starlitmoonwitch:

I am removing her claws because i am pregnant and i don’t want the Bactria from her shit in my baby’s blood nor on my tables, bed, or places that have to be clean for a baby. There is nothing wrong with declawing a cat. It don’t hurt them one bit, its not cruel when the animals is not suffering by…

Just saw this post. I wish to do nothing but spread the word about what, exactly, goes into “de-clawing” a cat. I am not a veterinarian but I am a certified VOA, trained in small animal procedures and animal behaviour, and I work at an animal hospital - both large and small animal wards. This is what I know from experience AND what I was taught by a woman who was the manager of a veterinary clinic for eight years: 

De-clawing a cat is, by definition, an amputation. It is not something that can be done with a quick visit to your vet; it is a surgery. Cats have claws; they are not nails. Please note the difference: a cat can retract her claws in and out of the pads of her paws, while dogs, who have nails, cannot. Bear in mind the anatomy of this: a cat’s claws are actually a part of the last bone in her paws, or phalange - the equivalent of the human finger bone. For the claw to be removed, the last phalange has to be amputated. 

A cat’s body was designed specifically to give her agility, grace, and balance. To remove digits from her paws completely throws her equilibrium off. It alters the conformation of her feet drastically. You are also denying your cat her primary means of self-defense. 

Cats do not adjust well to being “de-clawed”. Many cats, while recuperating after surgery, scratch their bandaged paws endlessly against their cages because they are traumatized, often mutilating themselves further. Remember that during your cat’s recovery time she still has to jump, climb, use her litter box, and walk - all on her freshly amputated toes. 

Veterinarians do not recommend “de-clawing” your cat. It is a painful surgery with a painful recovery period. In many European countries “de-clawing” is illegal because it is inhumane. 

There are many reasons a person may wish that their cat did not have claws - such as distructive habits. However, any animal will bring a certain amount of bacteria into the house, whether she has claws or not. Bacteria can be carried on anything - what makes you think YOU won’t carry bacteria in under your own fingernails? Why don’t you amputate your own finger bones? 

If you are that concerned about germs around your baby, keep your cat out of your baby’s nursery and keep her off counters and table tops. Keep anti-bacterial wipes on hand. But here’s the hard fact: your baby will encounter germs and bacteria throughout her life. It’s inevitable. That’s why living things are born with immune systems. There is no such thing as “de-clawing”. It is mutilation.

There is never a good reason to mutilate your cat. Ever. 

(Source: hippieflower21)

Ducky Needs You!

Ducky Needs a Place to Go Right Away:

This sweet gal was dropped off at a veterinary hospital in NYC recently. She was found abandoned and shivering in Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn.She is in desperate need of a home or a foster. She only has a few daysuntil she is brought to Animal Care and Control, and as many of us know the chances of a Pitbull getting out of the ACC alive are very slim.She has received veterinary care and is believed to be about 2-3 years old.

She has been very sweet with everyone that has handled her and also appears to be dog-friendly.

She is thin because she was most likely neglected or maybe used as a breeding dog.

Please be the one to turn things around for Ducky. She deserves so much more!

Please get in touch with any adoption or foster leads:
erica@mooshoes.com

Myth: The animal is an ideal model to study human diseases. 

Reality:Thinking that a rat is a human being only smaller turns out to be mental aberration and scientific fraud. Humans and animals present great anatomical and psychological differences. They do not react the same way to certain products.

An aspirin can kill a cat and cause birth malformations on mice. Penicillin kills hamsters. Arsenic has no toxic effect for monkeys and chicken. Morphine calms humans but excites cats and horses. Insulin produces malformations on chicken, rabbits, and mice.

Human cancers are quite different from animal cancers. Cancerous tumors on animals do not take 20 years to develop.

Animals do not metabolize products the same way humans do. Humans are 60 times more sensitive to thalidomide (a tranquilizer prescribed to pregnant women) than mice, 100 times more sensitive than rats, 200 times more sensitive than dogs, and 700 times more sensitive than hamsters.

When it suits them, vivisectors acknowledge that experiments on animals cannot entirely be extrapolated to humans. When they are sued because of harmful drugs (i.e thalidomide) or toxic products, vivisectors use this fundamental difference as an argument. Why continue the experiment then, if the bases of it are false? For professor and physician Pietro Croce: “The response we get from animal experimentations is never trustable, even though some coincidences sometime occur. This is why vivisection must be abolished.”

takenoverbyrocknroll:

You know what? We have been here at Colorado Animal Rescue for EVER AND EVER now! No one picks us, but we don’t know why — we’re loving and mellow and we are TWO TIMES THE FUN, because we’re brother and sister and will not be torn apart (not that you would ever do that to us!). Do you think you could share us and talk to your families and friends, and see if someone could help us be a family together forever?

We are six years old and, as you can see, totally good looking. You can read more about our adorable cuteness at our link (http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/25218839) and you can also call or email at 970-947-9173 or care@rof.net. 

Thank you so much, with love and kisses, Zoot and Buzzy in Glenwood Springs, Colorado

(Source: empatheticvegan, via fuckyeah-animalrights)

i can’t even begin to explain the things this photo makes my heart feel. 

I’m going to make a new email called realitybitchslap@gmail.com, and from this adress I will message all of the dumb fucks “giving away” their dogs and cats on Kijiji (Canadian craigslist) because: 

- They “have no time” 
- Their kids don’t want the animal anymore
- They don’t have the room
- They’re moving/having a baby/suddenly remembered they have allergies
- Apparently didn’t know that the puppy/cat would grow into a larger/less cute and cuddly animal
- No reason whatsoever

And I will give them a REALITY BITCH SLAP: 

YOU SHOULD HAVE CONSIDERED THESE POSSIBILITIES BEFORE YOU ADOPTED/BOUGHT AN ANIMAL. 
ANIMALS ARE NOT DISPOSABLE AND YOU ARE TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN THAT THEY ARE. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF.
ANIMALS ARE NOT TOYS FOR YOUR KIDS SO THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BABYSIT THEM.
YOU ARE THE REASON MILLIONS OF ANIMALS ARE ABANDONED AND EUTHANIZED EVERY YEAR IN NORTH AMERICA. YOUR CARELESSNESS IS DESTROYING LIVES. 
NEXT TIME YOU GET BORED JOIN A FUCKING DANCE CLASS OR SOMETHING BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO DISTRACT FROM THE HOLE IN YOUR PATHETIC BORING LIFE BY FILLING IT WITH A LIVING CREATURE. THEY’RE NOT HERE FOR YOU, DO TO WHAT YOU WISH WITH THEM. 
THE ODDS DICTATE THAT THE ANIMAL YOU ARE “GIVING AWAY” WILL END UP IN A CRUMMY SHELTER, HOMELESS AND/OR KILLED. 

I know this is an insane rant but I just can’t believe the amount of ignorance I am seeing in today’s pet ads. And I actually would really like to give these people a piece of my mind, but I know I’m not going to because what difference would it make? I can’t take in every dog or cat that comes up on kijiji and some random person yelling at them over the internet isn’t going to make them suddenly be a compassionate, conscious person. I feel very helpless and it’s not a nice feeling. 

cashevans:

It’s really annoying when vegans feed their dog/cat/carnivorous animal vegan food. Then say if they weren’t meant to eat vegan food, they would be dead. Yet argue that they, as a vegan human, and other humans are not meant to eat meat. Still, they did not die before they became vegan. So no a…

I do understand the reasoning behind this, and it makes a good point regarding carnivorous animals, such as cats. Dogs, however, are in fact omnivores (as are their cousins wolves, coyotes and foxes). When a wild canine hunts, she will eat the stomach of her kill first because their will be undigested plants in the stomach. A wild feline, on the other hand, will only eat the muscle and tissues (this is why canines such as hyenas prey on a cat’s leftovers - the cats will not eat the stomach). Also, I know that for dogs I have owned, they often eat grass when I take them out for walks. Being omnivores, it is possible for canines to get sufficient protein from plant-based sources. Cats are true carnivores and need a protein found only from animal sources, called taurine. Dogs are not, however, true herbivores.

I am vegan, and while I have no reservations regarding my own vegan diet and recommending it to other humans (humans are, I believe, true herbivores), I find it a tricky thing changing an animal’s diet. My own dog is vegan but I did this after much research and with the help of our veterinarian. She is a rescue and hardly ate anything because she was nervous and scared all the time. After making her own vegan food, she licks the bowl clean and now has healthy muscles and curves. 

No animal is the same. It’s a touchy subject, I’m sure, about whether vegans should feed their animals only vegan foods. But it’s definitely relevant and open dialogue should be encouraged!