Kitty advice, please

I work in the pet care industry. There are positives and negatives to declawing.

For some cats, it's no big deal--I dated a guy who had a declawed cat and Cobalt (the cat) was just fine. It was nice knowing that I wasn't going to get scratched when he batted at me.

More often than not, however, declawing can cause arthritis later in life. While your cat may experience little to no pain due to the surgery, I would be sure to consider the consequences (both good and bad) for the cat's entire life.

I've spoken with many "experts" in my 5+ years in the pet care industry that are on both sides of the argument. Personally, I would never declaw a cat knowing what I know now. That being said, I completely understand why people do it. Just as with any kind of surgery, you have to weigh the positives and negatives.

There are TONS of ingenious products out there to help cats stop scratching (or that reduces the impact). I'm a dog person, so I don't know of many *specific* products, but I know they're out there!

Good luck!

My husband surprised me with a new kitty for Christmas. I love this cat already. But my husband wants me to declaw her as we have very pricey furniture in the house. Now I realize declawing is very inhumane but I will kill this cat if it messes up my furniture. Can any of you cat owners offer me alternatives and do they really work? Ive heard about soft paws. Does anyone use them and more importantly do they work?

PS. This cat will be an indoor cat only!

Declaw that thing before you regret it.

We have 2 cats, and they have no need of claws. I catch and kill anything they need.

PLEASE don't declaw. I could provide you with a link to what the surgery looks like but I won't unless you ask for it. It is NOT a pretty thing and it isn't taking off nails...it takes off the whole first joint...take the top of all your fingers off...that is what it is.

Cats that are declawed also tend to have trouble with the litterbox because when the surgery is done it hurts to scratch around in the litterbox so they associate box with pain. It is not uncommon. Also, if you take away the claws a cat is left without it's first line of defense if it feels threatened and is more like to bite, and bite hard...

Alternatives are clipping the nails every week or so. If you start them young they get used to it and it isn't hard at all. You can get proper clippers at a pet store for like $5 tops.

You can use softpaws too but honestly clipping the nails is quicker and easier..and much more cost effective.

Get a squirt bottle and fill it with water...if cat starts to scratch furniture spray with water...it won't take many times for them to realize couch = water...

The important thing is to give the kitty a place it CAN scratch. Mine like the front door mat...I have no issue with that. They also have a cat house they can scratch...again, no issue with that.

I have THREE cats one is about to turn 7, one is 5.5, and one is 5 months...none of them have EVER tried to scratch my furniture...not even once.

I have 2 indoor cats, and both have claws. I would never consider declawing them. It's inhumane, cruel, and painful. If you absolutely MUST declaw your cat, see if you can find a vet that will do the laser surgery instead of pulling the claws out.

Pet stores have many items that you can put around your house to deter clawing and shredding. It's in the cats nature to claw and pull, and it can certainly be destructive, but that's what happens when you have pets!

First, there are several ways to train cats not to claw furniture, and many never do, regardless.

Second, WHY would you get a pet whose instinct is to claw if you're that worried about your furniture????

Declawing is painful and cruel. That's like getting a dog and saying, "I love it to death, but the barking must go."

Second this.

I third this- its really cruel and my cat is an indoor cat- we have trainned it not to stractch by using stractch posts.
Cats repond to the word-NO very well and its ok to shout that if the cat is doing something wrong.

First, there are several ways to train cats not to claw furniture, and many never do, regardless.

Second, WHY would you get a pet whose instinct is to claw if you're that worried about your furniture????

Declawing is painful and cruel. That's like getting a dog and saying, "I love it to death, but the barking must go."

Give the kitten to someone who will appreciate it, before it gets older and can't be adopted, and then get yourself a goldfish! Just keep the bowl away from anything it might splash on.

My dad is a vet and we have had declawed cats as long as I can remember. #2. Do the front ones only. If your cat ever gets outside and has to fight, they use their back claws, not their front ones.

REALLY? Tell that to my dog as my cat swats his nose if he pushes things .... :grumble:

I feel the same way about it being inhumane to declaw BUT I have 2 cats that I did not declaw and my leather furniture was ruined. They clawed everything...the beds, the carpet, pillows, couches, etc. We bought new furniture and ended up having to declaw them. Even as adult cats, they were still clawing.

If you're keeping them indoors, I say declaw.

I would do research on it first. Declawing the cat is the equivalent of removing your finger at the joint. It is very painful for them and I have read that some cats, the pain never really goes away.
Invest in a claw cutter and trim your kitties claws once a week. Also, invest in a scratching post. We have done these things and have never had a problem with our cat clawing our furniture.
It's the same concept as a dog, it's all about the training. Cats are just a little more difficult in this process and require a LOT of consistency.

people are insane. i can't believe people who are so pet dumb and feel like they need to have pets. Insane.

I totally know what you mean!! That's like people who are socially inept and critical and still feel the need to post on message boards!!!!!

I have two suggestions... First, if you want to declaw, use laser declaw. Instead of taking off the top of the toe like traditional declaw, the laser seals the nail bed to keep nails from growing. It's the same procedure used on humans when they consistently get ingrown nails. Or, try the caps that you can put over the cats nails. That one requires consistent maintenance, but if you're not interested in pursuing laser declaw, that will at least help... Best of luck!

I don't believe declawing cats is inhumane at all. It doesn't cut off the toe or pad. Cats also do not use the last bone to walk. Your cat doesn't feel any irregular pain outside of the normal post operation pain. Do you plan on fixing your cat? I'm sure that won't feel too well either. It isn't even necessary for your cats to have their paws shaven or for them to bleed. Laser removal works great and minimizes the recovery time. I have never heard of a cat that was traumatized by the loss of their claws. I have owned many cats and they have all had their front and back claws removed.

Spaying and neutering are done so that there arne't thousands upon thousands of homeless cats and dogs running around fending for themselves (many of which will die very young because they are domestic and nt able to properly care for themselves in the wild). Not to mention that male cats that are not neutered get injured in fights and female cats who have even one litter of kittens have an increased chance of getting cancer.

Declawing is done simply because people care more about asthetics than the animals in their care. No comparison. If you don't want your furniture clawed, don't get a cat. Or work with the cat to ensure the best outcome.

How do you know what kind of pain the cat feels from being declawed? How would you like a bone from each toe removed, plus every nail?

There is nothing inhumane about it. Declawing isn't only for aesthetics. There are many other reasons to declaw a cat. Also, contrary to popular belief, declawing a cat is not comparable to removing a bone or fingernail from the human body. I don't understand how you are coming to this conclusion.

I adopted a full grown cat from the humane society, and he has a terrible scratching problem. He has multiple scratching posts, but he still prefers my couch. (The couch is ruined, btw. Oh well.)

I'm getting my cat declawed because he loves to jump on my back when I bend over, and he digs his claws in. Deep. Sometimes he will playfully attack my feet and take huge chunks of skin out. I can't really train him to not do that!

The caps are annoying. Come off easily, and a pain to put on.

The double sided tape is a good idea, but are you really going to tape up all of your furniture for the weeks it takes to teach your cat not to scratch?

It has to be your choice whether or not you declaw your cat. Since it's a kitten, there's a small chance that it will do any "permanent" damage.

I'm a hugeee cat lover & even I would say go ahead and declaw her. The procedure is way less invasive than it used to be and your kitty should be back to normal in no time.

Can you imagine what it would be like if you had an itch that you couldn't scratch? You know how irritating that is right? Well you have opposable thumbs so can pick something up and use that instead. A cat can't. It won't be able to groom itself at all. Cats are very clean and particular animals and this will stress it no end.
Please, I beg you, if you value your furniture, give the cat to someone who will love it and if you really must have a pet, get a goldfish.

Also, how are you going to deal with the cat fur on your precious furniture? Are you going to shave it bald?