International No DeClaw Day

 Chirpy Cats: Why It Needs To Stop

Alley Cat Allies: Protect Cats from Declawing

Utah State University: Cruel

If you are against declawing, but it's not YET illegal in your area, here are some things you can do:

Only visit no-declaw veterinarians.

Talk to friends and family; make your voice heard.

Support legislatures as they bring bills to ban declawing.

Deleting Catster

My friends, some situations tick me off but good.  Current case in point: Catster.com again publishes a photo of that Texas veterinarian who shot and killed a neighbor's cat while out hunting, then bragged about it online.  The woman was fired from her job, and charges were brought against her.

Really?  Isn't Catster a CAT LOVER'S WEBSITE?  What do they think they are doing?  I am so disgusted with them, since I and many, many others objected to the photo on the first article, that they would post it again in a second article, when 'reporting' that the judicial system had wiped their hands of the case by dismissing it.

So you know, I've deleted Catster.com from my favorites, and unfriended them on Facebook.  I just don't get enough benefit from their chatty, uninformative articles to keep supporting them.

Is it the shock value that is so important to the media?  At this point, I'm just mad and here is my stand against uncalled for and cruel journalism.  How do you think the grieving family of Tiger feel, seeing that photo over and over again online?

Nope, Catster, you've lost me for good, even though you've since changed your report and have carefully cropped that awful photo.  I grieve for a cat killed so savagely, for a family who've lost their loving family member, and for countless other animal cruelty crimes that will go unpunished because our lawmakers have NOT caught up to public sentiment.

Declaw Illegal in New York State Soon?

Friends,

Go to your favorite search engine, type in 'New York State' and 'de-claw' and you'll find a wealth of articles about Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal's bill to make the practice of de-clawing (technical term: Onychectomy) illegal in the entire state.  

A partial list of countries that have outlawed or condemned this unfortunate practice:

Australia
Brazil
Israel
Finland
Estonia
Netherlands
Germany
Switzerland
Austria
United Kingdom

In the United States, the following cities have made it illegal:

West Hollywood, CA
Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco, CA
Burbank, CA
Santa Monica, CA
Berkeley, CA
Beverly Hills, CA
Culver City, CA

States that prohibit landlords from demanding resident cats be de-clawed as a condition of residency:

California
Rhode Island

If you'd like more information, go to The Paw Project.  There is so much stuff you can find online or in books at the library about living peaceably with cat's nails, such as scratching posts, those little nylon thingies, and routine nail clipping that can make a huge difference!

YOU can make a difference too!  Talk to your friends, family members, folks at church, folks in line with you at the bank, and inform them!  We can do it!  People will tell you that more cats will end up WITHOUT a home, but the amount of de-clawed cats that end up in shelters because of behavior problems contradicts that very argument.

Cat Rescued on the 408

I received the following email from my very good friend in Florida, who once lived in Metro Detroit, hence the Lodge reference:

Had to share this. This guy (a friend of a friend of ours) risked his life to rescue the cat. The 408 in places is like The Lodge freeway with the concrete median barrier. How the cat even got across 3-4 lanes of heavy traffic is amazing. To even think about maneuvering thru traffic & to take the risks to save the cat is heroic. Appears the rescuer's Army training kicked in.

Subject: My friend rescued this cat off the 408 ... he is looking to find her a good "inside" home

I rescued this little girl from the concrete barrier that separates the EB and WB lanes on the 408. I drove by her the first time and thought to myself "Wow, that cat looks like it was alive!" So I turned around at the Bumby exit and drove by her again. She had turned herself around and was lying flat as a pancake on top of the barrier. I exited at JYP and turned around again. I had to try to help this cat. I drove past her again and pulled over. As I approached her she ran under my truck. This wasn't what I was hoping for. While dodging oncoming traffic, I searched my truck for 10 minutes and couldn't find her. I thought she maybe ran back across the 408. I got back in my truck to drive off and as I merged back into traffic I saw her jump out from under my truck. Shit! So I pulled over again and went after her. She was running down the concrete barrier. I jumped the barrier and followed her from the opposite side so she couldn't see me. She eventually stopped and froze from the terror of the traffic. I caught up to her and waited for the traffic to clear in case she decided to bolt when I reached over the barrier for her. The traffic cleared and I grabbed her by the nape of her neck with my ninja like reflexes. I expected a struggle, but she didn't even put up a fight. I carried her back to the truck and inspected her for injuries. Her pads were bleeding and her face was cut up, but she looked to be okay. We climbed back in the truck and off we went to the vet. She was a little banged up and dehydrated. They checked her out and gave her fluids and antibiotics. She has a chip. The owner was from Ft. Myers and she basically dumped the cat. She is spayed and declawed. FIV & feline leukemia free. She is a very loving cat. So who wants to adopt her? She is looking for a loving, inside home!

Be ARMY Strong!

My first reaction upon reading this email was...wow, what a hero!  Almost an advertisement for the Army.  Then I got mad...angry with the woman who threw her cat away.  Seems like a clear cut case of animal cruelty.  I will hope that this little lady finds a loving, happy home with humans who take care of her for the rest of her life.  Actually, kinda looks like she's pretty happy where she is, hmmm?

P.S. Thanks to PN for the email above, and for the additional news that the cat has found a forever home.  Hurray!  I still want the cat's original owner to be brought to justice.

P.S.S. Congratulations to my niece and nephew-in-law upon the arrival of their third son!  Maybe a future cat dude..?

I'm a Great Auntie again...whee!