That's horrible, and many people do not realize what it entails and
how many
cats lose their lives - they think it's a manicure...but many vets
are to
blame. Several people told me that after adopting from us, they
went to
their own vet, and after telling them that the cats will be kept
indoors
only, the vets said "Oh, you have an option to declaw!" Banfield
Health.
The group at Petsmart, offers a big special for "kitten health" -
all the
vaccines, exams, and declawing for a very good price! I wrote to
them about
declawing; they wrote back with the most ridiculous comments. If
anyone
would like to see their reply, I'll send it privately. Last year, I
was
informed that they will no longer cut ears and tails on dogs,
because it's
purely cosmetic...I wrote to them, asking their policy on declawing
since
they have made that big leap on no longer mutilating dogs, they
might have
reconsidered doing it to cats...no reply from them.
O always ask people what they would prefer, a few things scratched
up or
urine-soaked carpets and furniture.....Besides, not all cats grow up
to be
scratchers...and providing good posts and trimming their nails works
well.
-----Original Message-----
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Edna
Taylor
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 1:44 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] FW: Keep Cats Indoors
Natalie, I am with you about the declawing. Someone I know adopted
two
kittens from me and one died on the table during a declaw surgery.
Yes, I
HAD told her before hand "NO declawing" but people don't listen and
they
always know best, yadda yadda :( Then they wonder why Buster is
peeing on
the bed and the floor because his paws hurt so badly from the
surgery. SIGH
:(
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:55:49 -0400
From: at...@optonline.net
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] FW: Keep Cats Indoors
Edna, that's exactly what I tell people about letting their cats
out just
because they want to. I ask them if they would allow their 3-yr old
to
play
in the middle of the street just because he/she wanted to? When I
hear
"but
the cat gets out", I tell them that they control the door, period!
Our
adoption contract stipulates "strictly indoors" - but, there's no
real way
of enforcing it except to spot check wherever the cats live and
hope that
adopters understand the reasons for it. I have removed several
adopted
cats
over the past 18 years. A friend, who also has a cat rescue group,
doesn't
allow declawing (we don't either), came to her vet, and noticed one
of her
adopters picking up her cat after spaying....she looked into the
carrier
and
noticed the poor kittens front paws bandaged.....she gave her an
earful,
but
what was she to do, take the cat back and have this person declaw
yet
another one? Since then, we made it perfectly clear to that
veterinary
hospital that no cat that was adopted from us can be declawed, and
should
a
customer ask for it, we must be notified immediately! Thank God
that my
other veterinarian would never declaw!
-----Original Message-----
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Edna
Taylor
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 11:40 AM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors
Just because your kid likes to eat McDonald's every day or binge
drink or
do
drugs because it makes them happy is NOT a reason to allow it. The
same
reasoning goes for cats, just because they LIKE it doesn't mean
it's good
for them. My cats may be "prisoners" in my house but I sleep well
at
night
knowing they are loved and safe and from what I can tell, they are
pretty
freakin happy. I have picked up enough broken and battered bodies
off the
roadways to know that NONE of my cats or fosters will EVER be
allowed
outside unless it is in a safe enclosure or on a leash.
There was a young "individual" (can't call him a man because real
men do
not
torture animals) in Dallas that took his neighbor's inside/outside
cat and
over a course of several hours beat and tortured the cat and video
taped
the
entire thing. THAT is what happens to outdoor cats. While some
may be
lucky enough to escape being tortured, hit by cars, eaten by
coyotes or
hawks or owls, most do not escape this fate.
Sorry but I 100% DISAGREE with "cats are wild animals and need to
live
outside" point of view.
Just my 2 cents.
Edna
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2011 09:13:09 -0400
From: at...@optonline.net
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors
As an adopter, my views on this are very strict and well-defined -
I am
responsible for placing cats in the safest possible homes, and I
would
do
no
less. I need to be able to sleep at night, knowing that the cats
that I
rescued and invested so much time, energy, and emotion will be
safe and
happy for a long time.
Yes, I agree, there still are a few safe area left, but not many
and
none
are 100% safe, ever. It is true that times used to be safer for
cats to
be
outdoors - ours always had been, especially when I was growing up,
until
one
of our kittens was killed by a car....Unfortunately, it takes many
people
to
understand this only after a tragedy occurs. When an adopter tells
me
that
their cat ALWAYS sat on the front porch, and never left....and
they
intend
to do the same with a new adopted cat, I say NO! Their old cat may
have
indeed done that, but it doesn't mean that a new cat will do it:
It
takes
ONLY ONE TIME - chasing a squirrel or bird across the street, and
WHAM!
Cats can be perfectly happy indoors with tall cat trees by a
window, a
window perch, the right kind of toys to keep them interested and
active.
More and more people construct outdoor enclosures; simple ones to
really
elaborate ones, even just a little window screened porch. I don't
believe
that cats need to hunt; if they are homeless and hungry, yes, but
there's
no
need for a well-fed cat to kill small wildlife, not for food, but
for
fun
and the reflex of chasing something (could be a toy).
-----Original Message-----
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Lorrie
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 7:56 AM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors
This is a hot topic, but I agree humans and loss of habitat
are the main threat to birds.
As for keeping cats inside. I've had cats all my life and they
have always been indoor/outdoor cats. All of them have lived to
16 to 17 years of age unless they've had some genetic problem like
heart disease. My cats were all rescues and they lived outside
before I had them, and they are totally miserable inside.
It's really only the last couple decades that cats have been
living
indoors, but the invention of cat litter and urban sprawl have
made
us think all cats have the perfect life indoors, when in reality,
cats are happier if they can live outdoors. They are programmed to
hunt small animals....which is the best nutrition for them. They
need
to climb trees, stalk at night with their night vision, and be
free.
Cats were not made for sitting in a window sill, and a prison is a
prison no matter how many cat toys and kitty kondos we buy for
them.
It's true that some outdoor cats have a shorter life expectancy,
but
this mostly depends on where they live. If they live in a safe
area
with little or no traffic then I feel they should be allowed to be
outside. There are some cats who will never willingly settle for
the
indoor life. We live in the middle of the woods on a dead end road
with no traffic and our cats are allowed to go outside. I rarely
see
them catch a bird, but they catch many mice & moles. I feel sad to
see anything killed, but cats and dogs are predators and this is
what
they were designed to do.
Lorrie
Sorry but that information is outdated or biased. The number one
killer of birds is humans due to habitat loss or construction for
same.
Humans: The Number One Threat to Birds
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=325
SomeWhere Sam
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