Onychectomy (Declawing)

Onychectomy (Declawing)
Everybody that is thinking about getting their cat declawed should read these websites. To see what declawing really is. It’s not just a simple surgery of removing the “claw.” It’s an amputation of 10 digits.

Please do not get your cat declawed. Most of the problems with declawing have nothing to do with the actual surgery. Declawing is the worst thing you could ever do for your cat. Most cats that do have problems are not visible. Most of it has to do with their back muscles. Cats need their claws in order to stretch properly. That would be like a human not being able to stretch when they wake up it the morning. Can imagine how stiff you would be? So that results in back problem their whole life. And because cats are VERY good at hiding pain/sickness you can’t really tell.

http://maxshouse.com/facts_about_declawing.htm
http://www.declawing.com/
http://community-2.webtv.net/zuzu22/stopdeclawtemporary/
http://www.theanimalspirit.com/declaw.html
http://amby.com/cat_site/health.html

Please at least consider other option before declawing.

There is an alternative to declawing:
http://www.softpaws.com/
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754502

Sprays:
PETCO Bitter Break Training Spray
http://www.petco.com/product/105623/PETCO-Bitter-Break-Training-Spray.aspx
Nature’s Miracle Best Behavior Pet Training Aid
http://www.petco.com/product/7297/Nature-s-Miracle-Best-Behavior-Pet-Training-Aid.aspx

Here are a few household items you can use to stop a cat from scratching:

Double sided tape (or packaging tape, if it’s on a flat surface-that’s what I used when my cat would try to “nurse” on some blankets and she never touched it again)

Water bottle spray

Can of air

Aluminum foil

A bottle/can with something noisy in it (shake it every time the cat starts scratching)

Ginger root (rub it on whatever it’s scratching)

Also you can trim your cat’s nails back once a week.

Scratching post

Another website on how to stop it:
http://www.catscratching.com/

Also when you do get a scratching post, if your cat doesn’t scratch it at first you can get some catnip and rub it on there. Or they sell catnip spray.

Video of a declawing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niMgBGfMgFc

All of the stuff below is from research and the websites listed above and where not written by me.
A few quick facts:
The cat’s claw is not a nail as is a human fingernail, it is part of the last bone (distal phalanx) in the cat’s toe.

Declawing is not a “simple”, single surgery but 10 separate, painful amputations of the third phalanx up to the last joint of each toe.

Many vets and clinic staff deliberately misinform and mislead clients into believing that declawing removes only the claws.

“Declawing is actually an amputation of the last joint of your cat’s “toes”. - Christianne Schelling, DVM.

“Fifty percent of the cats had one or more complications immediately after surgery…. 19.8% developed complications after release.”

Many cats also suffer a loss of balance because they can no longer achieve a secure foothold on their amputated stumps.

“Among 218 cats relinquished to a shelter, more (52.4%) declawed cats than non-declawed cats (29.1%) were reported by owners to have inappropriate elimination problems.”

Psychological & Behavioral Complications:
Cats who were lively and friendly have become withdrawn and introverted after being declawed.

Others, deprived of their primary means of defense, become nervous, fearful, and/or aggressive, often resorting to their only remaining means of defense, their teeth.

In some cases, when declawed cats use the litterbox after surgery, their feet are so tender they associate their new pain with the box…permanently, resulting in a life-long adversion to using the litter box.

Other declawed cats that can no longer mark with their claws, they mark with urine.

Many declawed cats become so traumatized by this painful mutilation that they end up spending their maladjusted lives perched on top of doors and refrigerators, out of reach of real and imaginary predators against whom they no longer have any adequate defense.

A cat relies on its claws as its primary means of defense. Removing the claws makes a cat feel defenseless. The constant state of stress caused by a feeling of defenselessness may make some declawed cats more prone to disease. Stress leads to a myriad of physical and psychological disorders including supression of the immune system, cystitis and irritable bowel syndrome

A declawed cat frequently resorts to biting when confronted with even minor threats.
Balance is affected by the inability to grasp with their claws.

Unlike routine recoveries, including recovery from neutering surgeries, which are fairly peaceful, declawing surgery results in cats bouncing off the walls of the recovery cage because of excruciating pain. Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Professor of Behavioral Pharmacology and Director of the Behavior Clinic at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine.

Some veterinarians are now promoting laser declawing as a “guilt-free” procedure. While laser declawing can reduce the bleeding and perhaps diminish, to some extent, the agonizing pain, the procedure is the no different, only the means of amputation.

The Cat’s Claws:
Unlike most mammals who walk on the soles of the paws or feet, cats are digitigrade, which means they walk on their toes. Their back, shoulder, paw and leg joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves are naturally designed to support and distribute the cat’s weight across its toes as it walks, runs and climbs. A cat’s claws are used for balance, for exercising, and for stretching the muscles in their legs, back, shoulders, and paws. They stretch these muscles by digging their claws into a surface and pulling back against their own clawhold - similar to isometric exercising for humans. This is the only way a cat can exercise, stretch and tone the muscles of its back and shoulders. The toes help the foot meet the ground at a precise angle to keep the leg, shoulder and back muscles and joints in proper alignment. Removal of the last digits of the toes drastically alters the conformation of their feet and causes the feet to meet the ground at an unnatural angle that can cause back pain similar to that in humans caused by wearing improper shoes.

Expecting F4B kittens mid December. Mother is Gir - F3B, father is Waffles - F5A.

I have retired Savvy, the name sake of my cattery.
Savvy has been neutered & is ready for his new him. He would do best in a home with girl kitties.
Savvy is 5yrs old F8A & a total sweet heart. Has the most incredible green eyes!

He eats Taste of the Wild dry food & ground raw rabbit.  So, if you are interested in him you must be open to feeding a raw diet. If you are not familiar with feeding a raw diet I can give you all the information you will need plus other resources.
I will only place Savvy locally in metro Denver or surrounding areas.
I am asking only $400 for him. I paid $1800 for him.

Savvy Savannah Cattery is a very small in home cattery. With F2A female Savannah Platinum Sterling, her daughter Gir and Savvy is her father. Waffles F5A silver, and Savvy F8A male Savannah, the Cattery name sake Savvy! All my cats run around the house except for Savvy he is confined to the basement as he IS the Pee KING!!! Trust me there is NOTHING worse then an intact male, who sprays! Waffles is also living in the basement for the same reason of marking his space.

Savannahs are from the original breeding of a male Serval to a domestic female cat. Their offspring is a lovely domestic spotted cat. When you see a reference to a Savannah you will see the “F” in front of a number. The F means “foundation” as in how many generation removed from the first Serval breeding. So, an F1 would be the direct breeding to the Serval and a domestic female. F2 would be that offspring being bred to another male cat. So on and so on……. We are now getting fertile males like Savvy. All male offspring is sterile for the first-fourth generations & sometime the fifth generations are not fertile.The fifth generation and beyond males are fertile. Savvy being a F8 is fertile. Savvy and Waffles are also offered for stud service to approved Savannah breeding programs for a fee.

The goal of the Savannah breed is to get three generations of Savannah to Savannah breeding. Once we get to that point the breed will then be accepted for Championship statues with The International Cat Association, better known as TICA, which does recognize Savannahs as a domestic cat. My goal with this breed is to produce some of the nicest, friendly, spotted loving cats the world has ever seen!!!

Savannah & size

If you have a breeder promise you a 20+ pound Savannah, they are LIARS!

There are some Savannahs that get that size but they are the exception rather than the rule. Savannahs can range from 8-12lbs. The reason people think they are large is cuz they are tall, long, lean kitty machines.

Some Savannah’s like to play in water, some don’t, some like to play fetch, some don’t. Savannah’s like people have their own personalities. They are like snowflakes not a one is the same.