Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - Update

\ Apple. . .hey, isn't that my cat's name?

Well, Autumn goes in for surgery next Monday to be spayed and declawed. I really, really didn't want to do them both at the same time, but our vet says he does it all the time and it's almost better to get it over with instead of having back to back surgeries. Plus, then she only has to go under anesthesia one time with one set of pain pills. We had a guinea pig die under anesthesia, however, it's a lot riskier for guinea pigs than cats. Poor kitty has no idea what is coming. I debated over whether or not to have her declawed as I found out it is quite a controversial topic. It is comparable to cutting off the tips of our fingers. I decided to go ahead and do it for a couple of reasons after talking with my vet (who I highly respect.) For one, he felt it was important to do if the cat will grow up around little kids. Also, it's not as if the surgery is for nothing. In return, they become a welcomed addition to your family and get to live inside your home for 15+ years. If I were a cat, that would be what I would choose. Autumn is still doing well. We're still having problems with vomiting, although I don't believe she threw up yesterday. I placed a toy inside of her food dish (someone suggested a golf ball, but we don't golf. . .so, a Weeble Wobble had to do.) This hopefully will slow her down if she's eating too fast. I've also tried really hard not to let her eat any people food. She is a bit of a scrounger and will eat any and everything that she finds. Autumn especially likes the crumbs from Olivia's high chair. I bought her some canned food and you would have thought that was the best thing ever. . .well, besides being held and petted. When you stop petting her, she acts as if she may not be able to breathe without you. Ryan is the first person she sees in the morning and she is starved for affection by that time. Honestly, I don't think Ryan minds all that much. Yep, I think Ryan is enjoying all three of his girls.

2 comments:

Emily's Blog said...

We got our new kitty spayed 3 weeks ago and today she acts like nothing happened. She didn't need any pain pills either! We too feed her wet and dry food and she still acts as if she's starving. Do you know how old your kitty is? Cleo is about 5 mts.
I sent you an email this morning, did you get it? I'm glad to see that Olivia likes protein bars!

R said...

Jodi - please, please don't get her declawed. It's not just removing the claws, it's amputating the ends of her toes, like cutting off the end of a finger at the last knuckle. With her temperament you really don't need to worry about her hurting Olivia - as I'm sure you've already noticed. She'll enjoy having a scratching post to use and yeah, she may occasionally also try to use furniture but a few days watching with a water bottle to spray her if she DOES have a scratch on your sofa is more than enough to deal with that.

This amputation is so painful for the cat that it's actually illegal in many countries, including the UK, where I live. I do trim my cats' claws - just like cutting a human's nails, it's very easy to do with a docile cat and takes just the very tip of the claw off so that if she DOES try to scratch on something she won't be able to do much damage.

Some vets - particularly older, old-fashioned ones - do still declaw. Many won't do it at all. Many of those who still will do it are motivated by money and only money. If you Google just the word 'declawing' you'll see the balance of opinions on the topic. One of the clearest pages on it is this one. http://www.declawing.com/

I'd like to explain that I'm just a lurker who's been following you and Olivia's story for a few months, and I'm also someone who loves cats.

Again - please please don't declaw Autumn. She doesn't need it, you don't need it.