My furniture and my cats
@margieanneart (26423)
United States
June 18, 2007 1:53pm CST
For all of you people that love cats, and want to purchase one, but are afraid they will ruin your furniture, do not declaw them. I beg you not too. No matter what any body tells you, it is painful, and sometimes they can get crippled. My house is kept very neat and clean. My furniture looks like it just came out of a show room. I have two cats, with their claws. They are indoor cats. One is 10 years old, the other is 1 and a half. Both are rescued cats. The do not touch anything with their claws except their posts and card board scrathing boxes. Rarely, do I have to say "no" if they forget and want to do it on something else. So please, I beg you, do not declaw them. Cats are intelligent, and very affectionate creatures. They are not given the true credit they deserve. Thank you for listening, and I pray you adhear to what I wrote. God bless you.
6 people like this
20 responses
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
18 Jun 07
Actually, if someone is looking for an indoor cat and would prefer one that is declawed; they can find one that has already had the surgery at the local animal shelter.
This rescues an cat that needs a home and prevents another cat from having to go through the surgery.
Our two cats came from the shelter and one was already declawed; the other still has his claws. But, we were specifically looking for "indoor" cats; so the fact Russell was declawed was not a problem.
4 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
18 Jun 07
That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for sharing, and enjoy your sweethearts.
1 person likes this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
How sad, but I agree with you there. I especially commend you, that you kept him. A lot of people would have given him away, or put him to sleep. God bless you dear.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
19 Jun 07
We could not have given him away - he was dangerous to other animals and people, as well as himself.
When the vet said he might "outgrow" the condition; we felt he deserved the chance. So, we just combined neutering with declawing; and he only had to go under anesthesia once.
Except for his problem, he was a loving curious little kitten and he grew up into a very loving cat who loved to sleep with us, curl up in our laps, and purr like crazy. He is still missed.
@pendragon (3349)
• United States
18 Jun 07
I also do not believe in de-clawing.What right do we have to maim another creature that we supposedly love and vow to take care of, if a stupid hunk of furniture comes before them?
3 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
18 Jun 07
Thank you so much for agreeing. I wish other humans would. I wonder how they would feel if they were owned by cats, and were the pets. If we had to be declawed. Och. God bless you.
2 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Thank you, you are so right. Why are humans like this?
@GardenGerty (160665)
• United States
18 Jun 07
I agree with you whole heartedly on this one. I do not have fancy furniture, and my cats are indoor outdoor. They prefer cardboard and other things to furniture for scratching, and that is not a problem at all. I have had cats for almost fifty years,and I have never had a declawed cat. I also did not get rid of all of my plants when I had children.The same principles apply. Children, and pets, need consistent rules and discipline, and I do not mean beating or abuse. They need acceptable alternatives to the unwanted behaviors. I would certainly not like it if someone decided to remove some part of me for convenience purposes.
3 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
18 Jun 07
Wow, you are so right. Thank you for responding and sharing this with us. I hope others will learn from this. God bless you honey.
2 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
18 Jun 07
Awe. you are so sweet. My two use the card board with cat nip from Wal Mart and Petsmart. They never touch my furniture. So, how are the grandkids? How many do you have? Bless you my friend.
2 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Congratulations on the one to be, and the ones you have. How blessed y'all are. Enjoy them. Huggers, M&M
@sigma77 (5383)
• United States
18 Jun 07
I have 2 right now, a 4 year old girl and a 2 1/2 year old girl. In early July, my duaghter expects to have a son and about a month later, my step-son another girl. Heavens, if I ever have to watch them all at once...I think I would need classes ahead of time. The two girls aren't really that mischieveous, yet!
2 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
18 Jun 07
I agree, plus they can become crippled if done wrong. It's happened. So very sad.
1 person likes this
@sappho99336 (354)
• United States
18 Jun 07
I don't believe in de-clawing cats either. I think it is painful for them and if they got outside, they wouldn't be able to defend themselves. My cats sometimes claw my furniture, but I don't really care. I know they can be trained to use a scratching post for people who do care, though.
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
18 Jun 07
I am so glad you feel like that. If you get some cat nip, and those cardboard scraching boards im Wal Mart or Petsmart, they will be attracted to scrach there. God bless you.
2 people like this
@Lydia1901 (16351)
• United States
18 Jun 07
Thanks for that, Margie and I will keep it in mind if we do get another cat someday. I'm with you on that. They really deserve some credits there.
2 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
18 Jun 07
Thank you for agreeing Lydia. They do need respect, as they have emotions and feelings too. Bless you.
1 person likes this
@meljessxena (2315)
• Australia
19 Jun 07
yeah de clawing them isnt nice, i couldnt do such a thing to an animal. same with de sexing im against that. i have a cat and love him heaps.
1 person likes this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Bless your heart sugar. Thank you for sharing that.
@TerryZ (22076)
• United States
18 Jun 07
I know thats how I feel to. My cats have the cardboard boxes too and plenty of scrating posts. And they dont touch my furniture either. I just have to say no to them and they listen really well.I think if you teach them from kittens they will listen to you. I think the problem is some people are to dam lazy and are never home so they dont have the time to teach them. So then I say dont get them.
2 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
18 Jun 07
True dear, and that is exactly what I think.
1 person likes this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Thank you, and you are so right. A water bottle can do a wonder of works in training, without hurting them, along with scatching posts or boxes.
@moonshadow68 (723)
• United States
19 Jun 07
The back of my couch does look like a scratching post, but in Rain's defense, the couch needed replaced before there was a kitty. That's why we did't worry too much about her using it as a scratching post. Once we ahve nice furniture, she will be taught not to use it that way. Besides, not that she's older she prefers the scratching post on her cat tree anyway.
I would never declaw my cat. She gets offended enough when we just trim them:)
She has been taught to tuck in her claws when we wrestle and never uses her claws in any places that we have told her not to. If she gets too excited while playing and nicks me, all I have to do is tell her "Gentle Rain, you hurt Mommy," and she tucks those claws right away.
can't train a cat....that's BS...it just takes patience.
1 person likes this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Moonshadow, you are so right. Thank you for telling us these things. God bless you.
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
18 Jun 07
I agree with you 100 precent girlie. My Moose will never be declawed. I have these kitty claw covers on his front paws so he can't scratch anyone or anything .It's totally painless. they're sort of like vinal and uses a special glue .they have to be replace every four weeks.
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
I have heard of those. Are they expensive? Do they really work? One of my cats claws are so sharp, I am covered with scratches, by accident of coarse. She is horrible, when I clip her, she doesn't like it and screams, and it breaks my heart, even though I am not hurting her. But, both my cats are good, and only scratch their scrach boxes.
1 person likes this
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
19 Jun 07
the ones i got from petsmart are working fine. my kitty gets real freaky when i tried to snip his nails. I bought this real cool thing through the mail.you put your kitty in it and it has a hole to put one paw out so he can't struggle while you are clipping his nails. I needed it before i clipped his nails to use the covers.I also use it to put him in when i put his eye and ear drops in. i really love those nail covers!This catalog i have even has orange and black for halloween and red and green for christmas,lol!
@sakana (260)
• Singapore
19 Jun 07
Wow you're really kind to keep rescued cats! I'd love to keep cats I find off the streets but my mother doesn't approve of any pets and I haven't been able to convince her otherwise for the past ten years :( I totally agree with you on the subject of declawing cats. It's like removing our fingernails _
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
I didn't know about the citrus spray. Thank you for sharing that. I use a water bottle, and if they misbehave, rarely, I will just spray them and they run away. They have lots of scratching boards, so they are content. I do clip their nails as well. I hope that you will get yourself a cat when you move out. You will make a great parent for them. God bless you.
@Katagiri (426)
• Brazil
19 Jun 07
De-clawing is a crime and can really hurt the cats badly. If you want to have a cat you should not be concerned about your furniture, my cats almost destroyed my home but we love them more than our furniture. You can also try those nail covers for cats, they're made of soft material and don't hurt them. My godmother's cats use those.
And, don't buy cats, adopt alley cats like I did.
1 person likes this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
I agree. Bless you sweetie and thanks for sharing this.
@pilbara (1436)
• Australia
19 Jun 07
I've had cats for most of my life and ours have always been partly indoors partly outdoors - we let them out during the day and keep them inside afternoons and nights.
None of our cats have ever used furniture or carpet for sharpening their claws - they do that when they are outside.
Declawing a cat would be like pulling someone fingernails out so it is not something I would consider. I have heard of people cutting claws back - but realistically that would only make the cat sharpen them more as they like keeping their claws sharp.
1 person likes this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Well said my dear, and thank you for your input and sharing with us.
@naadia (828)
• India
19 Jun 07
i love kitten.and i want to buy one,but my problem is not about ruining furnitures.my parents won't allow to buy a cat.but actually there are many cats around my house may be thats why my papa wont let me buy one.but this cats are not pets.they are from streets so i cant take them to my house,but i enjoyed watching them fighting,playing.sometime me and my brother too play with them.but my brother sometime show rude to them!
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
19 Jun 07
In all the years I've had cats, I've never declawed them...if a vet is worth anything, even they don't recommend this either---My furniture may not exactly look like it right out of the showroom..LOL...and yes, does have claw marks, but I really don't mind...the two cats I have now though are very well behaved and don't do much damage to the furniture at all--and even if they did...so what...Furniture can always be replaced, a cuddly loving animal that is part of the family can't--
1 person likes this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Thank you sweetie, you said it right. I have no idea why people put their furniture above the pain they will inflict upon their pets. I guess they are not compassionate, selfish, and not real animal lovers.
@teleios (737)
• Philippines
19 Jun 07
i think that cats are a also very intelligent. we used to have a cat, although we didn't declaw him, we just kept his nails short. i don't know if cutting his nails was a good thing, but we made sure that when we cut his nails, it didn't hurt him.
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Cutting their nails are fine, as long as you don't go to far and cut the quick. That is painful. Cats are smarter than dogs, most people do not know this, but it is true. They just decide what they want. They can be trained, and they can reason.
@canjo13317 (396)
• United States
19 Jun 07
i was just wondering if you thought it cruel to spay or neuter a pet as well. i mean, the good Lord gave them reproductive equpment too. and i'm sure that plenty can go wrong during that surgery too. i would think that the most important issue would be to make sure that you have a qualified and trustworthy veterinarian to care for your pets. and please explain. if the procedure is done correctly, what is so cruel about it? i have a cat, had two but recently lost one to the pet food contamination, and both still have(had) there claws. i do know several cat owners who have had this done to there pet and have had no problems. thank you.
@moonshadow68 (723)
• United States
19 Jun 07
The difference is that having them fixed, especially a female cat, is good for them. It helps to preent all kinds of infections, especially bladder and kidney. I joke about it with my friends, but i guess the bottom line is that I won't put my cat through anything I'm not willing to go through. I got my shots; so did she. I had my tubes tied; so did she. I am not about to cut my fingers off at the first knuckle, why should she?
By the way, I am so sorry to hear about your cat. We've been terrified of the contaminated cat food, but lucky so far.
