Declawing Advice (not for me)

My cousin just called me asking my advice. I am 100 percent AGAINST declawing. I would never do it and never recommend it. My cousin said her cats are destroying her house, clothing, floors. They are less than a year old. She said she had tried sprays, the little nail covers, scratch posts and nothing is helping. She said she doesn't know what else to do. I couldn't help either because although my cat is very badly behaved around people, she has never ruined anything in our house. Do any of you have recommendations? She said the doctor told her about a laser declawing that is relatively painless but I find that to be BS. I can't imagine anything ripping my nail out of the bed would be painless. I really don't want them to do this to their babies. Please help

I'm glad you're concerned and you didn't declaw your own cat.

You are right to find laser declawing labeled as "painless" as BS.

I would direct your cousin to the following articles http://www.thecatsite.com/a/why-cats-should-not-be-declawed

and http://www.thecatsite.com/a/declawing-and-alternatives

And perhaps your cousin could post herself; we won't bite, we promise.

Has your cousin tried PLAYING with her cats, who at this age are really kittens and full of energy. Which is why they might be 'playing' with the sofa.

Declawed cats can be destructive as well: biting, urinating, defecating...etc. I'm not being snide, just wanting to point out that unless the issue is something medical with the claws, then declawing won't help with a behavior problem. Maybe Feliway diffusers or something?

I don't see how laser would be less painful either.

I hope a good solution is found.

kittykat718 said:

My cousin just called me asking my advice. I am 100 percent AGAINST declawing. I would never do it and never recommend it. My cousin said her cats are destroying her house, clothing, floors. They are less than a year old. She said she had tried sprays, the little nail covers, scratch posts and nothing is helping. She said she doesn't know what else to do. I couldn't help either because although my cat is very badly behaved around people, she has never ruined anything in our house. Do any of you have recommendations? She said the doctor told her about a laser declawing that is relatively painless but I find that to be BS. I can't imagine anything ripping my nail out of the bed would be painless. I really don't want them to do this to their babies. Please help

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psst laser is as bad as the other i'm against it too if she has a spare room make it a cat room with nothing but cat stuff in it so if they tare up the items it wont be bad because its made for CATS lol sounds like there bored also tell her to play with them with DaBird toy intell the get tired out twice aday see how that goes

For sure pass along the articles/links that Ritz posted above. Additionally, I would mention that the cats could develop serious behavioral problems from a declaw. Since they are older, almost a year, it would be even more mentally shocking triggering all sorts of unwanted behavior. The pain that they would endure would be unbearable. There are many other options. I am also going to suggest that she play with her cats a couple of times a day even for ten minutes each. Interactive play sessions with special wand toys (don't leave the toys out though - put them securely away in a cabinet when done) is a great way to burn off some energy and spark their natural hunting ability. It is excellent mental and physical stimulation. Also, have her get some of those treat balls and fill them with special treats or a few kibbles. Just another way for the cats to expend some energy. Scratching posts MUST be tall and very, very sturdy or they are useless. Catnip rubbed into the posts will help get them started. I hope your cousin is open to trying these other more humane options and reads those articles. :cross:

Thank you I will pass this along to her. She isn't on the Internet much so I doubt she would post. She is young and her boyfriend told her that all of his cats growing up have been declawed and its "not bad". (This annoyed me) she doesn't want to do it but she found out he made an appointment for March 11. That gives me 2 weeks to get her to stop him. I will pass all of this along to her and hope she can make him change his mind.

She said most of the damage is done while they are at work too. So maybe designating a room would help but who knows if they will go through with doing that. Most people don't want to put the work in. They would rather the easy way out for them and the hard way out for the cat. So sad

HE made the appointment for HER cats!?  This sends up a red flag, perhaps more appropriate in a Dear Ann Landers forum/column.

They need to designate a room to keep the cats in when they are not at home. If they can't deal with it to help train the cats, maybe they need to find a home for them with someone who is willing to try.

My cats left the couches alone when we started putting those corrugated scratch pads around the house, they are 9.00 at Walmart. Also, they HATE double sided tape, get this in clear and put right on the places they are scratching until they get used to not scratching there, it has worked for me! 

Do they have any appropriate places to scratch right now? Even a firewood log would be a start.

I will go ahead and answer the original question.  I'm giving the cat owner the benefit of a doubt that they have tried all other solutions.  

If someone is dead set on declawing and it is the only way for a cat to have a home, then yes, laser is the way to go, only front claws, and the kitties need to be young. And they can never be left alone outside.  Furthermore, you have to be aware that, should they encounter any other animals indoors that they do not have defenses in the front paws. 

Laser is better.  My family once had a cat that was declawed in the front via laser (but she was YOUNG and that is a big part of it) and she did not seem to notice.  No, seriously, she continued to claw at things as though she had claws, and really did not seem to notice (she was spayed at the same time, and that was more shocking to her system).  Please do not judge your cousin as a bad cat owner because she is considering declawing.  That is short sighted and ultimately will not help the cats and then your cousin will probably not ask you anymore questions.  

belle8bete said:

I will go ahead and answer the original question.  I'm giving the cat owner the benefit of a doubt that they have tried all other solutions.  

If someone is dead set on declawing and it is the only way for a cat to have a home, then yes, laser is the way to go, only front claws, and the kitties need to be young. And they can never be left alone outside.  Furthermore, you have to be aware that, should they encounter any other animals indoors that they do not have defenses in the front paws. 

Laser is better.  My family once had a cat that was declawed in the front via laser (but she was YOUNG and that is a big part of it) and she did not seem to notice.  No, seriously, she continued to claw at things as though she had claws, and really did not seem to notice (she was spayed at the same time, and that was more shocking to her system).  Please do not judge your cousin as a bad cat owner because she is considering declawing.  That is short sighted and ultimately will not help the cats and then your cousin will probably not ask you anymore questions.  

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The problem is even with laser they are still amputating the cats fingers and yes it is still very painful. Cats are great at hiding pain but even with laser cats often still have lots of problems. We just recently had a thread on here where the op declawed her cat with laser surgery and the cat stopped using the litter box. This is why so many declawed cats are in shelters after declawing no matter what method many cats experience pain from litter on their feet and stop using it.

What has disturbed me the most about declawing is how is affects the cats whole body. As you probably noticed cats stretch by putting out their claws and once declawed they can never stretch fully. Medical testing shows that declawed cats have underdeveloped back muscles which will cause constant back pain. There is a reason declawing is banned in so many countries it has only negative health consequences for cats.

There are now so many alternatives to declawing including soft paws. We have had many posters on here who wanted to declaw but were convicted to try soft paws after poster outlined how terrible declawing is and now both the cat and human are very happy.

I agree there is no need to be aggressive but people in north America are woefully uninformed on what declawing is and all of the negative consequences that occur for many cats. Many people do not even know that it amputates the cats entire finger nor just the claw. This information needs to get out there and this is why posters on here want to give the OP all of the information so her cousin is aware that there may be a lot of negative side effects like litter box problems, pain and aggression. Again all of these things contribute to the large declawed cat population in north American shelters.

Address the source of the behavior, not the symptom.

They are kittens, and they need to play!  play, play, play! 

Kittens play behavior includes scratching and biting and jumping and running wild.  This is natural behavior.

Set up a room for the kittens where they can romp, scratch, bite, climb to their hearts content.  Be sure to keep a good scratching post in there.  When they are let out of the room, under supervision, pull out the scratching post.  That way, when they start in on the furniture or drapes, they can be redirected to something familiar. 

Again, don't give the kittens the run of the house when nobody is home. Think about it, you wouldn't let a couple of 3 year olds run loose around the house... same thing. Training does not just magically happen, it requires supervision and positive intervention.  When nobody is home to supervise, the kittens should be confined to their "romper room". 

It is true that back when we had Posey declawed we hadn't heard of softpaws.  This was about 15 years ago.  

She was checked regularly and the only problem she had was one she had always: IBS. I have seen other cats who are declawed and they were leading happy lives.  Neither of my cats are declawed, by the way.  

Here is a really interesting article on the physiological consequences of declawing surgery written by a vet (http://www.littlebigcat.com.php5-16.dfw1-1.websitetestlink.com/?p=200). It is interesting to note that she posits that all declawed cats will have pain in at least one of the amputation spots. Also, before reading this article I had no idea that declawing completely changes how cats walk. I think most people have no idea all the changes that occur from what is often sold as a simply removing the nails by a lot of vets. I really do not blame or judge most people for declawing because a lot of people are completely unaware of what the surgery is- this is why I want people to have all the information before making the decision. I think most rational people would not declaw if the knew of all the physical and psychological consequences it has on a cat. 

Is it just me or was anyone willing to sacrifice a couch to the claw gods?
My four are not declawed and we switched to leather couches - problem solved.
We also found that the cats liked to scratch in different ways so we have 6 scratchers around the house to match their temperaments.
And yes - they destroyed one couch. But I figure it was worth it over harming the cats.
My parents declawed our cat and he was vicious when he got angry. I will never declaw a care in my care and will tty to dissuade anyone who suggests it for their cats.

"The claw gods" is a pretty good description.  And sometimes there are ways to appease the claw gods that don't involve the couch at all.  It just takes some problem solving.