New Kitty Question about claws

I have a 7 year old Male cat, Max, he is declawed. He recently lost his buddy to cancer. She was also declawed when I got her. In the next few weeks we are going to start looking for a new buddy for him. (He is a little lonely without her) Here is my question: Is it fair to bring in a non declawed cat with a declawed cat in the house or should I be searching for a cat that is already declawed. I don't want to bring another cat into the house at an unfair advantage for Max. Does this make any sense? Any advice would be appreciated!

Absolutely! The fact that one kitty has claws doesn't necessarily put him or her at an unfair advantage unless they get into a major "knock-down-drag-out" fight (and then bites are going to be your real concern, not scratches ). Is Max a laid back cat or does he look for a fight?

Remember that Max was there first so that (along with their individual personalities) is going to play a major role in the heirarchy the cats set up amongst themselves--much more so than a set of claws will .

Go with your heart..............look for the kitty that you feel that bond with, the one who will undoubtedly pick you first .........with or without claws, I suspect that with time Max & the new guy or gal will be good buddies!

Best of luck with finding Max's new buddy!!

When my roomate lived with me, she had one declawed cat and I had 5 clawed cats and none of them liked her but guess who ruled the house? The declawed cat!

A declawed cat who has been boss has some advantage. In the end it will depend on the cats personalities as to who becomes the "top dog" and that changes daily. When my two cats who both have claws get into it, they use their front paws to push away. No scratches or bites so far. I know of a person from Europe who declawed her cat herself. But could only do one paw. To me that was cruelty and she should have been reported. Her family knew she was doing it. It gives me the chills just to think about it. Cats sould never be declawed, not even by a vet.

I have one cat with claws and one without. I had the one with claws first and was hesitant when I got my second because she didn't have claws. At first she was intimidated by him, but now she is the boss!

Originally Posted by Jen

When my roomate lived with me, she had one declawed cat and I had 5 clawed cats and none of them liked her but guess who ruled the house? The declawed cat!

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I agree! My former roommate had a declawed cat who was definitely the boss over my kitty with all her claws.

I have 6 cats, I got my first 2 declawed because I was ignorant and didn't do research until after the fact My other 4 are clawed, and we have no problems. But, if you do decide that you need a declawed kitty, there are plenty of already declawed cats out there for adoption.

Thanks so much for the advice guys. Max was my first Kitty and I didn't know much about the procedure at the time. All I knew was my roomate and I got out kitties together (they were brother and sister) and she was worried about her furniture so I went ahead and had it done. Not sure what I'll do at this point. Man, who knew bringing a new baby into the picture would be so tough. Alot of worrying! mostly that Max will adjust well but I guess it can't be any worse than how lonely he is. Every time I come home he squawks at me until I sit and give him some attention no not only will he most like be the dominant cat but apparently he is dominant over the human in this house too

Originally Posted by ShiShi

but apparently he is dominant over the human in this house too

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That's what they do best! Please let us know what you decide

You can adopt either - just keep the clawed one's nails trimmed - check and clip as needed once a week.

If you find an already declawed cat, you can adopt them too - just dont' go and declaw the clawed cat! But keep in mind that many times declawed cats may be at the shelter because they have behavioral problems due to the declawing.