New Friends

[c9]

- we went to a fun party last night, and we're starting to make friends -- yay!
- we're talking about adopting cats!

I would like these two cats:

	Neo
	Trinity

They're siblings, so adopting them together is of course best. Unfortunately there are two problems: they're not declawed, which is leapfish's preference to protect our couches (since a spray bottle is not quite as effective). Also (ssshhh, don't tell Vinny) they're named after characters from the Matrix.

Maybe we could rename them (to avoid the geekiness factor for Vinny) to slightly different names (to avoid confusion for them). Nemo? El Nino? Divinity? Salinity? I'd better stop now.

Comments

[putaindemerde.livejournal.com]

Provided they're indoor cats (which is safer), declawing should be okay, right?

If you opt to make them outdoor cats, then declawing isn't fair since they wouldn't have a means of defending themselves...

Cutting a finger off at the knuckle? *gasp*

[putaindemerde.livejournal.com]

See, this shows how much I know, right? I'm thinking in terms as shown above (making them defenseless). I'm also thinking that declawing a cat is only like removing their nails or somehow inhibiting the growth of their nails...

I'm curious... please educate me here! I positively hate to be ignorant! :-)

Re: Cutting a finger off at the knuckle? *gasp*

[c9.livejournal.com]

Check out these sites for more info:
http://www.declawing.com/
http://www.felinefuture.com/catcare/declawing.php

They actually have to cut through the bone of the cat's finger in order to do it properly. And even then, claws can regrow and cause intense pain or even damage the bone without any problems being visible to the owner! It's quite bad.

Re: Cutting a finger off at the knuckle? *gasp*

[putaindemerde.livejournal.com]

*sniff* that's horrible!

So glad I know this now...

Re: Cutting a finger off at the knuckle? *gasp*

[c9.livejournal.com]

I knew it was bad, but I assumed it was still common. I'm pleased to learn it's basically a North American thing only now, and gradually becoming less common.

[ex-halfwitte432.livejournal.com]

Declawing is inhumane and can be likened to cutting your finger off at the knuckle. Training can be done. I had a guest cat for 4 months and my furniture is intact, all it takes is some tinfoil and a scratching post. If they scratch the couch, foil the part they were scratching and move their post to right beside it. They HATE scratching tinfoil. They like their scratching post. You can then slowly move the post away from the furniture day by day until it's back to where it should be.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Whoops, wrote my reply before I saw yours. I like the tinfoil idea!

[c9.livejournal.com]

Declawing a cat involves ripping the first knuckle off of each finger. It's not something I'd want to have happen to me, so it's not something I'd allow to happen to my pets either. But if they're already declawed, then the damage is done, and I'd happily adopt them of course. They will be indoor cats (since we have no method of getting them outdoors in this place), so it's OK if they're already declawed, they'll be safe.