> -----Original Message----- > From: Sean Corfield [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, December 24, 2007 2:59 PM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Re: getting a cat for the first time! > > On Dec 24, 2007 11:43 AM, Jim Davis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > I know that many people consider pets "pert of the family" but I'm > not sure > > if that's as common as some people would like to think. I know it > probably > > seems backward but a cat that's gotten declawed has already been > shown a > > level of dedication I don't think a lot of cat owners actually have. > > I disagree. For many people, it's "easier" to pay for the declaw > surgery than spend the time to train the cat appropriate behavior. > People tend to take shortcuts because time is often more important > than money. Of course, just turning the cat out on the street is > usually the laziest approach, unfortunately.
That's my point - just getting rid of a problem cat seems to be simpler (and cheaper) by far - an not at all uncommon. Somebody willing to pay for the surgery seems to be making an investment in the animal that (I think) a lot of people wouldn't be make. > A dedicated pet owner will spend time working with their cats to > create boundaries in a way that the cat understands and will encourage > the cat to learn appropriate behaviors. True - no doubt. Although as you noted many people are uneducated on the best way to do that and may regress to declawing through lack of understanding more than anything else. I'm simply saying (with no data to back it up) that "dedicated" pet owners may be the minority. Those willing to simply dump a problem animal (or a perfectly normal animal that they perceive as a problem) may be more common. I'm not arguing the ethics here - I'm just saying that declawing - right, wrong or indifferent - does represent (for most people, at least) an investment in an animal. At the very least it's saying "I'm in this for the long haul". Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;160198600;22374440;w Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:249024 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
