WORST Mistakes You Make with Your Cat

My vet refuses to declaw. If someone asks about declawing, she explains why it's a very bad idea. If they insist, she tells them to go elsewhere. She'd rather lose the business than declaw a cat.

"having a cat in your house is like having a toddler who can reach the ceiling." truer words have never been spoken.

I adopted a senior cat who showed clear signs of severe abuse and had been previously declawed. I was warned that he would be cold (he had been bounced from home to home for years), but he clung to me from day one and became my best friend. He had bad arthritis from the declawing, but he was still active, gentle, and loving despite it all. He passed in 2020, and I hope that he's sharpening his claws, chewing on crinkly plastic, and getting endless belly pats wherever he is.

When I decided to get two kittens, my mom was opposed to the idea of me installing several shelves for them to walk on and buying a lot of toys. She was like: "Okay, but you don't wanna buy too many toys for them or install too many shelves and cat trees. Remember that it's your house, not theirs." I was honestly too dumbfounded to speak. That's like saying: "I wanna get a dog, but not walk too much, because it doesn't fit in my routine." It's not a luxury for them, it's basic needs 😂 From the moment you get a pet, it's our house, not mine.

My cat watched this with me and I felt like I was in couples therapy

I have to admit, many years ago I was too slow when it came to cleaning my cat's litter. Then I adopted a cat who was pretty smart. If her litter needed cleaning, she would drag one of my favourite shirts over to her litterbox and covered the box with my shirt. Every time she did this, when I saw what the condition of the box was, I apologized to the cat and cleaned it right away. Eventually, I kept on top of the situation and she didn't have to cover the box with my shirt. It only took a little while to train me.

I rescued 2 Siamese that were front-paw declawed. One had phantom pain the rest of her life. The other would lose her balance and fall. NEVER DECLAW CATS!

One of the worst stories I've heard of declawing was of a wild cat. Someone had a pet bobcat or lynx, had it defanged and declawed, and once it became too much of a problem they released it into the wild. It was found starving by hikers and was rescued by a sanctuary.

We found a our senior kitty declawed at the shelter and I felt really bad for him! We actually ended up adopting him and he has WAY more problems than our other cats! Just his overall confidence is different than our clawed cats! I am BEGGING all the people out there to STOP declawing cats! They are beautiful beings that deserve our respect!

"I'm not here to shame you. If that was your story in the past, that's okay, but please don't let that be your story in the future." Was very profound and I will now quote this for everything

My cat was a stray that came into my life already de clawed. I get so angry when he will flinch, stiffen his front leg in pain. I actually know a person who lost 4 fingers at the first knuckle on one hand in an accident. That was 8 years ago and he still has shooting pains. I know my cat does too. Its cruel.

Right now my cat is in my arms, purring. I think I'm doing something right... never owed a cat before so these videos are extremely helpful! 🥰

My mother adopted a cat a few years ago and was going to have him declawed. I tried desperately to talk her out of it; explaining what it would do to him, begging, pleading, condemning, all to no avail. When the day drew near and every effort had failed, I resorted to sending her shockingly graphic photos with an article written by a veterinarian, condemning the practice. That finally got through to her, thanks be to God! She's since gone into long term care and he's my cat now. Such a beautiful, sweet and comical boy, I hate to think how close he came to a barbaric mutilation that would likely have ruined his amazing personality. I'm so glad I was able to help spare him!

in sweden it is illegal declawing cats. if a veterinarian does this to a cat, he / she risks losing his / her license, and the owner of the cat risks a fine for even asking to do such a thing. the cat can also be taken from the owner and placed with someone else. and the owner can get an animal ban for the rest of his life

I dont have any of these problems with my rescue. I adopted a beautiful Tuxedo female, 3yrs old. She had been tortured and terrified by 2 kids to the point of being frightened by everything, plastic grocery bags, foil, loud nosies and strangers walking by my apartment. Shes now 5 and I've been working with her for 2 yrs! Shes made wonderful progress im happy to say‼️ Zivia is the name she came with which means, "Light of God" in Hebrew....Zivia has been such a gift and blessing in my life and I in hers. Zivia never has meowed before, I'm sure she lost her voice from those cruel kids. I'm so happy to say, she meowed today 11/4/23 for the very first time‼️♥️♥️🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ Im so excited by this happiness and joy I had to share about it‼️

To add to the Basecamp idea - if you live in Tornado Alley, if you can make the cat's Basecamp the same room or location where you would go for safety, or adjacent to that location, it can go a long way towards getting your cats to safety quickly and easily! I keep my cats' carriers there, and often when there are storms or the sirens go off, the cats are already there by the time I get there! Has saved me peace of mind so many times not worrying if they're hiding under the bed or behind furniture.

Declawing is not a mistake. It's abuse, plain and simple. Declawing limits a cat's ability to climb, defend themselves/fight, hunt, and as you pointed out above, use the litter box properly or even walk comfortably. People who declaw their cats and know these issues exist beforehand, are self-centered and think of the animal as nothing more than a toy for their entertainment.

It’s crazy that some housing establishments require cats to be declawed for residents to be able to have them as pets. I find this absolutely terrible and inhumane

Little Story: I’m working yesterday night at a club called Rodeo (I’m a bouncer). This cat comes onto the patio and everyone being drunk or loving cats is trying to put her. She didn’t let them and out of all people came straight to me. I tried to leave, not really being the cat person that I thought I was. So for about a hour she kept following me and I accepted her. I called a friend to come pick her up for me and I would get her after I got off. I gave him my card and said get food and a collar. So we stayed up until 5 this morning laying and playing on the couch. Went to sleep for a hour waiting until my local Walmart opened. Then as soon as it opened I got all “cat necessities” after watching some of your videos. So jokingly I named her “Rodeo” but she responds well to it. She has already gotten along with my dogs and I’m putting up posters soon to try to find her home. Kinda hoping nobody claims her because she has a loving home here…. But I guess I have to do the right thing.

“Having a cat is like having a toddler who can reach the ceiling.” 😂 I almost peed my pants, Jackson… just freaking HYSTERICAL… still laughing 😂 What a gift you are 🎉