pet connection

We don’t like declawing, and we don’t recommend it as a first reaction to any behavior problems in cats.

That said, we understand how in some cases it’s a cat’s last chance to stay in a good home rather than face uncertain prospects at a shelter. And we know, too, that a well-done veterinary declawing with full pain control is no worse in the short-term than many other surgeries. But we still don’t recommend it as anything except a last-chance alternative to losing a good home. In other words: It shouldn’t be a preventive or immediately reactive approach to a behavior problem that can be dealt with in other ways.

That’s because scratching is a natural and satisfying behavior for cats.

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Halloween is to veterinarians what April 15 is to accountants, reports Pet Connection contributing editor Christie Keith in her twice-monthly pet-care column for the San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site. She cites veterinary toxicologist Dr. Steven Hansen of the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center in referencing that candy — both chocolate and goodies sweetened with xylitol — can sicken and kill many pets. Hansen says calls about pets who have become ill after eating candy spike to their highest levels around Halloween, noting that the center manages several thousand of these calls at this time every year.

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