YAY Nova Scotia bans cat declawing.

[SS-18 ICBM]

Does this apply to dewclaws?

 

[Manfred Belheim]

BTW... the first time I ever trimmed one of my cats' claws, I took the nailclipper and did my own nails first, in front of her, so she could see that it was something that I had to go through as well and it's harmless. That's a technique I still use.

Does that really work?! Feels to me like you're imbuing them with a level of abstract reasoning they're not actually capable of.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Does that really work?! Feels to me like you're imbuing them with a level of abstract reasoning they're not actually capable of.

My goal was to make them less afraid of the nail clipper and the sound it makes when nails are clipped. I did it calmly, and talked to the cat as it was going on. If they saw I wasn't afraid of it, hopefully they wouldn't be, either.

Cats aren't stupid; they understand that paws = hands and claws = fingers, or at least mine did. One of my cats used that reasoning to try to figure out how to turn the knob on the back door so he could go outside. All he succeeded in doing was slapping the knob, though, and when it rattled I went to investigate... and realized he wanted to go outside.

Sure made my dad jump the first time he heard it... he and I were in the living room and suddenly the back door knob started to rattle. My dad couldn't figure out what was going on since neither of us were anywhere near the door. But I just explained that Gussy had figured out that hands and fingers are necessary to open the door and he was letting me know he wanted out.

Of course the method I've found that worked with most of my cats was to wait until they were asleep. By the time they woke up and realized what was going on, I usually had anywhere from a third to half of the claws done.

Then the wrestling match started.

 

[rah]

My wife handles the trimming for both are cats and she's never had to wrestle with either of them.


(because I'm the one holding them while she does it.)

 

[Manfred Belheim]

Why do you even need to trim your cat's claws anyway? Do they never go outside?

 

[rah]

No. We've had ones in the past that were indoor/outdoor cats but our recent batch is probably too stupid for outside and we would never see them again.

 

[Lexicus]

Why do you even need to trim your cat's claws anyway? Do they never go outside?

Letting cats outside is really ecologically damaging

 

[Zelig]

I guess this is a good thing, but it's not like non-fatal harming of animals is generally worse than killing them for food. Missing the forest for the trees.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Declawing cats defeats the whole purpose and usefulness of cats, which is to hunt mice and rats.

 

[Cutlass]

What happened to your fingers?

I got declawed.

Spoiler :

As to how, it was an accident at work.

 

[shadowplay]

My uncle was declawed by sticking his finger in a wheat combine.

 

[Cutlass]

It's actually not that uncommon. Guitarist Tony Iommi of the rock band Black Sabbath is credited with inventing heavy metal music because he lost the tips of 2 fingers on his left hand in an industrial accident like I did, and so when he played he came up with a sound notably different from other people.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull has said: "Tony managed to turn his physical impairment around into something that makes him one of the guitar legends – if not for his dexterity of playing but at least for the fact that his contribution to rock music is a unique one".[67] Gene Simmons of Kiss regards him as "the man who came up with the riffs that launched an army of guitar players";[68] and Ronnie James Dio called him "the ultimate riff master".[69]

Furthermore, Iommi is recognised by many as the main creator of heavy metal music. Brian May of Queen considers him "the true father of heavy metal",[70] Eddie Van Halen states that "without Tony, heavy metal wouldn't exist. He is the creator of heavy!"[70] and James Hetfield of Metallica, who was profoundly influenced by Iommi, defines him "The king of the heavy riff".[71] Rob Halford, vocalist for Judas Priest, when filling in for Ozzy Osbourne during an August 2004 concert in Philadelphia, introduced Iommi to the audience as "The man who invented the heavy metal riff".[72] Michael Amott of Carcass and Arch Enemy considers Iommi his "guitar hero"[73] and the world's greatest guitarist "because he invented the heavy tone and evil riff".[74] According to Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe, "Iommi is the reason heavy metal exists"

 

[Yeekim]

It's been 35 years. Declawing don't stop hurting.

It's not so bad when it's done quickly enough...

Spoiler :

 

[warpus]

I looked at your hand for so long and didn't notice the problem. Now that I do....... ouch!

You could be the new poster boy for the "let's stop declawing cats" movement

edit: not talking about the photo just above this.. double ouch

 

[Cutlass]

I looked at your hand for so long and didn't notice the problem. Now that I do....... ouch!

You could be the new poster boy for the "let's stop declawing cats" movement

edit: not talking about the photo just above this.. double ouch

That's the point really, what happened to me is very much the same as declawing. They remove the last joint from the 'finger', because otherwise the claw will grow back. And while the declawing itself is painful enough, the real tragedy is that the pain never really goes away. As I say, it's been 35 years. I still feel it constantly.

 

[warpus]

Damn, I really had no idea. I mean, I knew that declawing cats was bad, and I knew what it's equivalent to, but hearing that it's still causing you pain, and seeing examples..

Why can't we have this law in every province? Do people who own cats and do this sort of thing really have so much influence that this is still legal in so many places?

 

[Cutlass]

I think that there just isn't constituency enough to convince lawmakers to make the change. Declawing happens because, lets face it, cats are destructive. And people really think, 'OK, temp pain, long term solution to a problem'. Except the pain ain't temp. So it's really cruelty to the animal for the remainder of it's life.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

It's not like the animal has any choice or even really any understanding on why they need to be in this much pain.

Sadly a lot of [censored] landlords that claim their apartments are pet-friendly require cats to be declawed. It can be quite a barrier sometimes.

 

[FriendlyFire]

Why cant you just use a nail file and just file the sharp end of it down by a few mm ?
Is it odd that both you lost fingers from your left hands ?

 

[Arwon]

I think that there just isn't constituency enough to convince lawmakers to make the change. Declawing happens because, lets face it, cats are destructive. And people really think, 'OK, temp pain, long term solution to a problem'. Except the pain ain't temp. So it's really cruelty to the animal for the remainder of it's life.

I'd suggest some of the responsibility falls on the veterinary associations. This is the sort of low visibility mundane law change typically driven by the relevant expert group in conversation with legislators