Animal Cruelty Local Boy Charged.(not for weak at heart)

[Preita]

That orange tabby sounds like my cat sue. "A Boy Named Sue" to be exact. He was such a bitter kitten we figured we would give him something to be bitter about. It's taken 3 years for the cat to let my husband pet him. We always warn people not to touch an orange one unless we say its cool because we have two orange tabby's that look exactly alike but have totally different personalities.

 

[Susan]

I just got around to reading this thread (I had heard mention of the "declawing thread" but didn't know it was under another title) and I'm glad I waited to finish it before posting. Hurley made the best reply, covering everything I was going to add if no one else did.

But I do want to make one inquiry from the members of this forum concerning the "mutilation" of animals by having them declawed, tails docked, ears cropped, etc.
How many of you think what humans have done to their own bodies, for the SOLE purpose of appearance, is also "mutilation"? And I'm referring to things like ear piercing, body piercing and tattoos all the way to liposuction, breast enhancements and major plastic surgery. Yes, some of these can be medically necessary, but the rest? And I don't want to hear about these things being done by choice while it's not a pet's choice. I see way too many INFANTS with pierced ears...and THEY didn't choose to have it done.

(Just thought I'd add a little spice to the thread.)

 

[ghosthousecorns]

Hmmm...I've had one plastic surgery and it was a necessary one. I rolled a car on the freeway and my nose hit the steering wheel so I had to have it rebuilt.
I have a huge long scar down my belly from losing my spleen (different accident, got hit and run riding a moped & almost died) so I'd like to maybe someday get a snake tattoo to cover it up - but I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to pain. Though not by choice I've been 'mutilated' enough. I think I am a bit old for the tounge piercing, belly button rings etc, that stuff got popular after 'my generation' but I feel if you are an adult and choose to do so that's up to you.
As for cosmetic surgeries like lipo, breast augmentation and things like botox...I'm not really into that stuff. I hardly ever wear make-up or girly-girl stuff. I don't feel the need to 'doctor up' my appearance to please others since I feel it's what's inside that counts. But again it's something an adult has the choice to do or not. Main difference is whether you are choosing for you or imposing it on someone/something else.

 

[ultimuttone]

Just for the record-I didn't get my daughters' ears peirced until they had begged for a year to have it done. Briah decided she didn't like them and let them close up. But the choice to have them or not was completely up to them. I have multiple piercings myself but those I also chose myself.
BTW-it is considered animal cruelty to pierce your dog or cats ear(s). A little hole is illegal but elective amputations are not. :shrugs: All in your perspective I suppose.

 

[RyanR]

well its been a few days since i read this thread.. and i must say its certainly went :-offtopic BUT thats not a bad thing... Since everyone is voicing there opinions and not to many flamers..

but back on topic.. the kid got 40 hrs comunity service at the local pound and had his snake confiscated and givin to a older herper that knows how to treat the animals.. So do you guys/gals think he got punished enough Or should he have gotten more?

 

[ultimuttone]

For a 14 yr old, and considering the average sentances for animal cruelty right now, thats not bad. I would rather have seen him get 100 hrs at the local ASPCA-more educational the the pound. Most city/county run shelters are not a hub of animal welfare knowledge.

 

[Missy]

I spent alot of time last night speaking to cat owners and de clawing is almost unheard of hear in the UK (thank god) america has alot to answer for yet again! IMO

i too am from the uk and have never ever heard of this procedure and from what i have read, i do not agree.
a cat is a cat and has claws for reasons and to have a part of your beloved pet hacked off for its owners purpose is a selfish act imho.

 

[Missy]

i too am from the uk and have never ever heard of this procedure and from what i have read, i do not agree.
a cat is a cat and has claws for reasons and to have a part of your beloved pet hacked off for its owners purpose is a selfish act imho.

damn we cant edit. lol. anyhow back on topic, im glad the child got something for his actions, its well deserved and i hope in the future for his own sake and his pets he will know not to mutilate them, or if he really really must, then take it to a vet for it to be done professionally.

 

[Preita]

the kid got 40 hrs comunity service at the local pound and had his snake confiscated and givin to a older herper that knows how to treat the animals.. So do you guys/gals think he got punished enough Or should he have gotten more?

I would have liked to see more community service. But I am glad that his animal was confiscated & he will be around people that will teach him how to properly care for all living beings.

 

[rhinecat]

As a future social worker, I hope whatever authorities punished him also had someone check out the kid's home environment. Deliberately hurting animals or simply lacking empathy like that can potentially indicate a bigger problem, like abuse or neglect, or perhaps a parent or other role model who also abuses animals. Either way, though, I wonder where the parents were for all this!? I once snuck a pet frog into the house when I was living at home as a teenager, and got caught within a week. There's no way I could have mutilated live, conscious mice and not had my parents notice.

Also, declawing cats--I think it's wrong, because it not only leaves them defenseless, but it changes the way they walk, changes the way they act.. it's in no way a minor surgery. For example, there was a cat left on our doorstep who has no front claws, and she is deathly afraid of other animals, can't walk "gracefully" like normal cats, and bites people when she doesn't like the way she's being petted, or if you try to touch her toe-less paws. I had to find her a home that had no other cats, no dogs, and no kids. While it's just anecdotal evidence, there's no way to tell before surgery how a cat will react. I, personally, wouldn't take the risk that I might alter my cat's personality, especially in such a major, negative way as happened with Sophia/Doorstep Kitty.

We trained our four cats not to scratch the furniture with a squirt gun, and with double-sided tape for the kitten, who thought water was fun. They have their cat "tree" to scratch, and leave the furniture alone.

 

[Duff]

Also, declawing cats--I think it's wrong, because it not only leaves them defenseless, but it changes the way they walk, changes the way they act.. it's in no way a minor surgery. For example, there was a cat left on our doorstep who has no front claws, and she is deathly afraid of other animals, can't walk "gracefully" like normal cats, and bites people when she doesn't like the way she's being petted, or if you try to touch her toe-less paws. I had to find her a home that had no other cats, no dogs, and no kids. While it's just anecdotal evidence, there's no way to tell before surgery how a cat will react. I, personally, wouldn't take the risk that I might alter my cat's personality, especially in such a major, negative way as happened with Sophia/Doorstep Kitty.

You cannot really say that you know for sure her personality was because she was de-clawed. This was a cat left of your doorstep that, judging by that fact, you had no knowledge of what the cat was like before being de-clawed. I've lived with lots of de-clawed as well as a few not de-clawed cats, and the only way you could ever tell which was which was by checking the claws. It didn't have any affect at all on their "gracefullness", or their personality. How do you know the cat didn't have an injury while out in the wild? In fact there isn't a single point in your argument that you can say for sure was caused by de-clawing.

Now having said all that, there's nothing wrong with choosing not to de-claw your cat and even to be oposed to the practice. But to start throwing out completely unsubstantiated points as evidence to back up your opinion is out of line. Unless of course you're in PETA. That's the kind of stuff they do all the time.

 

[rhinecat]

You're right, I can't prove it. However, logic would dictate that a cat without its first line of defense might well have the kinds of behavior problems Sophia does. Additionally, not wanting the toeless paws touched is pretty clear-cut, since there is nothing else physically wrong with them, or her. Also, these observations concur with ones made by people who deliberately had their cats declawed, without the intervening factor of time spent as a stray. This is not a conclusion based on one case, but many. Sophia/Doorstep Kitty is only an example, and the one that personally bothers me the most.

 

[Duff]

You're right, I can't prove it. However, logic would dictate that a cat without its first line of defense might well have the kinds of behavior problems Sophia does.

You're assigning cause to an unrelated event. That's not logic, that's making conclusions to back up your beliefs. You found a cat with a bad temper (they do exist, de-clawed or not, ya know), that's it. De-clawing doesn't cause that.

 

[Preita]

My big orange boy has claws & a bad temper. I've never had a cat that let me freely touch it's toes. I don't think this is generally something a cat enjoys. Just my .02

I've thought about declawing one of my cats because he gets stuck on everything. It's like he doesn't always remember to retract his claws & ends up hanging from some piece of furniture by one toe. I don't think he would act any differently, if anything it might give him more grace. :grin01:

 

[rhinecat]

You're assigning cause to an unrelated event. That's not logic, that's making conclusions to back up your beliefs. You found a cat with a bad temper (they do exist, de-clawed or not, ya know), that's it. De-clawing doesn't cause that.

Actually, it is perfectly logical that an animal with its defensive weapons removed might develop fear aggression. Anything that increases an animal's feeling of defenselessness is likely to lead to fear aggression--you see it extremely often in small dogs, elderly animals of all species, rats kept singly, and prey animals that are sick or kept without hiding spots/privacy.

Additionally, as I mentioned, these observations are supported by people who have deliberately had their cats declawed, not just with the example cat--one of the most frequent declaw-related complaints I see on pet message boards (and heard as a pet store worker) is cats developing aggression or litter box aversion after having their toes removed.

 

[Sisuitl]

There are five cats where I live. They are all indoor animals and only one is declawed. one of them scratch the furniture because they were taught not to. (Which is good because it's a house full of antique furniture!) In my opinion it is usually unnecessary to declaw an animal, but in some cases it is for their benefit.

Brooklyn, the declawed cat, was declawed because his paws are deformed and his claws were growing back into his footpads. He could barely walk before. He is MUCH happier and can walk and run normally now that his claws are gone. My aunt has a big orange tabby that she had declawed. He was born with non-retractable claws. One day a claw caught on their couch. He tore his finger completely off (no anesthesia folks! right out of the socket!) trying to get free. After that she had him declawed for his own safety.

Oh, and it's not pot that leads to heroin use, it's Ritalin.

 

[dionythicus]

6 cats. All indoors. All de-clawed. All fat and happy. All walk, run, jump, play, bite and use their back claws just fine. Is it a form of mutiliation? Maybe. Do we do it for our benefit more than theirs? Probably. Do I regret having it done? No. Do they seem to notice or care? Not that I can tell. To each, their own.

 

[amcgltdchix]

I guess I must be one of the cruel ones. I have all of my cats declawed and I do know how the process is done. The cats are put to sleep, the vet makes a small incision and then pulls the claw out and stitches it back up. I'm sorry if you all think I'm cruel but it benefits everyone involved. The cats don't get yelled at and beaten for scratching up the furniture and in return they get to live a comfy life in a warm house among people who love them. I I don't feel I'm being cruel to my cats when I have them declawed. I also had my husband neutered and didn't give it a thought about how it might affect him later in life. It was a necessary procedure.

OK I'm a vet tech(12 years and licensed in 2 states and this is a VERY sore topic for me. It is CRUEL). I'll tell you how its done. They AMPUTATE the fist digit off. There is not removal of just the nail. It's the entire digit. The toes are either sutured, glued or just bandaged for swelling and blood loss.

So lets all get the surgery procedure straight before we say how its done. If the cat is trained properly at a young age, given the correct height and substrate to scratch on and the owner learns how to trim nails short and correctly and or apply soft paw- then the declaw is not necessary. It is the amount of effort somone wants to put into it.

 

[CornCrazy]

OK I'm a vet tech(12 years and licensed in 2 states and this is a VERY sore topic for me. It is CRUEL). I'll tell you how its done. They AMPUTATE the fist digit off. There is not removal of just the nail. It's the entire digit. The toes are either sutured, glued or just bandaged for swelling and blood loss.

So lets all get the surgery procedure straight before we say how its done. If the cat is trained properly at a young age, given the correct height and substrate to scratch on and the owner learns how to trim nails short and correctly and or apply soft paw- then the declaw is not necessary. It is the amount of effort somone wants to put into it.

So you had your license when you were 17? Or you've been working in a clinic that long? I don't think that it is possible to have a vet tech license at 17. Even if you graduated high school at 17, you'd be at least 19 before getting an associate's degree/vet tech license.

And the correct surgical process was already mentioned previously in the thread.

 

[Roy Munson]

So you had your license when you were 17? Or you've been working in a clinic that long? I don't think that it is possible to have a vet tech license at 17. Even if you graduated high school at 17, you'd be at least 19 before getting an associate's degree/vet tech license.

Maybe she was sort of a Doggie Howser. :sidestep:

(No offense intended amcgltdchix. )