Cat furniture for declawed cats?

I have three cats that we rescued from shelters within the last couple of years. They were all declawed when we got them. I wanted to buy them some cat furniture since they love to climb and play. (naturally) I went to the local pet store and I was asked by the lady if they had their claws. After I told her they were front paw declawed she refused to sell to me. I asked her why and she explained that too many people buy furniture for their cats to find out they can't climb on it without claws. I agrued with her a bit explaining they are still able to jump and climb without front claws. After about 15 minutes of going back and fourth, I walked out.

As I'm thinking about it today, she did have somewhat of a point. What say you?

That's really strange that she refused to sell it to you! I mean I don't think it could hurt them. I don't have any experience with declawed cats, but I think that at least they could jump on the furniture and lay on it. I would go somewhere else.

My Twitch is declawed. She doesn't have access to the cat tree, but she sure can climb all over the counters, shelves, etc. just fine! I would think any cat furniture would work....I don't see why they wouldn't be able to climb. I am thinking of the type with platforms & they'd just jump from one to the next.....

thats just way too mad..........weird really, dont suppose you´d be going in that shop again, and maybe next time if someone asks you´ll just have to say 'yep - all got their claws' just crazy eh

I have 4 declaws here and one of those is 4 paw, none of them have any trouble at all climbing.
I think the lady is either seriously underestimating the climbing ability of cats, or she's off her nut.

All of my cats are declawed.( I know, I didn't know better) Neffie is 4 pawed, and they are climbing on cat towers all the time. I have three of them in the house and two on the porch. They love them.

How can she refuse to sell one to you? It's not her responsibility to determine what you should use for your cats. I would think they'd do just fine. Even if they weren't able to make it to the very top, they still could use the lower levels. I'd go somewhere else.

I think she was having a bad day or something... It's definitely none of her business what you buy - her job is to advise and sell. If you choose not to take her "advice", that's your decision!

Our kitties have soft claws and have no issues climbing the cat trees!

my cats are all front declawed (by previous owners) and i wish i had learned about cat furniture sooner! i thought for years they wouldn't be interested because of no claws, but when i got a couple scratching posts as gifts i soon learned otherwise. my cats LOVE LOVE LOVE their furniture. we have a few 2 story condos, one-story condos, and several scratching posts/boards/mats. that lady didn't know what she was talking about. go buy them some forts, they will thank you for it.

I have a declawed cat and she doesn't always land how she wants too because she can't grip. As someone who works in retail I can think of 2 reasons for her not wanting to sell to you: first, her store may have been sued in the past for a declawed cat falling off their furniture. And second, to keep the product from being returned and losing money on it.
I just bought my cat her first tower yesterday and returned it today, she couldn't climb it! So Petsmart took it back no questions asked but they will probably either send it back as used/damaged (its not) or mark it down due to being used. Now I'm on a search for a better product for her, which landed me here.

Hi Merin, and welcome to TCS! 

This is a very old thread so you may not get a lot of response.  But you probably will if you come and introduce yourself and your kitty here: http://www.thecatsite.com/f/20/new-cats-on-the-block 

My old girl came to me already declawed. I went around the pet stores in my city and looked online a bit, looking for a cat tree that had ramps or stairs instead of jumps. I was very particular because I was looking for her and looking on behalf of my diabetic cat whose hind legs were starting to go and was having difficulty making the jump to the bed and window ledges (the legs have come back). I had no luck, but there must be a small stair or ramp cat tree out there somewhere, or if you're handy, you could make one. Carpet might be too slippery on a steep slope ramp. Wood would need rungs as foot holds.

Declawed cats can jump down from cat trees once they learn the route. They just need humans to put them up in the tree. The top level is too high for a declawed kitty - mine thinks the only way down is one mighty jump to the floor - very dangerous when you have slippery feet. Mine is perfectly happy to be placed on the middle level of the tree for treats and a different view out the window.

She was also having difficulty with the jump from the bed to the window. The window ledge was a bit too narrow and slippery for her front paws. I solved this by putting a small, slightly lower table in front of the window and putting an old memory foam pillow on it. Her front paws don't slide on the memory foam.

pjrocco said:

I have three cats that we rescued from shelters within the last couple of years. They were all declawed when we got them. I wanted to buy them some cat furniture since they love to climb and play. (naturally) I went to the local pet store and I was asked by the lady if they had their claws. After I told her they were front paw declawed she refused to sell to me. I asked her why and she explained that too many people buy furniture for their cats to find out they can't climb on it without claws. I agrued with her a bit explaining they are still able to jump and climb without front claws. After about 15 minutes of going back and fourth, I walked out.


As I'm thinking about it today, she did have somewhat of a point. What say you?

Click to expand...

This lady apparently knows nothing about declawed cats. First of all, it is a must that cats be left with their back claws intact. Even indoor cats occasionally escape, and as long as they have their back claws, they can climb a tree to get away from threats on the ground.
I no longer have my cats declawed, since my children are now grown. Plus, one of mine has developed arthritis, so my views on the procedure have changed.
That being said, my 4 "old guys", Hooper, Jack, Simba and Spartacus, can climb anything! They go up and down the cat tree with no problem at all. In fact, their front toes are so strong, it sounds like they have claws, and they love to 'scratch' on the scratching posts just as much as the other cats.
By all means, provide your front-declawed cat with all the same play and furniture options that you would give to any cat. I realize this post is old, but this information is still important for cat lovers.
Btw, I hope you found a better place to spend your pet dollars!![emoji]128516[/emoji]

My declawed cat's favorite spot is at the TOP perch of his cat tree that is a little over 5 feet! I've never had to carry him up there before! He is a larger cat though--not sure if this would give him a bit of an advantage jumping up there.

Here's your reason.   People have bought NEW items from her in the past, for their declawed cats.  The cats didn't use those items (because they are cats, not because they are declawed).  BUT, these items were then returned for the reason, "My declawed cats won't use these items that are for cats".   
The items are now used, can no longer be sold as new  (she probably has to eat the expense).

Mostly because cats are cats. Not because they are declawed.
It's not YOU or your cat.  It's the previous customer"s".  She probably had two problem returns back to back...which made her gun shy, even if it was just a bad coincidence.