YES CLAWS....I am on a soap box...

There is a debate in the cat community as to whether or not to declaw your cat. I say HELL NO. My owner decided very early on that he wouldn't do that to me, thank YOU! I suppose if all other options are exaughsted and the only other option is to take a cat that is bothersome with his/hers scratching activities then maybe declawing would be ok, instead of having to take the cat to a pound and possibly the cat being euthanized. I see more cats that have been "declawed" in shelters though...so I wonder if that option is really all that prudent. I think if you have a problem cat that is scratching more likely it's the owners fault not the cat. Cats naturally and normally scratch to mark there territory and also to take some of the nail tips off so it's more comfortable to the cat. So providing your cat with scratching posts and getting them used to it early on is the best option. Get cats used to NOT scratching where you don't want them buy using double sided tape or citrus scented sprays that will deter us from scratching what you don't want. Also appropriate water sprays are useful if you don't want us scratching where we shouldn't. Humane way's of getting us to scratch were we should and not scratch were we shouldn't is much better than declawing. De clawing at any age means the knuckle of each "finger" for lack of a better word is CUTT OFF, this is very painful for cats at any age. Some cats have developed problems after these procedures. Also if a cats back claws are mutated this means they have a harder time climbing trees and also there defenses are suspect meaning they might not survive a cat fight or a dog attack, where they might if they had the claws to defend themselves. Of course I wouldn't recommend that declawed cats be allowed outside but it's never a 100 percent guarantee that any cat will never slip out. Also if your cat is mainly indoor you can have the cat's nails trimmed by a professional at usually low cost or if you can get the kitten used to having the nails trimmed by yourself early on it's rather easy to do. Normally trimming doesn't have to be done with cats all that often. Also beyond popular belief you can actually train a cat not to scratch or use his/her claws at people. My owner did that early on. While there are exceptions to the rule normally I retract my claws when playing with my owner. Again these things need to be done early on.

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Feral cats have the right to exist too....

Although there can be problems with over population of cats and problems with diseases and other stuff I believe stray(also known as feral) cats have ever bit of a right to live on as do house cats or indoor/outdoor cats. Some people are annoyed that some cats are left out or seem stray they wonder why the "owners" don't take care of them. Well some of these cat's don't really have owners, they have been put into this position by no fault of there own becuase original owners of the first cats never bothered having those cats spayed or neutered. If you are going to go out and get a cat from a pet shop....I'd rather you get one from the pound...but if you insist on getting one of those PLEASE have that cat fixed so they don't reproduce more population of unwanted cats. Some people think all cats should be trapped and then returned to the humane society, this is a possibility but there isn't a guarantee that all these cats are going to be adopted so therefore they end up being euthanized. Until we can get a "no kill" shelter in Tucson it's doubtful that the solution is just to trap them and take them there...no guarantee they will survive. If you are really don't want the "bothersome" cat under your home, why not trap it and take it to a cat haven instead of a shelter. Or if you really do care trap the cat have it fixed and take it somewhere else. I think the cat has every right to live as any other cat does. Are these cat's really doing harm by being feral? Like I said this is no fault of there own. Have you ever thought that they are providing a good pest control service and free at that...ever wonder why you don't see many pests or mice around or in your home....could be that "bothersome, poor" feral cat. So the next time you think the only option is to trap a cat in take it to the pound where it probably will be killed...take a second look, doesn't that wild,feral cat have as much of a right to live as any other wild animal....I think so.

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do you know what your kittie is??

It can be hard to tell what a young kitten is, girl or boy, even a older cat might be hard to tell if you don't know what you are looking for. I was disappointed to find out that my "wife" (even though I never met "her") turned out to be a boy...thus we are not married...sorry I don't go that way. You can google this subject if you are interesting in finding out what your kitten is. It was easy for them to tell what I was early on becuase I was well endowed...LOL. Of course since I am fixed...if someone didn't know how I was and they actually might have to take a second look. I won't go into graphic details but sometimes the two "things"...look like something "else"...thus was the mix up with my friend Mara. Anyway nothing lost really he is now just my best bud, instead of wife. I guess I'll have to go looking for another "mate". So if you think you have an "Eve" you might take another look...you might have "Steve". LOL

SLA