Well it wasn't my cat so the ultimate decision was not mine, but I did print out all of your responses and provided them to the owner.

Anyway, thought I would update for others searching the topic. They did have the adult cat's front paws declawed. The surgery went extremely well. The cat was completely back to normal with no pain or bleeding (jumping and everything) after just one and 1/2 days! I'm glad the surgery went so well for this particular cat.

Sorry to hear that...but I am glad he seems to be doing okay...

Well for starters... Let's see....

1-we're not saying declawing is "inhumane." We're saying that is should be done as a kitten and not a grown up.

2-if done when the cat is older it complicates things a lot more and is a lot more painful

3-docking tails, cropping ears, and removing dew claws are all part of dog breed standards. Declawing a cat is NOT WITH ANY BREED a required standard. Nor will it ever be.

and 4-CATS NEED THEIR CLAWS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

I wish I had read this thread before. I think declawing is cruel no matter at what age, but that is my opinion.
I tried the soft paws with my cat "gordo" and I loved them. Gordo went to rainbow bridge a few years ago.
I really recommend the soft paws. They come in all colors and the cats look so cute too.:)

But I have to say this in case someone is looking for a thread about declawing...please don't do it, it is like cutting the knuckles off your yorkies....I did it 10 years okay, when I was stupid & didn't know any better..It is pain, and it changes the cats personality...So just say NO! I tell everyone that because I feel like I owe it to Peepers, one day I hope he will forgive me..The cat still doesn't care for me & he did before I did it..alot of people don't like cats, and think cats are stupid well they aren't and they can be trained not to scratch....

I agree. No offense to anyone but I think it's kind of selfish of people to do. It's cat and cats scratch just like how dogs bark. IMO it's like debarking a dog. It's psychologically damaging as well as painful. People just do it for their own needs and I don't think it's in the animal's best interests. If people don't like certain animal behaviors then maybe they should consider a different type of animal like fish or something.
This isn't to offend anyone, it's just my two cents. I have a Himalayan I really care about and when she was a kitten I considered getting her declawed. Thank god for the internet and I found out how horrible it really is.
I decided that I care much more about her well being than any piece of furniture. It's just not worth the risk to me.

im in the uk and de clawing a cat is illegal, cropping ears is illegal, and docking tails is illegal, a vet can dock a tail but most prefer not to and it will soon be illegal for them to do it, as for removal of dew claws it was only done to prevent injury from ratting ie yorkies so it doesnt need to be done now anyway, its now done for breed standard which in short is just for looks not health my dogs have never catched there dew claws and if they did it would just mean a trip to the vet for a stitch no big deal just the same as if they cut there paw on glass, we cant remove everything just incase they catch it and hurt them selfs, that would mean bald yorkies everywhere just in case they got there hair stuck on a bush :D a dog with a tail dew claws and un cropped ears or a cat with claws is how they were born and ment to be or if you beleive in god how he made them so i say leave them that way.:) if a cat with claws is a problem then dont buy a cat:thumbup:

Please
 

Don't declaw the cat. I had a Persian one time that I had her front paws declawed and I was literally sick to my stomach and cried for days. She was in such pain. I swore that I would never do that again.

I have disagree with you on the dewclaws that dogs have. I always look for puppies that have the dewclaws removed and will always have any of my puppies dew claws removed. I used to work at a dog grooming salon so I have seen first hand what dewclaws can do and how bad it can be and how much pain it causes the dog, it is not pretty!! They are not necessary to have and cause more problems if they are not removed. Now for ear cropping and tail docking, it really is not necessary to have it done and the dog does not benefit from it in any way. But I think they will either always or for a long time have that here in the U.S. It is actually harder to find a dog with a natural tail than one with a docked tail. It is the standard and people will continue to dock and crop so as long as the standard calls for it. I personally which they would all change the standard so we could all have undocked and uncropped dogs, I would love for that to happen, but it is not likely.:(

As for declawing a cat, I don't think it should ever be done. I have watched them do it before and it looks so painful, and I am sure it is. I feel so sorry for the cats that get declawed.:(

my yorkie scampi had his dew claws removed b4 i got him and that was fine with me but when i bred tye and zac i didnt have theres removed and as i said they have never had a pronlem with dew claws infact tye and zac have only ever had a problem with the normal claws, tye had one hanging off which was bleeding and had to go to the vet for treatment, so i guess all claws can be a problem. if someone wants the dew claws removed then thats up to them and i have nothing against it but i just wouldnt bother myself.:)

I just found this site today. This is something horrible that happened to a cat during a routine declaw procedure. Poor thing had to have her feet removed.
http://www.stellahasnofeet.com/

I have owned 1 cat in my life. I had him declawed so he wouldn't tear up furniture. But since he couldn't defend himself anymore, he became a biter. I could never pet him or play with him without him biting. He was just not a loving pet. I am allergic to cats, so I probably won't ever own another one. But if I do own another one someday, it would have to be extenuating circumstances for me to declaw another cat.

Wow that is sad

I know. It's very sad. :cry: I regret it, but I didn't know any better at the time. I was in high school.