So as long as we are being honest. I am not for or against declawing. None of my cats are declawed but I have had declawed cats in the past. I know its a huge debate but I am not going to flame anyone for doing it. *shrugs* I have come close to having Juno declawed just because she is so naughty, but I never did it, I don't know why, just didn't. I got couch covers and the only thing they scratch is my area rugs. They did try the regular carpet and I freaked but it was a one time thing. I rent, and if they started scratching at the carpet in here I would have them declawed. So far so good. Yay, for nice new huge cat tree to scratch!
Worst Mom Ever!
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Inferno12
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Dont beat yourself up. The importaint thing is that you learned from this experience. I have a cat that is completly declawed. I found him at the humane society as a kitten. Some lady adopted him and his brother, had them neutered and declawed completely and then couldnt keep them so she dropped them back off at the shelter. He doesnt seem to have to much of a problem other than he cant jump on things and he slides accross the kitchen floor! 
Milton seems to have had more of a problem with his teeth which was something that was my fault for not noticing. For years he lost weight and didnt do much. He finally got so skinny that I took him to the vet and she told me how bad his teeth were. I had to have 10 of his teeth removed and now he is gaining weight and he has become a TOTALLY different cat. I still feel terrible for all the years that I let his teeth go rotten and let him be miserable. Talk about being the worst mom ever 
Just take care of your little guy and give him lots of pain meds
Oh and I am proud of you for not being scared to vent on the forum!
Milton seems to have had more of a problem with his teeth which was something that was my fault for not noticing. For years he lost weight and didnt do much. He finally got so skinny that I took him to the vet and she told me how bad his teeth were. I had to have 10 of his teeth removed and now he is gaining weight and he has become a TOTALLY different cat. I still feel terrible for all the years that I let his teeth go rotten and let him be miserable. Talk about being the worst mom ever Just take care of your little guy and give him lots of pain meds
Oh and I am proud of you for not being scared to vent on the forum!
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For Jack's sake, I'm sorry you researched declawing after it was done rather than before. But there's nothing you can do about that now.
I had a rescued DSH many years ago that had been declawed. He was great with me but was snippy with my other kitty, it was like he was always on the offensive cause he knew if the other kitty started something he'd be on the losing end. So he was trying to keep that from happening. He also had problems jumping and would frequently fall. I always felt sorry for him.
I don't approve of declawing and had a no-declaw clause in my contract when I was breeding. I've been lucky and haven't had any major problems while training my kitties. But I do realize that there are the rare cats out there that you simply can't claw-train. And while I think declawing is a sad mutilation, I also believe that a cat with a home and no claws is better off than a cat with claws and no home.
I had a rescued DSH many years ago that had been declawed. He was great with me but was snippy with my other kitty, it was like he was always on the offensive cause he knew if the other kitty started something he'd be on the losing end. So he was trying to keep that from happening. He also had problems jumping and would frequently fall. I always felt sorry for him.
I don't approve of declawing and had a no-declaw clause in my contract when I was breeding. I've been lucky and haven't had any major problems while training my kitties. But I do realize that there are the rare cats out there that you simply can't claw-train. And while I think declawing is a sad mutilation, I also believe that a cat with a home and no claws is better off than a cat with claws and no home.
firehillqueen
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I am so sorry. Years ago I had my dear sweet baby siamese declawed. I know better now, I didn't then. The sphynx are so smart about knowing their claws hurt, and I shrug and live with my slightly clawed leather couches. You were brave to admit what you did here knowing how passionate sphynx people are.
lawgrl
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You are NOT the worst Mom ever. The worst mom ever wouldn't have bothered to do any research. Ever. The worst mom ever wouldn't have dutifully given pain meds for 15 days and nursed her kitty-baby back to health. The worst mom ever wouldn't be bothered by what you found, wouldn't be upset about what happened, and certainly wouldn't have posted their dismay on a forum.
You are a GOOD mom who, unfortunately, learned something you didn't know the hard way (haven't we all at one time or another?). I got my first sphynx 5 years ago and just learned about HCM a few months ago, and not for lack reading/research about sphynx...I just hadn't happened upon the right websites or met the right owners/breeders or been told about it by a single vet during that time. It doesn't make me a bad mom and you're not either.
Don't believe anyone who says (or implies) that they were all-knowing about every possible issue from the first second they became sphynx owners. Just doesn't happen. And we can all quibble over who should know what and when and all the coulda/shoulda/wouldas, but that's just not helpful.
You know now and that should be good enough. You can take what you learned (about declawing and about kitty knowledge in general) and go forward...maybe even help others avoid the same heartbreak you're feeling now. The point is that you bothered to educate yourself and that should be what counts...a lot of cat owners don't ever bother to educate themselves at all, regardless of before or after the fact.
I'm sorry about Jack (but I'm glad he's doing better) and I'm so very sorry for your heartache (it's a terrible feeling). It will be OK and you'll continue to be the GREAT kitty-momma you've always been...in fact, I bet you'll be even better!
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I am not giving an opinion as to how I feel, enough have already done that. Just some facts. I used to be a vet tech, and have assisted with declaw as well as tail/ear docking procedures.
The vet I worked for had the opinion that "if I don't do it, someone else will who may not do it properly" in regards to ear crops.
As for declaws her opinion was "It may save this cat from being thrown away for destroying the furniture"
I have personally seen both ears and declaws, by FAR, ear cropping is a horrible, hideous thing that people should have to watch before deciding it. The surgery is not bad, as the pup is under anesthetic and unaware as if being spayed. However, when they wake up, OMG, they cry and scream and thrash in terrible pain. Their heads are wrapped and they cry and cry and cry. It is the heart wrenching howls and wailing that hurt your ears to listen to. And they ALL did this. Everytime. By the time the owners come the next day it is over. They take home the newly cropped pup with its ears prettily bandaged and have no idea what that dog went through.
Declaws~ Your cat is anesthetized and unaware, the claws are pushed to extract (?) and using guillotine style nail clippers, removed at the first knuckle. Our vet used superglue to seal the wound and bandaged the feet. which remained bandaged for a couple of days. The older cats had a longer recovery, about a week or so before their feet felt better. The young kittens were up and running as if all was normal usually before they even went home. Recovery in hospital was similar to recovery from spay, not too bad. Most young kittens acted as if nothing had happened and were normal at home as well. That is not acting like they were in pain.
I'm not saying that I would do it, just don't beat yourself up too much. It is far far less evil than ear cropping.
The vet I worked for had the opinion that "if I don't do it, someone else will who may not do it properly" in regards to ear crops.
As for declaws her opinion was "It may save this cat from being thrown away for destroying the furniture"
I have personally seen both ears and declaws, by FAR, ear cropping is a horrible, hideous thing that people should have to watch before deciding it. The surgery is not bad, as the pup is under anesthetic and unaware as if being spayed. However, when they wake up, OMG, they cry and scream and thrash in terrible pain. Their heads are wrapped and they cry and cry and cry. It is the heart wrenching howls and wailing that hurt your ears to listen to. And they ALL did this. Everytime. By the time the owners come the next day it is over. They take home the newly cropped pup with its ears prettily bandaged and have no idea what that dog went through.
Declaws~ Your cat is anesthetized and unaware, the claws are pushed to extract (?) and using guillotine style nail clippers, removed at the first knuckle. Our vet used superglue to seal the wound and bandaged the feet. which remained bandaged for a couple of days. The older cats had a longer recovery, about a week or so before their feet felt better. The young kittens were up and running as if all was normal usually before they even went home. Recovery in hospital was similar to recovery from spay, not too bad. Most young kittens acted as if nothing had happened and were normal at home as well. That is not acting like they were in pain.
I'm not saying that I would do it, just don't beat yourself up too much. It is far far less evil than ear cropping.
ktate88
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Melonie: Good for you for not being afraid to speak your opinion!!! I, too, am neither for or agaisnt declawing.
Jacksmom: You are not a bad mom!!
I was thinking I would have my kitten declawed. Destroying furniture isn't appropriate(much like dogs peeing in the house as adults). JMHO. There are lots of things I can allow like nipping at my fingers, trying to steal food, etc.
I had SoftPaws put on Niles about a week after he came home. He hated them! They stuck out farther than his nails and he shook his feet for the rest of the day. I also felt bad that he couldn't get on the bed, couch, etc. I was worried he wouldn't be able to get away from dogs or other cats when visiting family, at work with me, or petsitting. The SoftPaws only lasted about 2 weeks. I was happy they were off!
I will not have him declawed as long as he doesn't start shredding things in the next 2 months until he gets neutered. I have a spray bottle and he knows when I pick it up he will be sprayed. It hasn't stopped him from going after the recovered chair from my grandpa. Luckily, it is a thick fabric and it hasn't shown any real signs destruction.
From working in all areas of an animal hospital for the last 10 years...
Properly done, declawing is cutting of the first digit of their "toes". I have assisted in many. My veterinarian is not a butcher, but a surgeon. She is trained, and does a good job. She uses a scalpel, not nail clippers. She explains the procedure when clients ask, and will do it. She will only declaw the front paws, not all 4.
Declaws in our hospital stay with us for 1-3 days. They receive pain patches which give a constant supply of pain medicine through the skin. They also receive oral pain medicines, and we send the patient home with pain medicines as well. Their feet stay wrapped at least the first 3 days.
With that being said, one associate vet said she would not perform the declaw on Niles. The other said she would.
Jacksmom: My suggestion would be at the first sign of a problem, take him in immediately. Try Yesterday's News for litter, or dry aquarium gravel. I would imagine both of those are big enough they won't get into his tender parts.
Jacksmom: You are not a bad mom!!
I was thinking I would have my kitten declawed. Destroying furniture isn't appropriate(much like dogs peeing in the house as adults). JMHO. There are lots of things I can allow like nipping at my fingers, trying to steal food, etc.
I had SoftPaws put on Niles about a week after he came home. He hated them! They stuck out farther than his nails and he shook his feet for the rest of the day. I also felt bad that he couldn't get on the bed, couch, etc. I was worried he wouldn't be able to get away from dogs or other cats when visiting family, at work with me, or petsitting. The SoftPaws only lasted about 2 weeks. I was happy they were off!
I will not have him declawed as long as he doesn't start shredding things in the next 2 months until he gets neutered. I have a spray bottle and he knows when I pick it up he will be sprayed. It hasn't stopped him from going after the recovered chair from my grandpa. Luckily, it is a thick fabric and it hasn't shown any real signs destruction.
From working in all areas of an animal hospital for the last 10 years...
Properly done, declawing is cutting of the first digit of their "toes". I have assisted in many. My veterinarian is not a butcher, but a surgeon. She is trained, and does a good job. She uses a scalpel, not nail clippers. She explains the procedure when clients ask, and will do it. She will only declaw the front paws, not all 4.
Declaws in our hospital stay with us for 1-3 days. They receive pain patches which give a constant supply of pain medicine through the skin. They also receive oral pain medicines, and we send the patient home with pain medicines as well. Their feet stay wrapped at least the first 3 days.
With that being said, one associate vet said she would not perform the declaw on Niles. The other said she would.
Jacksmom: My suggestion would be at the first sign of a problem, take him in immediately. Try Yesterday's News for litter, or dry aquarium gravel. I would imagine both of those are big enough they won't get into his tender parts.
ktate88
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My vet tries to stay away from ear cropping and tail docking. We tell phone shoppers we don't, but once in a blue moon she MAY do it for an established client. And she won't dock their tails past the first 5 days I believe.
The vet I worked for and still use as my vet, uses a laser for all surgeries including declaw. It seems to speed up healing time greatly and whatnot. I will only go to them for surgeries because of the laser! I have assisted in declawing too and I have only seen one cat out of hundreds that had a "personality" change. He went from being a mean growling cat to one that just hid. I dunno, like I said if they start ripping up the carpet they are getting done, minus Jack because of his heart.
But, that's what cats do, they're cats! I know that my carpets will never be snag free, and my leather and suede couches will always have claw marks. I know that with pets, my house will never look or be perfect. But, I'm ok with that! They give me so much love in return, and I love them just how they are, even if that means having shredded furniture, or scratches on my arms.
They are my babies, and I don't see why you would declaw to save your furniture for that matter.....I think everyone would agree that their pet is more important than material objects.
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Thank you for an inside story.
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I can tell you who is the worst mom - it is ME. I thought my lovely Sphynx - Kika was in Mom's room. I was drinking a couple too many glasses of wine watching TV and I heard a truck go by and heard a big THUMP!!!!! I thought to myself my heavens that sound like that truck hit an animal. I went to bed and awoke to my 9 year old son yealing Mom - there is a cat in the road and it looks like Kika. I ran out to see the cold and stiff body of my beloved Sphynx cat that had the most beautiful blue eyes. I BROKE.
ktate88
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I never expect my house to be perfect-- goodness knows Niles has at least a dozen little toys scattered around, the kitty litter corner, and well he shares my water glass... :Laugh:
If I am faced with a cat that destroys(I mean literally claws to shreds) furniture, I may very well not choose to go through with it. Luckily, I don't have to make that decision now.
Here's a point that I have heard: Are you training the pet, or are they training you?
Inferno12
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Oh my god. I cant believe that you have the guts to share this. This is so sad and Im so sorry you lost him. I commend you for sharing.
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i am the bad mom here - i did not follow up un the whereabouts of my lover and he is gone and i miss him so much. crying , please let this declaw go - she has a Sphynx that is healthy. I beleive that this spynx will be so loved. I - can't talk any more - crying and crying.
Inferno12
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I think we all need to remember that no one is perfect. What would life be like if we had nothing to learn. As long as we all learn from our mistakes then we are succeeding in life. No one is a bad mom. No one is perfect, NO ONE!
I'll AMEN to that!!!
Ya well I can't afford to replace the carpets in my rental. I don't care what cats do. The agreement I signed to have them says they cannot destroy the house. So far only one time that I saw little carpet tore up and that is why they got the large tree.
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I'm so sorry, Candys. I can't imagine 
JacksMom
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OMG! I am so sorry! I can't imagine the pain and hurt you felt. I am so sorry for you loss :-(
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What? Can't afford to replace the carpet but can afford to buy a Sphynx? What if he has symptoms of HCM and needs a 400$ scan? I'm confused?
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JacksMom
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You absolutely are NOT! I know how you feel (well, not exactly), and I felt that way too, but then as time passes the hurt will still be there, but you will come to realize and good rational will start to set in that you loved your baby, that you are a good mom. Terrible things happen and so many times it's nobody's fault, or it's a mistake, but does not lessen the pain, the guilt, the hurt, the loss. I am so sorry that this happened to you, but the truth...it can happen to ANYONE one on this forum...even those who might think that could never happen to them. You are brave and sometimes talking/writing about it will help you heal (it does for me). I am soooo terribly sorry for your loss. Hugs hugs hugs!!!
Ok let me rephrase, I cannot afford to get evicted, there are not very many pet friendly landlords around here. Jack is going down to get his HCM screening this week. He has already had many tests done on his heart. I have spent well around 1k or more on him in the past year at the vet. I just picked up his records to take with me this afternoon. The only reason he hasn't had it sooner is because we did a test that showed he was not in active heart failure so they wanted to wait until he got rid of his URI and got to 1 year of age. I have to go out of STATE to get it done. We go down on Friday and I come back on Sunday. He also has had many xrays on his heart and it shows it to be enlarged and enlongated.
ETA: I am offended at the thought that I have ever let my pets suffer. I just spent around 600 on my dog to have surgery.
ETA: I am offended at the thought that I have ever let my pets suffer. I just spent around 600 on my dog to have surgery.