The Cost of Our New Kitten

OMG Do NOT declaw your cat!!!!! Please, if you love your furry friend, don't declaw him!!!! The procedure is VERY painful and VERY cruel!!!!! Look up different websites and read up on how its done and you'll understand why so many of us are AGAINST it. It is done by cutting off the tips of each digit at the first knuckle. Look at it this way, would you cut off your fingers? HELL NO!!!!! So don't do that to your furry friend. Not only that, there's no guarantee that it won't get outside and when it does, it won't be able to defend itself if he's declawed. Besides you can get some scratch pads for him to scratch on and you can train him to using only those things. I have 10 (ten) cats and wouldn't even consider doing such a thing to ANY of them. NEVER!!!!! So please do NOT declaw!!!!!!!

Please DON'T declaw! Its like chopping off the end of your fingers. Its very painful and can cause all kinds of problems down the road! Please! save yourself some money and your cat a LOT of pain and don't declaw!

It is 500 for pictures, and you will be there soon. Unless someone changed the rules when I was not looking. You could post a link to a picture elsewhere, or just do some posting. I have always found strays and adopted them, or they have adopted me. You are still giving a kitty a good home either way, but if it comes up to a next time, you will probably go to the pound.

I have to agree; please do not declaw until you have tried other options. Most cats can control their clawing with a little help. Scratchers give them a safe outlet for clawing. With a little patience, you can teach them to keep their claws in when they are on you (saying "velvet paws" and tapping their foot when the claws start to come out usually will work). They have equipment to keep their claws trimmed so they are not as sharp. And, they even have plastic/rubber caps that go over the claws to prevent them from clawing. I have had cats all my life and have only had to declaw one (vet said either declaw or destroy - so we declawed). Yes, kittens are expensive. That is why we got cats that were 2 yrs old from our pound the last time we adopted. All the expensive stuff had already been done; so we only have the day to day things (plus annual visits to the vet).

I have to agree with many of the others here, including CatsandDogs about NOT NOT declawing, and please don't tell me to read the one response you gave, I've already read it. Also, I see that you've seen videos then you know how painful a procedure it is, it mutilates the cat's paws and can even cause serious mental problems for the cat...they can get either very depressive or very aggressive. I've had cats since I was five years old and NEVER, NEVER had my cat's declawed.There is actually a product that one can use that "caps" the claws, called soft paws... Here's a link to the product http://www.softpaws.com/ Are you MORE concerned about the furniture than the health and happiness of your cat?????? DO NOT DO NOT DECLAW--it goes up there with animal cruelty

Declawing is unnecessary and painful. Please, save yourself the money and the kitten the pain of this procedure. I have four cats; none of them are declawed. At different points, I've lived with more than that, and the furniture survived intact.

I paid about $400 for my Lucky, and that was less than two years ago. Yeah, new kittens are not as cheap as they used to be.

If you have a Pet Smart store near you, they will trim the claws on a regular basis. The scratch pad is good for the cat. Put it on the floor where the cat can use it daily. Do whatever you can so that you do not have to de-claw the cat.

I agree with the others please, please, please don't declaw your kitty. I have only one declawed kitty and I adopted him that way and he curls up his little paws in such a sad way, it breaks my heart. It is so painful for them and so unnecessary, you can teach them not to claw things or get caps. It is cruel and unusual, the practice in my opinion should be banned. And yes kittens are expensive but they are so worth it. Cats are wonderful companions and mine at least are worth every penny I have spent on them over the years.

Pets can be really expensive. We adopted our dog in February. She was eighteen months old at the time so had already been fixed so we did not have to worry about that. Unfortunately it costs three hundred dollars around here to adopt a dog. The lady did her to us for $275 though. Of course I had to take her to the vet and have checked out which cost about $180 and as luck would have it she had, had all of her shots however they were 10 months before we adopted her so 2 months after we got her I had to take her in for her yearly shots the total of that visit was around $300. Hopefully I won't have to take her back to the vet for another year. Pets can certainly be really expensive.

Please explain to Ms Upstairs that declawing is ripping the first joint off each toe on your kitty. It will lead to his not using the litter box due to pain in his feet. It will probably make him bite as well. This cruel treatment won't even make him love you. I implore you not to do this to your kitty.

I have had so many cats in my life and I have 4 now but it never crossed my mind to declaw them. NEVER! So what if they scratch on the couch or furniture? We can get a new one but the harm that we are going to give our pets are cruelsome! Please don't! Shun the person upstairs! I have a neighbor here and whenever she and her family have to go on a vacation? I have to kitty sit their 5 cats. They are so adorable, and they would always wait for me by the doorway when I open the door. After a few days of kitty sitting, I noticed that one of the cats has no claws, so I checked, and I was stunned! She was declawed and so I had to check on the other 4, and it was so sad to know that they're all declawed. You know why? The owner said, she don't want these cats to scratch on her couch and don't want marks on her floor and other furniture. I love her cats but I don't feel like going there and take care of the cats again if she will ask me to. It was so heartbreaking to see. The cats wanted to play with strings but they cannot grab it because they do not have claws anymore. It is also their defense. Imagine how sad it would be when you cannot do the natural things that you wanna do? And scratching is cat's nature, it makes them feel better. Please don't declaw your kitty. =(

Yes, that's true but at least you know for next time. I think you should be able to post a picture with your discussion. I believe I joined here after you did, and I was able to.

I never had a pet cat before, although we have around our village, strays. We have dogs, but never a kitty, So what is it like having a cat around the house? Are they like dogs in general? (taking care of is what i meant)