Declawing

Ok, I need honest opinions and expertise about declawing.....don't need preached to.

My family have had 3 cats and all have been declawed. They were fie from it.

My kitten is getting spayed next week and I told the vet I wanted her declawed too. But I'm having second thoughts. I know if I do it I need to do it now while she is young and under once. But a friend of men has begged me not to do it. I'm actually going to her house tomorrow to see how she clips her kitty's nails.

my concern is next year or five years down the road she will start tearing up my house or clawing people and then it is too,late.

She claws some of the furniture and has clung to some drapes but I don't know how to train her to not claw and hang from the drapes. And I had a scratching post but it was like that twine material and she was eating the stuff.

Your best bet would probably be to read the info at this site to learn what is really involved with the declaw procedure: http://www.pawproject.org/faqs/

Just because your family's other 3 cats didn't appear to have a problem doesn't mean that your current kitty won't. There are plenty of other, more humane options to help avoid furniture scratching. If she was eating the sisal rope on your first scratching post, get one with a different material like cardboard, carpet or even wood. Rub catnip on it to entice her to use it, and put double-sided tape on the furniture or drape loose fabric over it until she loses interest. You could also try Soft Paws in the future. 

Good luck! I really hope you take your friend's advice on this. Declawing is banned in dozens of countries for a reason.

What a wonderful friend you have.

Declawing is illegal over here (like much of the world outside the US) and people manage to live just fine with cats and their claws.

You definitely need a scratching pole or two, she needs her own furnature to scratch, stretch and sharpen her claws on.

If you do not declaw her and you don't train her to scratch appropriately, and there are problems down the road, you can always use Soft Paws to prevent damage to your things. There are options now that didn't exist then.

You do understand that having your cat declawed means you're having her toes amputated from the last knuckle?

Discussing the differences between spaying/neutering and declawing highlighted the many reasons not to declaw. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/207638/just-a-question-to-start-a-discussion-if-i-may

This is what a cat's foot looks like:



A cat's claws grow out of the the distal phalanx bone. As you can see, they are attached to it. To remove the claw, the entire toe from the last joint on must be amputated. This is not like having your fingernails removed. Cats walk on their toes. Amputating the entire end of the toe has many potential consequences.

For better understanding and alternatives, these are helpful sites:

http://declawing.com/

http://www.catscratching.com/

Please don't declaw your cat. There are many other options (regular nail trimming, soft paws, appropriate scratching). It's a really inhumane process and will cause your kitty a lot of pain.

I think the one thing someone said to me that really sums up one of the big reasons why declawing is inhumane is this, cats use their claws to be able to stretch properly. To declaw a cat would be like, essentially, leaving a human unable to ever pop their knuckles, or get up from a chair and have a nice stretch. It is banned all over the world, and there is a very real reason why, it is cruel and inhumane. Working at a vet, I saw cats wake up from being spayed and cats wake up from being spayed/declawed...and I can tell you the level of pain difference is drastic. Cats cover up pain well, but when they wake up with their paws taped up and aching you can see how much pain they are in. 

Why risk it causing issues down the line, yes you say you had 3 cats with no problems with it...but what if your cat now does? You love her I am assuming, and imagine her entire personality changed and she started messing all over the house and biting all because you decided to have her declawed. You would have to get rid of her, and she would most likely be euthanized, all for no real reason. Instead, clip her claws like I do for my cats, or get soft paws and let her keep her cute little toes and perfect purrrrsonality. 

A scratching post in the main living areas and sleeping areas is a must.  When your kitty wakes from a nap, this is often when she will want to stretch and scratch.  To train my cats, I've always gone to the scratching post and used my own fingers to make scratching noises/motions on the post.  They have always followed me to the post and scratched.  I have never had a problem with them climbing the drapes or scratching my furniture.

I have a scratching post in each bedroom, the office, living room, dining/kitchen area, and entertainment room in the basement.  Most are inexpensive $20 sisal posts with a weighted carpeted bottom.  I do have one that is nicer and taller, as my one little cat loves to stretch as far as she can to scratch.

Please do not declaw your kitten.  Trimming her nails every couple of weeks is easy once your kitten gets used to the procedure. 

Can you all recommend scratching posts? Money isn't a problem. I want to get what is best for And there are so many online that I get so confused.

Second, nail clippers, I've seen so many.....what is the correct kind to get? Which leads me to this.......how do I clip them? She is 6 months old and will try it but she is a very hands off kitty unless she is in the mood. I don't want to hurt her.

Third, what if I dont clip them? Will it hurt her not having them clipped?

How do I stop her from clawing the few things she does now? We work a lot and aren't home.

I do believe we aren't going to declaw. She has been a good kitten (had her 5 months now) and hasn't done much damage and if she hasn't done much now, I'm sure she will be fine as she gets older. I guess she wouldn't start bad habits later on life--that's my only concern.

Well, you can always get a classic scratching post such as this, or you can splurge and spend a lot of money on cat condos with tons of places to scratch, like this.

I have a classic scratching post for my cats, which they use religiously, and I spent about fifteen dollars on it. Then I have a small sized cat condo that they love to play and scratch on, and I spend about fourty dollars on it. For me, it's a matter of space, as I live in a tiny bungalow with people renting downstairs, otherwise I would have a lot more places for my kitties to scratch.

Whenever your cats scratch inappropriately (on the sofa, curtains, etc) direct them to the scratching post. They will get the idea.

At the Petsmart website they don't seem to sell Soft Paws (usually around twenty dollars), but I found these which seem to be the same thing for less money.

There are many alternatives to declawing. It's good you are doing what is right for your cat and not having her declawed.

Hope all goes well!

Oh I forgot about the nail trimming. Here is a link to the clippers I use: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4030486

Here is a tutorial on nail clipping: http://www.catscratching.com/htmls/article.htm

Good luck!

Provide several different choices. Offer cardboard, sisal and some kind of carpet (berber is preferred usually)

Offer a sturdy upright, a flat, and a slanted type. And curved. All my cats LOVE their curved scratchers. One likes them in a slanted position. They all like the upright. One likes the flat one.

Have at least one cat tree for climbing.

When she scratches on something you don't want her to scratch on, gently pick her up and move her to her own furniture. Scratch on it yourself (cats are the original copy cats) and hold her little paws and do the scratching motions on it. Praise her to the skies when you see her using her own things.

Block off furniture edges with towels over the arms, or double sided sticky tape, until she learns, if necessary. You won't have to keep those areas blocked forever, only until she gets out of the habit of using the furniture.

Use her scratchers during interactive game times, to help her get used to digging her claws in them.

Play with her, a LOT. Play with her before you leave the house in the morning. Play with her when you get home from work, and play with her before you go to bed.

The curtain climbing will stop as she gets bigger because she will be too heavy to be supported by a curtain.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for not mutilating your baby. Declawing subjects a cat to a life time of pain and disability. Your parents' cats may appear "fine" but cats are the masters of hiding pain. They do not show that they are in pain until they are suffering so badly they can no longer hide it. To you they seem "fine", but imagine how much happier they would have been, without that crippling unnecessary surgery.

Declawing is illegal in 26 or more countries around the world. And 8 cities (all in California) in the USA.

http://www.declawing.com/htmls/declawing.htm

I suspect this would be the little kitten you went through heaven and hell with.  Kudos to your vets.

Please please do NOT get her declawed.  Here in the UK it's illegal, and we all manage (most of us) without getting clawed.  I'd also rather get clawed than bitten, which is what declawed cats can end up doing.  When my old cat bit me I ended up on heavy duty antibiotics for a week.

Personally I have a scratching post, and some tatty furniture.  Most of what I have now doesn't invite scratching, the few items that do I keep for sentimental reasons.

I don't clip my cat's claws (I take the tips of the front claws before a show) and I don't usually have scratches.  They never deliberately scratch me though I pick up the odd accidental one.

Clipping doesn't hurt if you do it correctly e.g. don't clip too short and get the quick or near the quick.  It's like us cutting our fingernails.  You do need a decent pair of clippers.

Some cats prefer vertical things to scratch, some like horizontal, some like both.

My cats are not meant to get out of the garden.  However it happened once, when I was getting over major surgery.  Had they been declawed they might not have made it back - who knows?

PS your scratching post needs to be tall enough that she can stretch right up.  Mine is a combination of a scratching post and a cat tree, and mine love sitting on the top platform to watch the birds on the feeders in the garden.  The taller the better, really.  Most cats love high places.

If somebody told me I couldn't have a cat unless it was de-clawed I wouldn't get one. My dad is in this situation with my step mom right now. He loves cats, his last cat Hobie (after the company called hobie cat which makes various kinds of water craft) was an amazing cat. He was all black and between the length of his tail to the shape of his head he looked like a miniature black panther he was one of the coolest cats I've had the pleasure of knowing. My step mom talked my dad into having him de-clawed when he was a kitten about 20 years ago now. I protested but they wouldn't listen. After he was all healed up and walking around they started letting him outside. I didn't think he was going to live very long but He lived 15 years, he still caught birds and rodents and was a very successful hunter. Due to his strength and size (he was a long and lanky 20 lbs.) the neighborhood cats that picked fights with him usually left running, I happened to see one of these fights one day, he was like a prize fighter, he had in about 6 right hooks before the other cat even new what hit him! Anyway Hobie lead a fairly normal life despite his being de-clawed. I just wanted to share one story that was somewhat of a success story. I still don't condone de-clawing and would NEVER subject a cat to this. My dad still hasn't gotten another cat since then because of this. My step mom still insists on it.
 

I just ordered a "perfect post" upright and I got a flat one from Walmart.  Hopefully she will catch on.  She has a curved one but doesn't really use it--she play mostly with it. lol

She really is a GREAT kitty--only scratches on a couple things.....I just need to train her to use these. 

My kitties LOVE the flat cardboard scratchers. Also sisal rope posts--kittens might chew on them a bit but I don't think it's a problem unless you have a very unusual rope-eater!

Since you already made the appointment for a spay/de-claw, make VERY sure the vet knows you no longer want the de-claw. Make them put it in writing. I've heard of too many "accidents" and I'm not so sure all of them were accidental. . .($$$$ if they can guilt into paying for it even if you didn't want it).

I might try the rope posts later--the one had a couple months ago she was eating.  Maybe as she gets older she wont. lol  She is very unusal. lol

YES, I need to cancel that.  I will call today and then remind them again on Monday.  Well, if they do it, I'm not paying for it.  That would be aweful.  They are pretty good vets--we are in the country and a small, small town so hopefully they aren't like that.

mariaanddonnie said:

Can you all recommend scratching posts? Money isn't a problem. I want to get what is best for And there are so many online that I get so confused.
Second, nail clippers, I've seen so many.....what is the correct kind to get? Which leads me to this.......how do I clip them? She is 6 months old and will try it but she is a very hands off kitty unless she is in the mood. I don't want to hurt her.
Third, what if I dont clip them? Will it hurt her not having them clipped?
How do I stop her from clawing the few things she does now? We work a lot and aren't home.
I do believe we aren't going to declaw. She has been a good kitten (had her 5 months now) and hasn't done much damage and if she hasn't done much now, I'm sure she will be fine as she gets older. I guess she wouldn't start bad habits later on life--that's my only concern.

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1. This is my cats' favorite scratching post.  SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post - $50.

I have several others that aren't nearly half as tall.  All of mine are sisal on the post, and carpet on the bottom.  I don't like carpet on the post of scratching posts or cat trees as I don't want my cats to think it is okay to scratch carpet.

2. Small clippers work better.  It is a good idea to have your vet show you how to do this.  This is similar to the ones I use, but have very small finger holes.

These have a guard on them to prevent you from clipping to much, but are too large in my opinion.

Every two weeks I clip just the ends/tips of my cats nails.  Being careful not to cut into the quick of the nail as it will bleed.  Keep some Styptic powder on hand in case this happens, to stop the bleeding. 

3. You cat's nails can become ingrown and get infected if they grow into the pad of their feet.  I know one member had an older cat with an ingrown nail that caused infection in their back foot.  I do not remember her posting handle.

It may have been posted up above, but I clip my cats claws when they are zonked out asleep. They will wake up, but it is super easy to get them used to it if you do a few at a time when they are groggy from snoozing. Soon, they let me do all their claws at once. Just make sure they are used to you holding and playing with their paws.

I have scratching posts and my cats will not use them for anything. They prefer the furniture. So I have to get after them all the time. 

my cat loves that flat cardboard scratchers. i got her 2 double-wide ones from petco. she also has an upright sisal rope scratcher along with a sisal scratch mat and sisal scratch board.