What litter works best on declawed cats?

A poster on a forum I post at had a kitten declawed and spayed recently, and I wanted to give her ideas on litters to use (to ease the discomfort on the kitty's paws). So far all I've got is Scientific Professional Cat Litter (tried it once and it's REALLY soft) and World's Best Cat Litter, and someone on another forum once mentioned wood shavings. But what do other people suggest?

I use Nature's Miracle litter for my declawed cat. She actually isn't too fussy about litter and her declawed status has not affected anything she does.
The only litters she hated were Arm and Hammer and Tidy Cats (we both hated that because of the dust.)

Newly declawed cats might do best with Yesterdays' News.

tidy cat crystals might be good also.. i feel sorry for the cat that was declawed.. how awful.

swheat scoop says on the bag it's ok for newly declawed cats. that's available at most target stores.

I found that nothing with pellets for declawed cats. Crystals can make some declawed cats uncomfortable as well.

When we got PJ, she was about 8.5 years old and declawed on the front - it seemed like for a while. She will use ANY type of litter!

However, when we adopted Teddy, he was 7 years old, declawed on the front (unsure when), and refused to poop in a litterbox that contained crystal litter. However, he would pee in it (and we had multiple boxes!)

Both cats will use Tidy Cats now without incident.

One of the other things I've heard about declawed cats is that they can have litterbox problems because without claws, their paws just sink into the litter and they don't like that, since they have no claws to stick out to find bottom.

However, mine both LOVE deep litterboxes (Teddy will poop outside the box if there isn't enough litter!) - but at the same time, I know of declawed cats that prefer less litter in the box.

From my experience then, the softer, the better.

My vet recommended "Yesterday's News."  

In researching the question, I notice that a lot of people seem to hate cat owners who declaw cats, and relish making them feel guilty.  I have spent the last year watching a mainly untamed factory cat hop on three paws, alternately holding the left or right aloft.  She has obviously been in pain.  I finally got her to the vet today after training her to eat in a wild animal trap.  The claws were not shedding, are massively overgrown, the pads are absessed, and this is not going to go away on its own.  Anybody know what an absessed tooth feels like?  How would you like to walk on one? 

Let's not go there......this thread is over 6 years old. No need to resurrect a very old thread and initiate any arguments for/against declawing.

But for the record:

Please refer to the forum rules:

3. This website considers declawing a drastic way to curb cat behavior. A painful ordeal for your kitty we would suggest that declawing never be considered for any behavioral issue. Health issues are entirely different. It is up to you as a responsible pet owner to explore all the different options available instead of declawing. Your cat is dependent on you to make wise choices for her, and not put her into any more stress or discomfort. Please be a responsible pet owner and research this subject thoroughly. Understand that if you are pro-declaw in your posts, you will encounter opposition. Please learn more about alternatives for declawing here in our forums as well as on our website itself. Declaw - More than Just a Manicure. Hopefully those of you with claw-related problems will find solutions by spending time in our Behavior Forum.


 

kitsusie said:

My vet recommended "Yesterday's News."  

In researching the question, I notice that a lot of people seem to hate cat owners who declaw cats, and relish making them feel guilty.  I have spent the last year watching a mainly untamed factory cat hop on three paws, alternately holding the left or right aloft.  She has obviously been in pain.  I finally got her to the vet today after training her to eat in a wild animal trap.  The claws were not shedding, are massively overgrown, the pads are absessed, and this is not going to go away on its own.  Anybody know what an absessed tooth feels like?  How would you like to walk on one? 

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I agree with Winchester's response, and I think most people would agree that the feral cat you mentioned needed veterinary attention. I also think that if a cat needs a claw or claws removed for the cat's own health then it should be done. One of my polydactyls has a few claws that curve inward a bit too much so I make sure that I assess her frequently.

While I have chosen to not declaw my cats, I'm glad that these threads can still be found so that people can find options for a declawed cat. What's done is done once a cat is declawed, but we need to understand and accommodate their special needs.

To add to the list of litter options, I use Cat's Pride unscented scoopable litter which has very fine granules so it resembles sand. It is dusty, but it is cheap ($2.25/bag at Family Dollar) and it is soft.

It seems gluing soft claws again and again for a decade or two would be more irritating to a cat.  Plus as the soft claws grow out, space is behind and the claws get caught in loop rugs and mesh. 

More cats would be alive if owners did not put them outside.  The cat will be more welcome in the home all the time if the claws are removed.  Thus the cat does not end up being eaten by a wild animals or ran over by a car. 

From experience, the cat is happy because she can scratch anywhere in the house and it is all good.  No personality change noticed on any of the three kittens I had declawed.  Two of them lived full happy lives 100% inside.  I now have the third and she is a happy camper using her "claws" (cats still like to scratch even without claws) on the couch, on the rug, on the curtains - and she is never in trouble.

C ctomlinson Are you aware that declawing is illegal in most industrialized countries? TCS is an anti-declawing site, as stated in the Forum Rules

This website is anti-declawing. Understand that if you are pro-declaw in your posts, you will encounter opposition. Please learn more about alternatives for declawing here in our forums as well as on our website itself. Declaw - More than Just a Manicure.

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