Pets

[Fuzzness 2]

Zoe is 10 years old and that is a middle aged cat. I know she would survive the trip... but she is an outdoor cat. She goes outside and hunts mice and rats and birds (unfortunately). However an outdoor cat in the city is bad news. She would get lost and probably run over or something. I don't believe in having an indoor cat unless they are inside from birth. And yes... declawing a cat is cruel.

[Sister Fracas 5]

Sigh....how sad. I'm glad you have pictures though. HUGSSSSS

Thanks...Loads of pictures and almost 19 years of memories... I still miss him OOOOODLES, even tho we have a new little furry companion!

[CarolineM 0]

i know this has been said....but how can you call spaying and neutering animals cruel???

[gabby4ever 1]

while i was living in romania ive never seen an obese cat there....i got here and guess what...there're everywhere...and why? that is the first thing that happens to them after you fix them.....and being big like that ---->>> other diseases...cancer etc etc...thank you but i dont want my cat to be fat like that and die after a couple of years of i dont know what disease...i dont like to go against nature....when you do that then the consequences are dramatic (for example...when you "play" a little with the hormons in your body what happens??? )

[Em&Ed 0]

I have 2 cats. I would love to bring the both of them with me, but they're not getting along so greatly since a few weeks so I have to make a decision on which one I will take with me and which one my sister will take.....not an easy thing to do. Fiance told me my cat could only come if she got declawed.....I told him he must be mad 'cause no way in hell would I put her through that. Actually the procedure is seen as animal cruelty here in my country. Well, after being very tough with my fiance I managed to convince him that a cat just needs her claws.....end of story. By the way I don't think spaying or neutering is cruel at all. I wish all animal lovers would do that so we wouldn't end up with all these animal shelters full of cats and dogs who were wandering down the streets.

[Sinergy 3]

gabby4ever, I lived in Romania for a year with my fiance, and all Romanians think that way about not getting animals fixed, this would be why the streets are over crowded with homeless animals in Romania. There are more animals on the streets than there are people! People get their pets fixed for health and pet population reasons.

[Peggy 1]

I agree. Pets have to be fixed.

Down here there is so many cats running around, becasue the owners are not responable for them. That bugs me. You know how many kittens a cat can produce thru out her life..........tonssssssssssss

[gabby4ever 1]

well, i see we all have so many different opinions on animal population control, and what's cruel and what's not cruel to the animal. in my opinion, God created these animals for my enjoyment, not for me to decide whether or not to spay/neuter them to control their population. this is just as much their planet as ours. i keep hearing comments on how many homeless animals there are and i agree it is a sad sight to see them on the streets. i just don't believe it is a fair thing to do to an animal. we are not animal pshycologists, so we dont know the mental effects such an operation could have on them. other than facial expressions and body language, we can't truly tell what our pets are thinking and feeling inside. like i said in an earlier post, the animal was born that way, so i am going to allow my pets to live in their natural born physical state. really and truly, there is no deciding what is right/wrong, fair/unfair, harmful/unharmful, positive/ or negative on this subject. you all have your pets, and i have mine, and we will all do what we feel is the right thing. there are no laws governing this one way or the other, thank goodness(probably will be soon), so to each his/her own. so to overt any ongoing verbal battles over this, i say to you all to do the best you can by your pet, love it, take care of it, and be responsible for it, and i will do the same for my Sam.

[Sister Fracas 5]

in my opinion, God created these animals for my enjoyment,

WOW! Don't even know what to say to that...

And as to your other point...spaying/neutering doesn't make an animal fat, overfeeding them does!

[Girona40 0]

There are laws governing what you can and can't do to animals in some countries. In the UK for instance it is illegal to de-claw and de-bark cats and dogs. It is classed as animal cruelty and I strongly believe it it.

When a cat is de-clawed, it is not just a case of pulling the nail out, they actually remove the last joint of the digit, effectively removing the end of the finger.

My son, who works in a vets, was horrified when someone brought in two Rough Collies to have their vocal chords torn out! He could not believe that it was allowed in this country and he actually left his job because of it! Part of a dog's charachter is their bark, or their voice, and it is half the reason people get dogs - to bark when someone is approaching their property or entering their home. Why on earth would someone do this to an animal, I can't understand.

I do liken animals to children - although some people feel that pets are just disposable commodities. Do we remove or children's fingers when they touch something, or break something, they shouldn't? Do we have their vocal chords removed when they answer back?

To me, if you don't want the problems that may come with pets - don't have them!

[Welshcookie 17]

There are laws governing what you can and can't do to animals in some countries. In the UK for instance it is illegal to de-claw and de-bark cats and dogs. It is classed as animal cruelty and I strongly believe it it.

When a cat is de-clawed, it is not just a case of pulling the nail out, they actually remove the last joint of the digit, effectively removing the end of the finger.

I must admit...I hadn't even heard of this before... I was telling my SO about the time I had two cockatiels...and he asked me if I had gotton their wings clipped!! I was like 'Noooooooo...... '

[ladyspotthedog 0]

You can de-bark a dog???

[Girona40 0]

I know how you feel, I wouldn't have done it either. I like to see them flying around the house - my sister had a budgie which used to sit on the curtain rail in the evening and watch t.v.

But, apparently, clipping a wing is not painful to the bird, if done correctly - it is just snipping two feathers. It's like cutting your hair. It just stops the bird being able to fly any distance - they can still flap around the house a little, just not fly as well as it would with them.

[Sister Fracas 5]

To me, if you don't want the problems that may come with pets - don't have them!

EXACTLY! Get a stuffed animal!

Otherwise.....SPAY/NEUTER! It's responsible!

Wing clipping is not cruel when done correctly. It IS akin to having a hair cut and does not completely take away flight; it just doesn't allow the bird to fly as high. AND, the feathers do grow back, just like hair, requiring occasional trimming. Many bird owners feel that clipping prevents their birds from not only smacking into windows or mirrors, but more importantly prevents escaping.

[smoochies 0]

in my opinion, God created these animals for my enjoyment,

WOW! Don't even know what to say to that...

And as to your other point...spaying/neutering doesn't make an animal fat, overfeeding them does!

my cats are all fixed, and all are a healthy weight...