to declaw or not to declaw?

I'm not too sure where I stand on the topic of declawing, although I personally wouldn't want to have my fingers cut off at the joint. However, we do have some fairly expensive furniture.. or at least will once my boyfriend and I finally get into our new apartment, and we'll (of course) be bringing our 3 cats with us.. I don't want to get them declawed.. so are there any other ways to deter them from scratching the heck out of my new $500 couch? suggestions please!

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...&threadid=8450

There are a lot of threads about declawing on here. We are a very anti-declaw site.

There are so many other options other than mutilating an animal!

Remember, cats come with claws, they don't come with leather couches! (I don't know who said that, but I like the expression and the sentiment!)

i didn't want to do that to my babies, and i appreciate all the suggestions on this site.

I'm so glad to hear that!

Four of my cats are declaws, I adopted them that way. My new Abyssinian is a 4 paw declaw. That's beyond cruel.

i have 4 babies, Felicity (2), Peanut (10 months), and Easter and Emo (10 weeks), none of them are declawed, but the 2 older ones are fixed, and I'm not even sure how I feel about that. Peanut was fixed when we got her, but we got Felicity fixed shortly after at the Pet Smart lady's recommendation, so that they would get along better. I feel horrible about doing that to my little Felicity, and am wondering about whether I should to my 2 kittens when they're old enough, any suggestions or feelings? I don't want to be cruel to them, but I don't want them to have to go through the discomfort of being in heat! is that a painful thing for cats, or not?

I would recomend getting your kitties fixed. When in heat the desire to mate is very strong and can cause you little ones to run out the door before you could stop them. They could pick up all sorts of illnesses as well as become injured while out and about. Kitties are not bred by only one male while out, she is mated again and again by as many males as can catch her.

thank you very much for your help! I certainly don't want my little ones running away!

Originally posted by Mom of 10 Cats
My new Abyssinian is a 4 paw declaw. That's beyond cruel.

Click to expand...

omg!!!


btw please please get your cats fixed! And DONT declaw.. its such an awful thing to do to your cat. You can try soft paws, keeping their nails trimmed short and training them to use scratching posts.

I think they have something called Soft paws that cover the claws.

or..very simply ask you vet to show you how to trim their claws. when they are young it's esay to get them into a routine. Also train them to use scratching posts.

Spay and neuter your babies! In addition to saving lives, spaying and neutering can also drastically improve your cat's health and life expectancy. Spaying a female eliminates the possibility of uterine and ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the risk of breast cancer. Neutering a male reduces the risk of both prostate enlargement and prostate cancer. Neutering also will make your pet more affectionate and less likely to roam, get in fights, or become lost.

Definitely spay your two kittens. Go http://www.savesamoa.org/html/spay_neuter.html there and scroll down the page to the Why Spay & Neuter? When? Health Benefits of Spay/Neuter and Other Information for many links on the benefits of spaying and neutering. Heck, if I could get myself spayed I would.


As for scratching the furniture, as long as they have proper outlets for scratching - posts, pads, play things - you shouldn't have any problems. We've never had any problems with Ophelia. Told her No once or twice with the couch, showed her the scratching pads, and she went to town on those.

Click here for a thread written by Hissy about how to keep cats from scratching the furniture.

I agree with the neutering. Getting a female spayed can greatly increase her life span by eliminating potential female reproductive disorders such as uterine tumors and cancer. Plus, it will make your life so much easier! Females in heat are not a joy to be near! Not to mention the toms that will come-a-calling! Yeesh, what a racket they make!

I have recently re-evaluated my opinion about declawing. When I was a kid, I had a tendency to adopt every stray cat that came along. The only way I was allowed to keep them was to have them declawed. I had one cat that my mother insisted have all 4 declawed. The cat did fine, until she was attacked and killed by a dog. The poor baby didn't have a chance against that dog -- nothing with which to defend herself. If you've ever watched a cat defend herself against a bigger, relentlessly aggressive animal, you'll notice that she lays on her back to fight. The reason for this is so she can deploy her claws on the attacking animal's tender underside, thus giving her (hopefully) enough equality to hurt her attacker so she can make a run for it!

Please consider this observation when contemplating declawing. If you really, must, must, must, absolutely no question about it, must, must, must declaw, at least leave her the back ones so she stands a fighting chance if attacked!

declawing is unneeded and cruel, "fixing" on the other had is not cruel at all and NEEDED, My outside feral kitties are actually much much friendlier and happy since they were fixed.

If none of the suggestions mentioned previously work, maybe you could consider finding them new homes.
Even if it would break YOUR heart, it may be better for your babies, if declawing is the only other option.

Please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that finding new homes is what you *should* do.
Just that is is something to at least consider, before harming them beyond repair, which I believe declawing does to cats.

thank you for all your suggestions, i'm sure they will be a great help to me and my babies. I've done more research on declawing and agree that it is unexplicably cruel, and would never want to do that to my little furry friends, and if they scratch the couch.. oh well it's just a couch, and can be replaced, but the friendship that I have with my kitties is one of a kind.

Soft paws.... are great..... declawing can be horrible...... I work for a vet and declawing almost always changes the cats behavior for the bad.... the feel frightened and scared which can make them hide or become agressive twards everything including you.....