tip of his legs... not good...

Willow · Post by **Willow** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 8:49 pm

I'm not surprised. At least it's better than de-clawing a cat (and we know how often people do that), at least the crab's legs will grow back. It's just a part of the general "pets are disposable" mentality that pet stores do nothing to dispel.

Not that I'm supporting it in any way. I wonder how often it happens that they do that? I always figured they fell out of too many trees, or that they were pulled off a tree or a rock by the harvester. Most of them seem too uneven to have been clipped.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:18 am

I wouldn't want to continue to work for a company that I knew did that. Petsmarts in my area are pretty bad, although I know that's not the case everywhere, and their employees are rude. Around here the words "knowledgeable petsmart employee" would be an oxymoron.

troppo · Post by **troppo** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:19 am

I can only imagine what goes on with declawing cats Willow

Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs · Post by **Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:26 pm

I see nothing wrong with declawing a cat IF it is strictly an indoor cat. My cat is nearly 17 years old and my parents had her declawed shortly after we got her when she was 3 or 4 weeks old and she is healthy as can be. I actually did some research on this and it was advised by most vets that cats kept strictly indoors have no need for their front claws. Also, vets advise this if there are small children living that share the indoors with a cat.

Willow · Post by **Willow** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:03 am

This isn't a debate on de-clawing (very off-topic), but I do need to respond to "indoor cats don't need their claws". Well, I don't need my appendix, or my spleen, or, probably (I don't plan on having children), my uterus or ovaries, but I certainly am not going to electively submit to major surgery and have them removed. Although some cats will have no problem with it, many cats do have bad reactions, both physical and mental (most common are bleeding, aggression and litter-box aversion), to de-clawing. Vets will lies to clients (a de-claw is an easy $100 for them) and state that de-clawing is a minor procedure, when in actuality, it is major (and elective) orthopedic surgery.

Plus, I do not know of any cat that has spent its whole life indoors, in fact, I do not know of any de-clawed cats that are kept indoors only. Many people around here commonly dump their de-clawed cats on farms when they move, or if the cat develops litter-box aversion (not uncommon in de-clawed cats, the litter packs into their empty toe sockets and it hurts them). More cats are given up due to misbehaviors caused by de-clawing than are given up due to inappropriate scratching.

Children are actually safer with a clawed cat than with a de-clawed cat, as a de-clawed cat will bite if forced to, and cat bites will almost always become infected. Cat scratches are much safer, since they're not as deep. Not to mention that it's just cruel to force a cat to submit to whatever a child wants to do to it, and leave it defenseless, if it's unwilling to bite. Children need to learn to respect animals. Also, most people would not consider removing a dogs' teeth, but I do not see any that this would be any worse than de-clawing a cat, except that most people do not consider cats to be as important as dogs.

In short, if you think clipping the ends of hermit crabs' legs is a cruel practice, well, I fail to see that it is any worse than de-clawing a cat. And the crab's legs will grow back, unlike the claws. The underlying issue, as always, is a general lack of respect for animals.

http://www.declawing.com/
http://www.maxshouse.com/facts_about_declawing.htm
http://rockmeadows.com/Declawing.htm
http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/

Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs · Post by **Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:43 pm

Well my cat is perfectly healthy and she has indeed lived indoors her entire life. We made sure of that since my parents did declaw her at an early age.