There's an orange tabby I might be adopting. She's about a year old and her previous owners declawed all 4 paws, then got rid of her because they wanted a dog instead. The cat is super sweet and I plan to keep her indoors only (since she can't defend herself anyway), but I've never had a declawed cat before.
Do they have worse behavior issues or are more likely to bite?
When I was little my mom got me a kitten for my birthday and the first thing she did when I picked her up out of the box was go to town, destroying my neck so my mom had her declawed. She was always a feisty thing, even in old age. I did not notice a change in her personality she would still try to scratch me when she was pissed even though she hadn't had claws in years. She only bit very rarely.
The only problem we really had with her was that she would vomit all the time, like several times a week. Vet said that there wasn't anything wrong with her, she just did it. Different foods didn't help so I just got used to pickings up throwup. I noticed she did it more often if I ignored or pissed her off though
declawed cats tend to be more aggressive and go straight to biting when in fear since they don't have their claws. I've noticed they tend to be much more shy as well, which makes sense considering their natural defense mechanism is gone
many vets also caution that declawed cats are prone to arthritis due to not stretching when scratching things to sharpen their claws like other cats do
additionally, they will sometimes be very picky about what litter they will and will not use because of how it feels on the mutulated paws, so finding a litter they like is important
but every cat is an individual, so if she's typically nice, then good! just be mindful of the subtle signs of stress that tend to be followed by a bite
good on you for adopting her if you choose to OP
I have fantasies about cutting off the tips of people's fingers who get their cats declawed. An eye for an eye.
>>2013023
Thanks. I was going to adopt her today, but someone beat me to it. I'm just glad she found a home and I hope she's ok.
>>2013053
Do people not understand that you can clip a cats nails like a dogs? My mom had three cats that were old as fucking time itself and they started clipping their nails since they got them and they never bitched or complained. Or what about those cute claw covers?
>>2013298
aw, well I'm glad! there's a cat at the shelter in at who was surrendered to us after the old owners declawed her, then became fat/lazy/aggressive because of it. poor thing has been here for three months without much interest in her because of it, which is a long time for our cats
>>2013311
pic related
>>2013343
it's mostly when people are too lazy to do any of that, but with less and less vets willing to do the procedure and less vet schools teaching it, its getting harder for people to just go out and do. I personally use the claw covers on my kitty
>>2013343
> three cats that were old as fucking time itself
Not gonna lie i'm imagining them with long beards and wizard hats for some reason.
What is declawing? Like dragging out their claws? Never heard about this before, it's actually legal to do this?? It would definitely be illegal over here.
>>2013742
They yank the claws out, totally gay
>>2013742
Declawing is an amputation of the last bone in every one of the cat's toes. A scalpal can be used to make the cut, but more typically people either use those guillotine nailcutters or a laser. Declawing is still extremely common in the United States.
It is a terrible, brutal surgery. Laser is better, but the smell of burning tissue... and many times even experienced vets will accidentally scorch the tip of the remaining bone. Then you put surgical glue in the empty paw-sheath and stick them closed. I'm a vet tech, never got used to those procedures.
>>2013853
>Why not just rip out all their fur so you never have to deal with the inconvenience of them shedding?