IME, people use ellipses to string a mishmash of clauses and phrases together because they know they are ignorant of proper grammar and punctuation.
Which knowledge at least puts them one step up on those who don’t even know they have a problem. Hopefully this is just a interim strategy they resort to while they study the rules of sentence construction.
Whoa. What a thread. I think it’s clear there’ve been some world class biatches posting here, who must settle the fuck down!. I’m betting they joined just to share their views on this and then (when disagreed with), be mean and nasty 3rd graders.
Wasn’t big on it either, but our cat is declawed. Had to be! Her life is not ruined, she sits in the sun and chases bugs and sometimes the laser pointer (though she’s getting annoyed that she can’t catch it), and meows for food etc.
If your cat comes back and does everything the same but can’t shred cowhide anymore, what’s the big deal!?!? And that crap about “how’d you like it” it just that. If I came back from an operation and couldn’t type, I’d probably notice. 
You’re absolutely right. I think it would be much, MUCH crueler than declawing to take in and love a cat, and then after she gets all used to her new family send her off to another home just so she can keep her claws.
I am not a cat person, but have many friends who are, many of them with declawed cats. All happy, healthy well-adjusted pets.
You’re doing the right thing. She gets to stay in a loving home, you get to keep your peace of mind.
Hello! World Class Bitch Here! This is a great thread and it has pulled me in. I love you guys. I’m staying.
I have 2 cats who were never going to be declawed until they talked me into it. A handmade wedding gown was shredded. The “laser” surgery then. I agree, it is cruel to do it the old fashioned way, but cruelest of all - as I think both sides of the arugment have stated - are the people who did not alter this cat’s parents so that it would not have to be subjected to a world overpopulated with cats.
Sounds like you have put a lot of thought into your decision and I commend you for that. Sorry for you that this thread went a different direction, but great for me because I love the arguments - very entertaining. I’m hooked.
[total hijack] ENugent - your kitties are just a-freaking-dorable. Mind if I steal some pictures from your gallery for my screen saver of cute fuzzy animals? Personal use only, I promise. I would just love to add your beautiful babies to my little collection so I can ooh and aww over them whenever my computer’s idle. 
[/total hijack]
Lady Venom– I applaud your patience in the effort to train your kitty, and I sympathize with your agony in the decision process. I’ve never had to have a kitty declawed, but I’m sure it’s NOT an easy decision and it’s obviously NOT something you’ve taken lightly. Some people have been real dumbasses in this thread and it really sucks that they can be so narrow-minded and judgemental. You’ve done everything you could, and you shouldn’t feel guilty. You are giving that kitty a loving happy home and that’s the most important thing. Good luck and give her a snuggle for me.
First, let me say that I am against declawing, card-carrying member of PeTA, etc, etc, blah, blah. With that said, **Arcana, ItsNotMe and RocknFluffsmom **, you ignorant jackasses are why I have to put up with so much shit for being an animal-rights activist.
A friend of mine developed AIDs when his cat was around nine years old, and he had to have her declawed. For obvious reasons, he couldn’t go around covered with scratches. I’m sure you’d recommend he find another home for his beloved companion, as well? You fucking pinheads.
Lady Venom, you might want to try shredded newpaper for litter until kitty’s toes heal. Be warned, though, she may look for alternate spots if she doesn’t like it. :smack:
Also, don’t panic if she bleeds a little bit. From the experience I’ve had caring for declawed kits, they all seem to bleed a little, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever cared for any that had the laser procedure. You might want to make sure she doesn’t attempt to jump for the first few days. That seems to aggravate it.
As for feeling guilty, I’m glad you do. That shows me that you actually put a lot of thought and effort into doing everything you could. If you had posted here with a glib toss off of “I’m getting my cat declawed! Fuck those ugly fingernails!”, yeah, you’d be flameworthy. You’re totally not.
Get well soon, kit!
Thanks to all who agree that I just have the cutest little furballs ever. My husband is a pretty good photographer, too! (Although I took the “sprawled in lap” photo - it’s his lap!) Antares, feel free to copy the pics.
Lady Venom, please let us know how your kitty fares.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned as I don’t want to read this huge thread to find out, just to post a tip -
Have you tried spraying lemon juice on the furniture? Apparently it stops the the cat from going near it.
QueerGeekGirl, you realize if you continue to be as reasonable, well-mannered and open to the thoughts and feelings of others as you were in your opening post, they will revoke your card?
I’m afraid I don’t quite understand this talk about declawing being the “last resort”.
The choices are between declawing and Lady Venom being inconvenienced, correct? And the point being that LV would then choose to get rid of the cat, despite accepting it in the first place?
Hmmm… It seems to me that you don’t really want this cat. You want an extremely similar cat that doesn’t scratch furniture. You could learn to love this cat, but you’d rather have it surgically altered.
Thank you, Lady Venom. I’m now beginning to understand those parents who give their three-year-old children nosejobs.
I want to know the name of the poster who made known my vow to never use the “rolleyes” smiley on this board, because obviously there’s a conspiracy afoot to test my resolve.
I’m getting much weaker thanks to posts like this, I can tell you that.
Wow TVAA - you’re just acting like a shit-head all over these boards lately, huh?
Perhaps you could just send the Nazgul after him?
Just a thought.
Whether TVAA is a shit-head, or not, when he says:
you have to admit that he’s bang on right.
See, but right after he says:
he goes on to say:
implying that if you have your cat declawed it means you don’t love it.
Now I assume he’s going t rush in here, having consulted with his team of “experts” to explaine to me why I’m wrong - according to them.
:rolleyes: Whatever.
CITE?
Yeah, and if the cat craps in the candy dish, and pees on the pillow, I’d want an extremely similar cat without the crapping/peeing thing. People might actually want their pets to act in a manner that doesn’t destroy all of their possessions. If training fails (and it did here) then the relatively painless surgery will have to do.
We also would like to have cats that don’t have kittens, therefore, spaying/neutering is done. This is much more invasive, yet it is considered cruel to NOT do, hmmm…
OK, I’m staying out of the debate here, as tempers appear to be rising. However, I do want to add my experiences with Softpaws. Lady Venom, I understand you have made the decision that was best for you, but maybe this will help someone else. One of our 4 cats has been wearing softpaws for about 3 years. We’ve been very happy with the product. He was already full grown when we started using them, but every time I’d haul him into the bathroom, trim his claws, and pop a cap on, he’d get a ton of kitty treats - that helped immensely as he’s a kitty-treat-whore (YMMV)*. It took him a while to get used to the feeling and even now he chews on off once in a while but I think he’s grown resigned. I’ve not had any trouble with the glue drying out (except when I don’t get the cap on) and my only complaint is that they don’t really give you enough of the tips that go on the glue tube (I never thought of using tubing). I order them directly from softpaws though, so I just order extra tips.
The kitty in question still scratches as much as he ever did, but just can’t do any damage. Kitty is happy, furniture is whole, everyone’s satisfied.
I will say that I had grave reservations at first about the colors - but didn’t use the clear ones for the same reason someone else gave (harder to see when they need to be replaced). Now that I’m used to it, I think he looks kind of cute with his blue claws.
Cricket - Softpaws Fan.
*It’s disconcerting for guests, though. The bathroom door doesn’t always close properly and more than one guest has gone to use the facilities only to find that the kitty has pushed into the bathroom and is sitting expectantly on the floor in front of the toilet, meowing (or trying to jump into the guests lap…).
Y’know, I’m just going to ignore all the morons that have decided that I am a BAD person for declawing my cat.
I will address a few things though. I have asked time and time again…what other options do I have? NO ONE has answered with a recommendation beyond giving her up or letting her destroy my furniture. I will NOT give her up. Pets are NOT disposable. I am in this for the long haul. If I was chosing my furniture over her, she’d be back at the humane soceity now, wouldn’t she? I want her. She is a very loveable cat, she’s smart and playful. She is a big part of our family. If I wanted a cat similar to her that doesn’t scratch furniture, I would have taken her back to the H.S. and looked for a cat that was already declawed.
I won’t justify my decision to anyone. I already know it was the right decision to make in MY circumstances.
An update for those who care. She is in recovery now and she’s doing well. All went well and I’ll get to see her tomorrow. Barring any unforseen circumstances, she’ll be home tomorrow evening.