The Smell of the Blood of a Declawed Cat

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The Smell of the Blood of a Declawed Cat

by Michael
(London, UK)

Nala - declawed cat

A vet tech who is painfully honest tells us that she can recognise the smell the blood of a declawed cat. She can recognizes the smell of a range of operations but declawing causes a lot of blood to flow and the cat tears at the bandages to open the horrible wounds. She also says that after the declaw operation, "I feel like the scum of the earth..."

The story concerns Nala, a Ragdoll cat. She is sheltered by Midwest Friends of Animals, Inc. Jasonville, IN, USA. I take the liberty of quoting verbatim from the vet tech's article as it is very poignant and informative. Could she come forward a leave a comment? She deserves a medal. I hope she is still in work.

Nala was declawed by her "owners". Her owners then didn't like Nala's behavior and relinquished her.

I don't know the name of the vet tech who provides this honest account on Petfinder.com but I feel an obligation to spread the story to inform people who simply are not aware of what they are doing.

The declaw operation is also described by this vet tech and it seems brutally quick.

The procedure is sort of a half pull, half cut kinda thing. The nail clippers are doing their best to saw through the joint while the hemostats are ripping it away. And please make no mistake here, this isn't a nail trim. A cat's first joint, just like on your finger, is being ripped out. Nala utters a half growl/meow of pain as the joint tears away, even after all this medicine..."

The vet fills the gaping wound where the claws where with glue..."and squeezes it together for a few seconds.."

The day after the operation the vet tech has to re-bandage the wound and re-glue some of the mess.

"I drop some goo into Nala's socket and squeeze her tender and bruised deformed little toes together for several seconds. This hurts. A lot. And I feel like the scum of the earth...

Back to the shelter. Nala is not the girl she once was. The vet tech describes her condition far better than I could:"She is very 'soured' on life in general and will also bite out of frustration, thanks to the owners who mutilated her and left her.

She has a safe and caring foster home and while we realize she will likely never be adopted and will have to live as a foster cat for her remaining years..Do you want to put your cat through all that?

Please think again if you are considering declawing your cat. Don't take what the vet says as the truth. It isn't. It is biased. The truth is here on this page.

See the full story here: NALA (opens in a new window)

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The Smell of the Blood of a Declawed Cat

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Oct 08, 2010

Awful
by: Kathryn

It is just so awful what cats suffer and not many people know so I'm glad more techs are coming out with the truth.
I do wish they would all make a stand and refuse to be part of this cruelty any longer.

PLEASE TELL THE WHOLE WORLD about it!!!!

Oct 07, 2010

A Must Read!
by: Jo Singer

I am very lucky to have a vet, in the United States that refuses to declaw. Her staff is free to discuss the procedure with anyone wanting this horrendous procedure done. So many vets forbid their staff to tell it like it is.

I fervently hope that anyone reading this who is thinking about having this done will think again. I just don't understand why people who prefer their possessions to the welfare of their cats bothers to get one in the first place.

Since cats come from the "factory" equipped with these essential parts, it is insane, in my opinion, for anyone to want to mutilate their cat in this way.

Thanks for writing this.. I will certainly be passing it on.

Oct 07, 2010

Poor Nala
by: Rose

I'm glad too that vet techs are speaking out now and I hope more will join them.
The truth has been hidden away for too long.
Wouldn't it be great if all vet techs united and refused to assist at declawings.I suppose some such as the cruel Heather who seems to enjoy helping to abuse animals wouldn't join in.But there must be hundreds who hate that part of their job.
Let those vets clean the bloody cages themselves and torture those already painful stumps with regluing etc.They might not be so keen then.
Come on vet techs,join the already brave compassionate ones and UNITE and help stop this abuse.

Oct 06, 2010

Accurate!!!
by: Kathleen

THANK YOU to the vet tech who wrote this! These are the stories that need to be told. I dearly hope we will begin to see more veterinary support staff speaking out about what they see and hear at work. I have witnessed all the things she describes in her article and more. Even though I've been a horror movie fan my whole life, declaw procedures and the immediate aftercare they require such as described here used to give me vivid nightmares. I have shared her story on Facebook and I hope more people will be brave enough to read it, as she is very brave to tell the truth.

Oct 06, 2010

Awful & soul destroying
by: Leah (England)

I couldn't even read all of it. I got to the bit that said half cut half tug and that was enough for me.

And those owners are a disgrace; they ought to be hung up and left to rot. Such a beautiful cat. How could anyone do such an awful thing?

Obviously in America money going to the right places such as from vets and medical associations to politicians keeps this bloody awful thing alive. Its clearly too much of a money making machine to let it go that easily.

Oct 06, 2010

this is cruelty of the worst kind
by: sharmistha

But why do we need to declaw the cat in the first place? He's a cat and needs to use the claws for climbing or hanging on to things! Any pet owner who does not understand this does not deserve to have a pet! and people should absolutely be careful of these much jaded vets who take animal care as any other job rather than really feeling for the animals.

Oct 06, 2010

Terrible
by: Ruth

Yes this is terrible and I'm very glad that brave vet techs and ex vet techs are spreaking out about the truth of the cruelty of declawing.
Reading another page on PoC where it seems a very illiterate and cold hearted person works for a vet and approves of the mutilation of animals,made my blood run cold.
If some vets employ people like that then if I lived in the USA I'd be terrified to take a pet to a clinic there and more especially to leave one in for treatment.
Who knows what they go through at the mercy of untrained,uncaring staff ?
I'm not saying all clinics are like that but how would you know ? It seems to me that the people who work for those practices are the same as the vets who own them, not in it to help animals but in it as a job only for the money.
PLEASE everyone boycott places that mutilate animals uneccessarily in any way, go to decent vets who stick to their oath to harm no animal as they are the ones more likely to have decent staff too.

Oct 06, 2010

Spine chilling stuff
by: Barbara

With evidence like THIS declawing should cease to happen overnight! Anyone who wants their cat declawed should be forced to read it, in fact should be forced to witness it first hand. No human would ever willingly subject themselves to it so why do they think it's good enough for cats?

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Written material by Michael Broad and Helmi Flick's photos are copyright protected - please respect it. My thanks to all the contributors both in articles and comments for adding interest to this site through personal experience and insights.

The Smell of the Blood of a Declawed Cat

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The Smell of the Blood of a Declawed Cat