[FEL-L] Re: Felines-L Digest, Vol 2, Issue 14 - Declaw debate

[Cheetahtu at aol.com]

Dr Terry Moore,
 
I agree with some of what you said.  It all depends on  how the cat was 
raised and trained.  I have had both clawed and declawed  cats.  One of my cats 
that was declawed would climb trees and steal baby  birds from their nest and 
bring them to me.  She was something  else.
 
But in our case we work the big cats in a show 6 days a week  and 2 shows a 
day.  They have to be declawed to be able to work for the  safety of the other 
preformers.  We love our cats and they are beautiful  animals.  They have no 
problems with any of their feet.  They have  been declawed properly.  These 
animals must be loaded into their traveling  cages at home and back stage every 
night with preformers and stage hands  around.  This can be trickey at times.  
People think that because you  work them they are safe.  This is not true.  
People will try to touch  them also.  The hotels that we work in require this to 
be done if you  intend to work your cats.  This is a different story than 
just owning a cat  for your personal pleasure.  Safety must come first.  
 
When our animals get too old to work we retire them and they  live the rest 
of their lives out with us.  We never dispose of any of  them.  
 
Cheetahtu
_http://geocities.com/cheethtu_ (http://geocities.com/cheethtu)  
(818)  345-5140
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