soft paws Verses Declawing

naturesgift

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What are the pros and cons of either of these options? Thanks in advance

Mandie
 

white cat lover

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Declawing is an inhumane procedure in which they remove the first joint (picture your hands without the tips of your fingers). Declawed cats are often prone to arthritis, litterbox issues, biting, aggression, and knuckling of the paws.

Soft Paws are non-permanent, not mutilating, and IMO awesome.
 
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naturesgift

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See the issue is my friends cat is hurting other pets in her family, And she was given two options rehome the kitty or declaw. But this gives another option.

Would this help with:

they have other smaller animal like birds, rodents and Dwarf bunnies. and even though they try to keep her kitty out of the rooms that have the other critters he manages to sneak in and he reaches through the bars and has caused several vet bills. But if he has soft paws he shouldnt be able to rip into them if he does get into the rooms right?



 

ut0pia

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No you need to keep the cat away from those animals. Even without any claws the cat can still reach them and damage or eat them with teeth.
 
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naturesgift

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yeah they breed birds so this is why its become a major issue.

But he has never done more than to scratch them open. (this is what i have been told)

So maybe rehoming is the best option?
 

ebrillblaiddes

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

Declawing is an inhumane procedure in which they remove the first joint (picture your hands without the tips of your fingers). Declawed cats are often prone to arthritis, litterbox issues, biting, aggression, and knuckling of the paws.

Soft Paws are non-permanent, not mutilating, and IMO awesome.


Soft Paws are like fake fingernails but cuddly. Declawing is like pulling the critter's toes off.

Cats will, however, still try to eat smaller animals that are made out of meat. This is because they're cats.
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by naturesgift

and even though they try to keep her kitty out of the rooms that have the other critters he manages to sneak in



Then they need to try harder, and keep him out of the room.

Declawing is illegal in most countries outside North America because it's cruel.
 

ut0pia

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Originally Posted by naturesgift

yeah they breed birds so this is why its become a major issue.

But he has never done more than to scratch them open. (this is what i have been told)

So maybe rehoming is the best option?
Are they in cages? they should be safe if they are in cages unless the critters manage to sneak out. I mean even if the cat doesn't kill them and has soft paws, the cat will play with them causing these animals huge stress and possibly death by heart attack. You wouldn't want something like this happening. I think just keeping them in their cages should solve the problem...
 
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naturesgift

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missymotus that is my thoughts but they have small kids which is when the "accidents" happen.

ut0pia I asked them and yes they are in cages. The kitty is sticking his paws through the bars and swiping them. (this is what happened with their Rabbit and birds. )
 

Asteria

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I know it sounds severe, but they really need to keep the cats away from those animals, meaning they need to try harder, ie keeping the room off limits to the kids so there are no accidents like that, or locking that door! Plus, if the cats really got the birds with more mistakes (like open door and unlocked cage), they could be eaten in a second without the use of claws.

Declawing is incredibly inhumane; the equivalent to having part of our fingers cut off starting with the first top joint below the nail.
Soft claws are a simple solution that cause no harm to the cat.

Nat said it better than I could; also really think about the other issues it causes, also well listed by Nat.
 

goldenkitty45

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IMO with declawing there are no pros - only cons. Read this about the truth of declawing.

http://maxshouse.com/Truth About Declawing.htm

With SoftPaws (nail caps) the only cons are a little difficulty in first putting them on and some cats chew them off, so you have to work a little extra using them. I don't use them as I show cats and you can't have them on in the show ring.

I've just trimmed nails for so long, that I have no problems in continuing to do so. I may give the SoftPaws a try when the cats are retired from the show ring as a way to prevent them from scratching the furniture more often then I like
 

addiebee

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You can try Soft Paws... but the problem sounds like it is not solvable and eventually the "perfect storm" of situations will occur and the cat may inadvertently kill one of those other animals .. probably as someone else said - by playing them to death.

If at all possible ... and I know this is not going to be a popular answer - I would try to rehome the cat where the temptations and opportunities are not so enormous.
 

ebrillblaiddes

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Originally Posted by Mollysmom

Declawing is incredibly inhumane; the equivalent to having part of our fingers cut off starting with the first top joint below the nail.
I would compare it to toes, not fingers, since the cat has to walk on them while they heal.

I can see a very limited case for declawing for medical reasons--like if a human is diabetic and a scratch could mean losing a leg, but wants to adopt a cat. Soft Paws come off so they wouldn't necessarily be able to prevent a single scratch; I could see that being just too much to risk. For most shelter cats, the options would then be either adoption and declawing or staying in the shelter and probably being euthanized. I would rather have my toes pulled off than get killed, so I can see that being a reasonable choice to make for a cat.

My rules for what can be an ethical declawing are:
A severe issue threatening to cause more damage than the declawing itself makes it necessary
Other alternatives have been tried or are not practical for a logical reason
The procedure will be to the ultimate benefit of the cat (or other animal), considering the pain and other side effects it may experience
The cat (or other animal) will be 100% indoor after the declawing procedure for its own safety

Under those rules, there'd be pretty much no declawing because most declawing is done for convenience or because people think it's routine. Even then, when it does happen, I would prefer that it be done one paw at a time so that the critter can tripod around on the other three feet and not have to walk on it while it heals, but I've never heard of it being done that way because people who care about animals and animal ethics already pretty much just don't declaw in the first place.
 

littleraven7726

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As others have said, declawing is all cons. We just had my 12 yr old cat in for a toe amputation. He had been declawed by his previous owner. The lab results came back that it was regrowth of nail tissue and a bone chip. He also has very advanced arthritis for his age.

We used Soft Paws to train Lola and they worked very well. Now she doesn't scratch anything she isn't supposed to, so we don't use them anymore. We just clip her claws when they get long.
 
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naturesgift

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They are trying the soft paws. And if that doesnt help (even though it most likely wont) If anything else happens Kitty is coming here untill I can find him a more cat friendly house. ty for your replies!

Mandie
 

catmom2wires

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You're a good friend for trying to help. I hope the issue can be resolved.

Cally
 

thrasymachus

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Originally Posted by naturesgift

See the issue is my friends cat is hurting other pets in her family, And she was given two options rehome the kitty or declaw. But this gives another option.
Keep the animals seperated then. I have recently visited alot of animal shelters and the cats there have come to accept that they do not have free reign and that they are consigned to a certain area. Those animals did not even try to get out when you open a door.
 

yosemite

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I really think they need to rehome this kitty. It's the only fair solution to all the animals. The cat is going on instinct and it's not right to fault them for that. I hope you do take the cat and find it a wonderful new home.
 
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