A friend in the US is looking at getting a kitten/young cat from local rescue centre and was asking me for advice (she has never had a cat before and wants a young one so it can grow up around her dogs)
I went through the needs with her... indoor only due to large apartment near busy road... but large balcony that she can catproof, young so can adapt to life with dogs, preferably female but not too fussed and short coat as since it is her first cat she wants as low coat maintainence as poss...
so she sent me the link to her local centre and this week she is off to look at a gorgeous 3 legged baby called Trace
as part of conversation I just mentioned 'oh promise me you won't get any cat you adopt declawed'
and she asked me why, she was under the impression it was best for indoor cats to be declawed as a standard procedure... so I sent her the link on the BBC article on declawing and described how it affects everything the cat does and it's mental state... asked how she would feel if we removed her fingers and toes and therefor couldn't grip, move in comfort or perform everyday tasks... and between me and the article (which is calm and factual, not just ranting about the evils as some do) she has promised never ever to cause such suffering to an animal and has joined her local Anti-Declaw forum... as I said, she was barely aware of what a declaw is... just thought it was an extreme nail clip that lasted longer
will let you know if she gets Trace/or whoever and she will probably join when she finds her kitty
