What are some major cat surgical procedures?

Basics on cat ownership, ie amputating toes, spaying (totally long addt'l details)?

• Neither of my parents were animal people so this is why I didn't know much about animals, but I knew that I absolutely loved them and would always have at least one once I was older. I got my very first cat, Binnie, July of 2008. I knew very little about cats which is why I did research on them starting in March 2008 and I still like to read and learn more about them. I heard of people declawing and spaying but didn't know much about these 2 subjects. Before I even knew the procedures to both surgeries, I already knew that she would be spayed and I wouldn't declaw her. It made 100% sense to me to train her to scratch on her scratching post and trim her nails when necessary. I have no children but babysit often and had no fear about the cat being around them with intact claws. As far as spaying, I knew that I would never want a bunch of kittens running around my house. I had (or have) neither the time or patience for this. These 2 decisions came naturally for me, a person who had little knowledge of cats, even before I began to do research. Why is it that others automatically feel the cat needs it toes ripped or burned off and/or they want to breed the cat because their cat is just sooo beautiful? If you decided to declaw and not spay/neuter, what led you to make this decision? Did you feel incapable of training them? Were you protecting a child from a scratch? If protecting a child, do you also protect them from every other danger there is, such as school and other playing children? These questions may seem sarcastic but they are not. It just seems that way over the internet. :)

• Answer:

  I have 2 cats, and I've had many more in my life. Most people don't breed their cats unless they are a pure bred, and most pure breds just happen to be beautiful. People do it to make money off of the kittens. If someone has a regular house cat, they don't usually breed them. I wish I could tell you why they don't get them fixed, but I always have had mine fixed. I also know that I don't want a bunch of kittens running around, and I would feel terrible just giving them to people who I didn't know. As for the declawing, I think it just kind of depends. I have one cat who is declawed, but I got him many years ago and it was my parents decision. My other cat is not declawed. I decided not to do it because I knew she would be a cat who was allowed outside and I wanted her to have them for protection. On the other hand she trashed our brand new couches. It's all good to say that you're going to train her, but cats are not the same as dogs and can not be trained the same way. Cats are a "I do what I want" kind of animal, and believe me there is no way of changing that. You can train him or her to not scratch anything but his or her scratching post, but you should expect to have somethings scratched in the process. It also depends entirely on the personality of your cat. Clutch (my cat) doesn't claw the couches anymore, but she pretends to claw the walls and it's totally for attention. I personally agree that unless you have a pure bred cat or your cat is going to be an entirely inside cat, it should be fixed. As far as declawing, it's a personal decision. If your cat's going to be allowed outside I'd say don't do it, but deal with the consequences. If it's going to be an entirely inside cat, I don't see why you shouldn't get rid of them. Good luck with your cat! :) (No sarcasm here either lol)