Scared of CLAWS..... - Page 2

You need to train your new cat not to scratch the chairs. When I was training my Limerick, I put catnip on the scratching posts and it worked. I also trim his nails every other week or so and Limerick fights me everytime but it gets done. That prevents them from scratching, well Limerick anyway. Claws are really nothing to worry about. You just need to make sure they are taken care of.

Well if they lie we can figure it out two ways. Either they don't use their litter box when they are at the shelter. Or the cat will be adopted and will come back. So there is no point in lying.

It's all really a sad state of affairs. I have work there for 2 years. I hate my job. It has made me a cynical person. I am depressed all the time. I can't stand to listen to peoples reasons for giving up animals. They litterally make my skin crawl. I secretly wish terrible things would happen to them. I really do.

The devestation of what I have personally seen in the past two years will haunt me for as long as I live.

It may well have been due to my comment about the fellow giving up his de-clawed cat if it started to have litterbox issues. I was hypothesizing but it was perhaps not perceived that way.

Unfortunately this isn't just a rumour that de-clawed cats can and often do have litterbox issues no matter now much we may try to deny it. They often become biters as well. Just because some folks have been lucky enough to not have this happen to them and their de-clawed kitty does not make it fallacy.

I know... I have read all about this on The Cat Site articles matter of fact Love this site... Im going to copy some of the info and paste it here!

"Urine damage and property destruction are major ongoing results of de-clawing. They can't dig properly in their litter box so they will often find a more comfortable place to urinate like your living room carpet or they may spray against your kitchen cupboards or doors. Urine penetrates deeper than any claws do once it gets in your drywall and floorboards! You may also experience chewing damage to things like wood furniture and cords." - Under the articel Declawing is more than a manicure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have a 30 day return policy. So they can get another cat or refund. However I have only had one return on a cat for not using a litter box. Which is pretty good.

They aer able to adopt again. Of course. I would not want to go to a shelter and get a cat that pees in the house. What a terrible way to start a relationship!

No..We stand behind the animals we adopt out. We always take them back.

well, the only time Pixle or Chip, my declaws, ever peed outside of the litter box was due to UTIs, crystals, etc. Mouse, who was also declawed, did so right near the end, but she was also ill. Medley never did [1st cat]. Smoke pooed outside the box, & i was ignorant of that being a sign of disease. i rehomed her, & she didn't have a problem in her new home, so it was probably because i didn't keep the box clean enough for her [one of the reasons i now have automatic boxes]. so, that's 4 of 4 for me that really don't have issues, litter wise. however, Medley & Chip were/are both biters.

Here, cats surrendered for litterbox issues that are declawed are euthanized 99% of the time. If they have a UTI or another cause for spraying, we work with them as much as we can.

I've not had any problems with my cats scratching furniture. They have lots of scratching posts (4 activity centres ranging from a ceiling high one to one about 18 inches high, a scratch post that is nearly horizontal plus a few other toys/play things that can be used for scratching). I trim their nails regularly too. The only damage at all I've had is from Mosi accidentally catching his claws on the sofa arms during play when he was younger. But I have removable sofa covers so can replace if/when need be for little cost.

I agree that when you have a cat you need to accept that claws are part of the cat, and that just like having children it helps if you're not too houseproud. Sure you don't want kids to draw on the walls with their crayons but sometimes it happens and you just deal with it! Same with pets. Sometimes they vomit on the carpet, or wee on the bed because they have a UTI. And sometimes they scratch things they shouldn't because scratching is what they do. If they have alternatives that they are happy with they won't do that. If they're scratching your sofa it means that the alternatives provided aren't satisfactory from the cat's point of view (eg not tall enough, not stable enough, not in the right place, wrong fabric etc) so you may need to experiment a bit to find out what your cat likes.

I can't undrestand people who would declaw to save their sofa, no matter how much the sofa costs. How can you put a value on a cat like that? To say that an inanimate object costing a few hundred or even thousand pounds/dollars is more important than the living, breathing friend you share your life with? I just don't get it. I dont' buy expensive sofas because I know I couldn't afford to replace them if they got damaged. I have a cheap one from ikea and put a throw over it. That way I don't worry about it getting scratched, although as it happens that's not a problem I have.

no not at you. just at the air. i've been in a mood today, i didn't mean for it to sound like it was directed at you. sorry.

the shelter i worked at was in the midwest, in a college town (i.e. 3 colleges). most of the declawed kitties i saw in the 2+ yrs i worked there were pretty darn normal. i've only seen one with a regrowth problem (likely the reason he ended up there, then was returned) and a handful of peeing issues.

kitties who didn't use the box were not placed. strangely enough, we got a fair amount of stray persians (with the flat face) that wouldn't use the box or not consistently. i thought it was odd. we did get clawed cats that didn't use the box as well as declawed. but on the whole, i don't think it was that common. we also made sure it wasn't previous conditions or bladder infections. sometimes cats come from horrible conditions (litterbox only cleaned once a week, etc) and are having litterbox issues. just being in the shelter with a clean box fixed those types of cats whether they had claws or not.

Hello there, neighbor!! (waving from Portland) I volunteer at Multnomah Co. shelter. Since i work in the cattery, I don't see how many declawed cats come in... and since we technically don't do surrenders, we only get the ones who have escaped (hey, if someone surgically removed the first sections of all my fingers, I'd run too). We do get a few though... had one recently... big familial brou-haha (cousin took cat in for some reason... cousin's bitter ex took cat to shelter and lied saying he was a stray, lady came in only after the cousin finally spilled the beans about where the cat went... he was SUCH a lover-kitty... cousin will never get near kitty again).

at MultCo, I believe they do observe all cats for behavioral and health, before going near the Cattery and available for adoption... if there are LB issues, I don't know what the policy is.

Amanda

My sister's two cats are declawed as well (she met them that way), and they're both fine as well. I've even lived with them for a few months, so I know first hand. They are half-brothers, and have been together all their lives. Both boys are only front declawed, and neither has had any litterbox problems in the years I've known them. They are also indoor only. Minion doesn't bite, likes to knead, and definitely knows how to use his back claws if he's unhappy. Especially if you have to pick him up, because he doesn't like that at all. Unfortunately, in the last month he's picked up the habit of sneaking out and trying to sneak outside. Bad kitty! Mouser is a biter, but really only when he feels like it, because he likes it, apparently. Once all I was doing was using the computer with him laying on the bed near me, and all of a sudden he reaches over and chomps down on my arm! Weirdo. Also, sometimes he does it so quickly you aren't sure exactly what happened! He also uses a front paw to hit the dog on the head. I think he's "right-pawed".

My two kitties have all their claws. I clip their front paws. Some people clip the back claws, too, but I've found that I don't need too, they take care of it themselves. These are my first cats; growing up we only had a dog. So, naturally, I was wary of their claws, as well. I've had Loki for 5 months, and Possum for 3 months. Neither has scratched me more than superficially, and it was all accidentally. A few days ago for the first time, Loki decided to stretch his claws out on my leg, so I took his paws off, and told him, "Mommy's not a scratching post, honey!". Later, I clipped his nails. Loki has never taken a swipe at me. Possum took a swipe at me once, but it was the most pathetic, gentlest swipe ever. I'm not even sure his claws were out. The poor guy was scared and upset because I had taken him to the vet, and back at home I had to then put some Revolution on him, and he was freaked out. It was just a little warning for his benefit, really.

Both are adult cats and understand when and when not to use their claws, unlike kittens. They don't destroy my furniture. Well, they did destroy the bottom of my brand new couch. Sigh. There's also a rough spot on my boxspring, but I've almost fully gotten them to stay away from that. But there's lots of things that they could potentially scratch, and I've had no other problems.

When I was first thinking of getting a cat I was living at my Mom's house. She told me that if I were to bring one to live in her home the cat would have to be completely declawed, front and back. I was actually quite shocked at her rule, knowing her. So, I researched declawing and ended up deciding that I couldn't do that to a cat, and I decided to wait to get one. I got Loki 10 days before I moved out of her house, and she had no problem with him. Recently, my sister and I have been trying to convince Mom she needs a kitty (mostly jokingly), and the subject of declawing came up. She told us that she "could never do that to a cat," which is what I thought her position was on the subject in the first place! I've determined that she only told me that my cat would have to be declawed to live in her house because she didn't want an animal living there, and she figured I'd decide on my own not to get a cat because I wouldn't want to put a cat through that, either. If I had agreed to declaw, she probably would have come up with something else to deter me from getting a cat.

If you get the kitty you are thinking of, I truly doubt the claws will be a problem, and in a few months you'll be laughing at yourself for being so worried about them. I know I am!

Tricia

Absolutely do not adopt a cat with claws if you would ever even THINK of declawing her. No couch or chair is worth doing that to an animal.

Our cats are generally pretty good, but we do have some ruined upholstery. We put a throw over it and go on with life. No house with cats will ever be magazine-perfect... but it'll be warmer and happier, and that's what matters.

not at our shelter it's not true the only reasons we euthanize is in cases of severe illness, overcrowding, and aggression issue. most of the declawed kitties we've had come into our shelter have been very kind and found wounderful homes. and most of the time when people just dump off a kitty at the shelter because it is having accidents out of the litter pan- it is a medical condition such as a lower urinary tract infection that can be cleared up easily with antibiotics. so no, that's not true around here.

www.declawing.com

Either adopt a cat that has already been declawed and be prepared for possible problems, or... Don't Get A Cat!

Declawing is horribly painful and inhumane for the cat. It would be like cutting your fingers off at the knuckle. If someone did that to me, I would bite too!

If you don't want claws, then, don't have cats.

I have two cats, neither are declawed. Juno, my feral who was 4 mo.old when I got her and is now 1yr. has never scratched furniture she really likes the carboard scratchers. It must remind her of the tree roots she used when she lived outdoors. Sweetie, my 2 yr. old is hard headed. No matter how I try to redirect her scratching to one of the posts I have she still tries to use the furniture. I do trim at least every week or so. Sweetie has ruined a wicker hamper and will try for any vinyl or leather. I turned the hamper around so now both cats are using the corner on it. But rather the hamper than a couch. I keep trying with Sweetie and sometimes I think she is scratching the recliner when I'm in it just to get my attention. I would never declaw her. She is the smaller of the two but seems to be the alpha cat. If Juno wants to scratch on the turbo scratcher, Sweetie will try to run her off even though she herself would never use it. Please don't declaw. There are millions of kitties in shelters who need homes. Get one that is declawed, or adopt the little one who has taken her heart and train her.

In regards to Soft Paws...

We just started Bunny with them. She's not been taking to training very well, so we're doing this while we train her. Eventually, we'll hope to have her trained and not have to use them.

The first time we put them on, she did try to remove them. She removed only 2, which I glued back on. Then she removed one. Back on. It's now been a week without any coming off, so I think she's gotten used to it. Really, reapplying them is no problem.

They come off ever few weeks naturally as a cat's claws grow. You just trim the claw and apply a new soft paw cover. Honestly, I wish we had these things 15 years ago. It would have prevented Princess from destroying a Persian Rug and a loveseat.

For the record, my other cat, Puppy, is a declaw (previous owners). He has no litter issues, but he's a biter. We have to warn guests that he may decided to chew on them.

I don't understand why people would prefer furniture over cats either. I mean, my sofa never greets me at the door or cuddles up with me!

We recently brought home a new couch. We got one upholstered in fabric since we thought it wouldn’t be very attractive as a scratching post. Turns out, the blue tweed-like material feels DELICIOUS underneath our kitty’s toes!
So the couch goes back to the store and we’re getting something else instead. Luckily we got a warranty that covers cat scratches When you live with cats, sometimes you just have to think twice about what kind of furniture is going to complement their natures!

Wow, I would never ever declaw a cat! We've used 2 wonderful solutions for years and have never had problems:

1) Bark. You can use chunks of tree trunk for either vertical or horizontal scratchers. I have yet to see a cat that doesn't take to a good chunk of bark. Cheap & easy to do.

2) Wicker hampers. These are great because they can multi-function as storage and a scratcher as well. If you wanted to get extra inventive, you could wrap your hamper in sisal as that stuff is darn near indestructible.