I had declawed rescue kitty and she had difficulty walking because of it. It also didn’t stop her from scratching stuff, so she damaged her paws frequently.
She was also VERY bitey until we had the time to properly train her (which, you know, they could have done instead of declawing, she was a pretty smart cat)
I’m not doubting your experience, but I’m curious about the paw damage from scratching? What does that look like?
My currently senior cat I adopted several years ago had been previously declawed. While I’d never have it done, we haven’t had any behavioral issues and I haven’t noticed any mobility issues or harm to his paws as he does continue to try to scratch surfaces. On the other hand, the cat we adopted last year had been picked up on the streets of another city as a roughly 2yo intact male. We got him a couple weeks after he was fixed. While he’s been a great addition, he’s far more mouthy in a playful manner, but definitely reacts with his teeth before claws. Just wondering how much is clawed/declaw vs individual personality.
I’m not doubting your experience, but I’m curious about the paw damage from scratching? What does that look like?
She would use the scratching posts (that we had to have for the other cat) with her paws, would just break her skin. For the limp, the vet set it was likely nerve pain.
Yeah you’ll hear horror stories, but I also adopted a cat that had been declawed, and he never seemed to have any issues with it at all, even when we adopted a kitten (who had her claws).
I’d never do it, in fact we have 3 now that have all of their claws, but not every cat will have problems from it.
I had declawed rescue kitty and she had difficulty walking because of it. It also didn’t stop her from scratching stuff, so she damaged her paws frequently.
She was also VERY bitey until we had the time to properly train her (which, you know, they could have done instead of declawing, she was a pretty smart cat)
I’m not doubting your experience, but I’m curious about the paw damage from scratching? What does that look like?
My currently senior cat I adopted several years ago had been previously declawed. While I’d never have it done, we haven’t had any behavioral issues and I haven’t noticed any mobility issues or harm to his paws as he does continue to try to scratch surfaces. On the other hand, the cat we adopted last year had been picked up on the streets of another city as a roughly 2yo intact male. We got him a couple weeks after he was fixed. While he’s been a great addition, he’s far more mouthy in a playful manner, but definitely reacts with his teeth before claws. Just wondering how much is clawed/declaw vs individual personality.
She would use the scratching posts (that we had to have for the other cat) with her paws, would just break her skin. For the limp, the vet set it was likely nerve pain.
Yeah you’ll hear horror stories, but I also adopted a cat that had been declawed, and he never seemed to have any issues with it at all, even when we adopted a kitten (who had her claws).
I’d never do it, in fact we have 3 now that have all of their claws, but not every cat will have problems from it.