Cats/Declawed

42hockeymom

Actually, we had our cat declawed, and it was done by laser. She is an indoor cat, and her recovery was very quick. I did have to use special litter for that time, but not a big deal. She was a kitten though. So I can't really comment on how she'd done if she were older. I would never have done it if the procedure was done the old fashioned way, which I will not get into because I believe it's inhumane.

I think that you should go with what you feel is best. Follow your gut. I just thought I'd give you another side of the story. Not here to stir anything up.

findingfit23

My poor Mewme was found my a friend of mine at just a few weeks old. They had pit bulls so were keeping her in a bird cage! I had to save her. My sweet bird cage kitty....she is 11 now.

Pearl came from another friend who's house was overrun with cats. Which led to lots of inbred kittens. Pearl is a special girl.

cdstadt

Vets can trim cat claws too. When you get scratched it doesn't draw blood or anything like un-clipped claws. I'm not sure how often that needs to be done though as I don't have scratchy cats.

Also, for the person asking, they DO make dog soft paws: http://www.softpaws.net/

glockster972

I mean, not to be insensitive, but a cat scratch wouldn't kill the kid. That's life. And a clawless catt? That's not his life.

And this. I think you get the point we are all trying to make.

I was actually put in the hospital by a cat scratch due to infectioin and had to get several lymph nodes removed... Ironic huh? HAHA

I spent 6 days in the hospital from cat scratches and bites. Almost lost my hand over it. Then 3 weeks of Pic Line anit-biotics.

jamie78

Right now is the best age to do it. Kittens handle it much better then adult cats. and there is no need to do the back claws. You really only need the front ones done. That way if he ever does get out he can still climb a tree or a fence if something is after him.
I worked a vet tech for almost 8 years, and most cats do just fine with the surgery and heal quickly. Make sure you use shredded paper for the litter box or the pine litter for atleast a week. so the paws do not get infected.
Most vet will give you a pain killer to help with the pain make sure you ask the vet if they do or not before the procedure. If they do not then I would find a vet at does, or offer to pay more for some. Most vets will use Metacam (meloxicam) But in low doses. Pain meds are kinda hard on cats and should be given only prescription drugs straight from the vet. Anything we have as humans is highly toxic for them.
All in all it is a painful surgery but it is well worth it when your kitty gets to stay in and does not tear your furniture or the kids up. if you have any questions please feel free to inbox me.

cdstadt

I mean, not to be insensitive, but a cat scratch wouldn't kill the kid. That's life. And a clawless catt? That's not his life.

And this. I think you get the point we are all trying to make.

I was actually put in the hospital by a cat scratch due to infectioin and had to get several lymph nodes removed... Ironic huh? HAHA

That IS crazy. Was it a feral or something? I've been scratched by tons.

therobinator

Maybe you should put the effort into training him, rather than declawing him.

Yeah, you can't train a cat like that. You can spray them with a water bottle if they scratch something you care about to discourage them from that particular object, but if they have claws they WILL find something to scratch. Also, if the cat is on you or near you when they startle, inevitably you're going to get scratched at some point, they can't help it if they're scared. SoftPaws are a good way to go if you can't risk any scratching at all.

Actually, cats *can* be taught what to scratch and what not to scratch....but yes, scratching is a natural instinct, hence the existence of scratching posts....they can be taught to scratch only them.

maria25428

get him some kitten mittens, ha.

baisleac

What funny things do your cats do? Whats the story of how you got them?

George - Comes from a line of royal Hawaiian tree cats (last queen's Abyssinians interbred with local tree cats). His mom was caught in the neuter and release program and had a litter of the right age for adoption. He my cranky, crotchety old man kitty; 15 years old, had a stroke a month or so ago but is doing better.

Bilbo - Big FLUFF ball that likes to sit on your face. Traded with my roommate's real estate agent... our dog for Bilbo when we moved to an apartment where we couldn't have a dog.

Nyarlathotep the Crawling Chaos (Nya) - Showed up on our 2nd story balcony one day and adopted my husband.

Ivan - Nya surprised us with him last Labor Day. A relative then helped us with funding her spay. He's the perfect kitty. Snuggles when appropriate, doesn't get between you and your book, only scratches on the scratching post. LOL.

ckdub428

Vets can trim cat claws too. When you get scratched it doesn't draw blood or anything like un-clipped claws. I'm not sure how often that needs to be done though as I don't have scratchy cats.

Also, for the person asking, they DO make dog soft paws: http://www.softpaws.net/

Thanks so much for the info!!!!!!!!

rml_16

Aww, I know I have seen it done. I worked in a vets office for a while as a kennel tech and have helped out but I am also a new cat owner and have never had to make this choice before so I just really needed some opinions. I was pretty much going to pay the 500 anyway but I just didn't know about the 2 year old. Thank you!

What funny things do your cats do? Whats the story of how you got them?

I used to work in a Navy town and my office was next door to a restaurant. Feral cats (usually due to being set "free" by moving Navy families and not fixed) would cluster in the area because of the food in the restaurant dumpster.

My coworker went out to smoke one day and found a 4-week-old Siamese kitten stuck in the rafters and the mother couldn't get to her. The coworker brought the kitten inside and she ended up at MY house, of course. It was supposed to be a temporary thing until I found her a home. Uh-huh. Her name is Elizabeth and she's 6 1/2 now.

Almost exactly a year later, there was a litter born in the ceiling of the loading dock. Same coworker went out to smoke and found one of the kittens on the floor. He was 2 weeks old, no teeth and looked like Yoda. The first time I held him, toothless hissed at me. :-) He didn't even register his weight on the vet's scale.

I brought him home and bottle fed him and he's now 23 pounds and looks like a small black panther rather than a house cat. He's bigger than my dog! My daughter named him after Harry Potter.

The funny stories are too numerous to even go into.

I think over my lifetime, I've had around 30 cats.

therobinator

get him some kitten mittens, ha.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Moofey

I mean, not to be insensitive, but a cat scratch wouldn't kill the kid. That's life. And a clawless catt? That's not his life.

And this. I think you get the point we are all trying to make.

I was actually put in the hospital by a cat scratch due to infectioin and had to get several lymph nodes removed... Ironic huh? HAHA

I spent 6 days in the hospital from cat scratches and bites. Almost lost my hand over it. Then 3 weeks of Pic Line anit-biotics.

Yeah, no matter what we still love our animals!

jamie78

Declawing is equivalent to cutting of a human's fingers at the first knuckle. Think about that. Also, declawing will cost more than $500. So if you're worried about money, paying the deposit will be cheaper. If you're worried about the kid....does the cat have a history of scratching people or children? If it does, get it some scratching posts and toys....cats scratch because they are bored or want to play.

What vet are you going to?? We only charge 55.00$ total!!

tigersword

Declawing is cruel and unusual. Would you willingly chop off your fingers at the first knuckle so that you don't accidentally scratch your 2 year old with your finger nails? It's the same concept. Keep the nails trimmed and there won't be any problems. Cats like to play, and they don't draw blood when they play.

HeatherShrinking

I was in a similar situation earlier this year. I inherited my dad's clawed cat and already had a declawed cat at home. I really wanted to avoid declawing the cat. He is 7 years old and it just seemed mean.

Well the two cats would fight constantly. The clawed cat ended up making my declawed cat bleed and left a few scars. I tried those cat claw covers put on him (I had to go to the vet to get them "installed" because he was way too squirmy). Those only work for a few weeks and got expensive.

So, I went ahead and got him declawed (front claws only). I felt horrible having to do it and I was so worried while it was being done. He came home and took a nap. When he woke up he seemed just fine. His biggest complaint was that he had to take meds for 7-10 days after. Now my cats still fight, but they get along much better because they don't actually hurt each other.

jamie78

Declawing a cat is dangerous, and completely harmful, and many times carries lifelong problems. To declaw a cat, they have to partially amputate the bones in their feet...it takes a VERY long time for an animal to fully recover from something like this, and can cause permanent pain. There are SO MANY alternatives to this, please do some research on all the alternatives out there before making your decision.

It caused NO health problems and takes about 2 weeks to heal. It can cause permanent pain if its not done correctly.

rml_16

Right now is the best age to do it. Kittens handle it much better then adult cats. and there is no need to do the back claws. You really only need the front ones done. That way if he ever does get out he can still climb a tree or a fence if something is after him.
I worked a vet tech for almost 8 years, and most cats do just fine with the surgery and heal quickly. Make sure you use shredded paper for the litter box or the pine litter for atleast a week. so the paws do not get infected.
Most vet will give you a pain killer to help with the pain make sure you ask the vet if they do or not before the procedure. If they do not then I would find a vet at does, or offer to pay more for some. Most vets will use Metacam (meloxicam) But in low doses. Pain meds are kinda hard on cats and should be given only prescription drugs straight from the vet. Anything we have as humans is highly toxic for them.
All in all it is a painful surgery but it is well worth it when your kitty gets to stay in and does not tear your furniture or the kids up. if you have any questions please feel free to inbox me.

If you would rather remove your animal's toes than teach your children to be kind to them (so as not to get scratched), maybe you should rethink having pets.

My cats stay inside and they have their nails and have never scratched anyone without provocation.

glockster972

I mean, not to be insensitive, but a cat scratch wouldn't kill the kid. That's life. And a clawless catt? That's not his life.

And this. I think you get the point we are all trying to make.

I was actually put in the hospital by a cat scratch due to infectioin and had to get several lymph nodes removed... Ironic huh? HAHA

I spent 6 days in the hospital from cat scratches and bites. Almost lost my hand over it. Then 3 weeks of Pic Line anit-biotics.

Yeah, no matter what we still love our animals!

Still have the cat!

cmriverside

I worked in a shelter.

1. I would never declaw. It is mutilation. Have you read the articles online about it?

2. The cats who were surrendered to the shelter who were declawed were more likely to bite. ( It is unnatural to take away an animal's natural escape tool, by cutting off its toe.) They become more aggressive because they don't have their instinctive defence.

What's worse is they are more likely to refuse to use the litter box - that is usually what got them turned into the shelter.

The litter box becomes associated with pain (when they scratch the box it hurts after declaw) - so they begin to avoid the litter box.

Please don't do this, you are asking for way more problems than you have considered.

crobinson53

My cats all were declawed at an early age. There are all indoor cats and did not suffer during the procedure or during the recovery process. Like many elective human surgeries people can have very strong opinions but in the end it's your opinion that matters the most.

YukonJoy

Maybe you should put the effort into training him, rather than declawing him.

Yeah, you can't train a cat like that. You can spray them with a water bottle if they scratch something you care about to discourage them from that particular object, but if they have claws they WILL find something to scratch. Also, if the cat is on you or near you when they startle, inevitably you're going to get scratched at some point, they can't help it if they're scared. SoftPaws are a good way to go if you can't risk any scratching at all.

Actually I have owned several cats and have trained them all.

Maybe you are doing it wrong.

Fail

anewattitude

I just got off the phone with a vet's office and asked some questions regarding this topic. She said their office will NOT declaw a cat's back claws because that is inhumane and basically takes away their natural defence. She said they do have to remove a tendon when declawing the front paws so the nail does not grow back. Problems will likely occur when the nail tries to grow back if the procedure was not done correctly. She also said the cat will be sore for a couple of weeks and is given pain meds but after that should be fine. Older cats will take longer to recover than a younger one. She said if there are young children around there is greater risk of them being scratched because they often don't know how to properly handle an animal and the cat may re-act if he is being hurt. She said some cats don't mind having their claws trimmed so if you do get a cat maybe start trimming the nails right away so they get used to you handling his/her feet. I also asked about the softpaws but she said she hasn't seen them in a long time.. but that was just one office I called. My advice would be to just make sure you ask alot of questions and are comfortable with the vet if you decide to get your kitty declawed. There are alot of people against it but I have never personally seen a cat suffer due to declawing. In fact my sister had her kitten declawed ( front paws only) a few months ago and he is happy, healthy and still a little terror.. only without scratching the dogs eyes out anymore

jamie78

I mean, not to be insensitive, but a cat scratch wouldn't kill the kid. That's life. And a clawless catt? That's not his life.

And this. I think you get the point we are all trying to make.

cat scratches can kill you if bad enough depending on your immune system... just saying...

therobinator

Declawing is equivalent to cutting of a human's fingers at the first knuckle. Think about that. Also, declawing will cost more than $500. So if you're worried about money, paying the deposit will be cheaper. If you're worried about the kid....does the cat have a history of scratching people or children? If it does, get it some scratching posts and toys....cats scratch because they are bored or want to play.

What vet are you going to?? We only charge 55.00$ total!!

I'll admit I was assuming about the cost, based on what a surgery where bones are cut should entail. Both of my cats have had several life-saving surgical procedures, and I was figuring in comparison to those costs. If this procedure only costs $55, I can imagine how crude of a procedure it must be, and that only confirms my feeling that it's cruel.

jamk1446

I've had 2 cats, neither declawed, I kept their claws trimmed. I bought them a sisel covered scratching post and sprayed it with catnip spray to encourage them to get used to it. I did it quite a lot when I first brought it home- several times a day. And when I found them scratching somewhere I didn't want- sofa or bed leg, I put double-sided tape across that area. They hated getting the tape stuck to their feet and they learned pretty quick to avoid those areas. I had to periodically replace the sisel rope but that post lasted several years.

I didn't have a problem with them scratching anybody, they were nervous around people and would hide most of the time. But if one of my kids or nieces found their hiding places I would be there to remind them to talk quietly and show them how to pet gently so they wouldn't scare them more. Since the kids wanted to pet them and not have them run away, they tried really hard to be as quiet and gentle as possible so the kitties would like them. My kids are especially gentle and respectful with strange animals now because of it.

Johnnyswife

..

jamie78

Declawing is equivalent to cutting of a human's fingers at the first knuckle. Think about that. Also, declawing will cost more than $500. So if you're worried about money, paying the deposit will be cheaper. If you're worried about the kid....does the cat have a history of scratching people or children? If it does, get it some scratching posts and toys....cats scratch because they are bored or want to play.

What vet are you going to?? We only charge 55.00$ total!!

I'll admit I was assuming about the cost, based on what a surgery where bones are cut should entail. Both of my cats have had several life-saving surgical procedures, and I was figuring in comparison to those costs. If this procedure only costs $55, I can imagine how crude of a procedure it must be, and that only confirms my feeling that it's cruel.

I never said its not cruel by any means but its not as bad as people are trying to make it out to be either. ...And it is a lot less cruel then throwing the cat outside because of its scratching. Where it can be killed, beat up, ran over, or wonder off and get lost.

tigersword

I just got off the phone with a vet's office and asked some questions regarding this topic. She said their office will NOT declaw a cat's back claws because that is inhumane and basically takes away their natural defence. She said they do have to remove a tendon when declawing the front paws so the nail does not grow back. Problems will likely occur when the nail tries to grow back if the procedure was not done correctly. She also said the cat will be sore for a couple of weeks and is given pain meds but after that should be fine. Older cats will take longer to recover than a younger one. She said if there are young children around there is greater risk of them being scratched because they often don't know how to properly handle an animal and the cat may re-act if he is being hurt. She said some cats don't mind having their claws trimmed so if you do get a cat maybe start trimming the nails right away so they get used to you handling his/her feet. I also asked about the softpaws but she said she hasn't seen them in a long time.. but that was just one office I called. My advice would be to just make sure you ask alot of questions and are comfortable with the vet if you decide to get your kitty declawed. There are alot of people against it but I have never personally seen a cat suffer due to declawing. In fact my sister had her kitten declawed ( front paws only) a few months ago and he is happy, healthy and still a little terror.. only without scratching the dogs eyes out anymore

Here's a real problem with declawing. Suppose your sister's kitten gets out of the house? Cats use their claws for defense, without them they have no defense. Yes, they usually use their back claws for attacking, but they use their front claws for gripping. Without front claws, their back claws are useless. A declawed cat that gets outside has no defenses against any wild animal that may attack, and without front claws they are also hindered in their escape movements. Cats use their claws to help balance, they use them for a lot more than just "scratching."

Oh, and Johnnysgirl, in other parts of the world outside of the USA, it can be spelled "defence."

asyouseefit

I have a cat and a 20 mo. The cat will learn to stay away from the baby!