by keeping the cats nails trimmed, protecting furniture with double sided tape, or covering the cat’s nails with little caps, such as Soft Paws.

A day or two later I went to buy lunch and I realized that all my change was urine coated.

Several years later Sam also, somehow, managed to urinate on a half of a copy of “The Waste Land.” I discovered that in class one day. As I am going over the poem with my class I catch a hint of cat urine. I discretly sniff the air, then all my stuff as I try to figure out if I am imagining things. I sniff the front half of the book and get nothing, but sure enough the back half of the book was soaked in urine. I don’t know how I managed to miss it the night before, or how he managed to get only half the very thin book.

A few years ago when I moved to Denver, a neighbor complained he barked when I was at work. I got a nylon muzzle that allowed him the freedom to drink water, etc. and it was supposed to minimize barking…until the day I came home and couldn’t find the muzzle. My roomate and I looked for it everywhere, but we couldn’t find the thing. A couple of days later I found it, in a giant string of his poop.

In the same place, he decided it would be fun to eat the carpet. It started with a little string, then turned into a giant bare patch. Imagine having to explain to people why the carpet is gone, because your dog is a carpet-muncher!

All of my husband and my shoes;

THREE couches (she completely tore them apart);

The sprinkler system (she dug up the wiring and destroyed it);

The lawn (I think she was trying to dig to china);

Pillows;

Socks;

Coffe table;

two screen doors;

Patio furniture (two chairs and a lounge chair);

Two dog crates;

Two dog beds;

Every bush in our yard has been completely trampled (she likes to hunt insects and lizards);

Two remote controls (a third remote went missing but we have not found it yet); and

Stereo speakers.

I’m sure there is more that I just can’t think of at the moment. Yes, we still have the dog. Three weeks in doggie boot camp and a crate a shark couldn’t get out of has made for a wonderful dog!

We also had a Shih-Tzu named Ming the Merciless who consumed a gigantic plate of chocolate Krispy Treats one evening while we were out. He was lucky he didn’t die. About two weeks later (two weeks?) he…wait for it…puked up the whole mess on our living room carpet. We had to call in professionals to get rid of the stain.

Gotta love ‘em…