Declawing my cat

I have decided to have my cat declawed in the front. Despite literally trying everything to reduce his behavior to claw at the furniture and walls I have come to the conclusion that this is the only solution. My only experience with declawing cats in the past is doing it when the cat was younger between 6-12 months old and it never seemed to take an emotional toll on the cat. My cat is five years old so I'm concerned about the emotional toll it will have on him because he is older. My question is what can I expect from him after the surgery behavior wise and will there be any health risks I should be aware of? The vet has reassured me that the recovery process is rather quick and he should be back to his old self within a week or two but I thought it would be good to get information from others. Thanks!

Just FYI, this site is very anti-declawing, so you can expect many responses trying to talk you out of declawing. Hopefully, everyone will keep it civil.

Here are some really good articles on declawing written by a vet. There are definitely physical consequences to declawing and potential behavioral issues as well. Have you tried nail caps like Soft Paws/Soft Claws?

http://www.littlebigcat.com/declawing/declawing-a-rational-look/

http://www.littlebigcat.com/declawing/physical-consequences-of-declawing/

http://www.littlebigcat.com/important-information/declawing-alternatives/

Declawing an older cat is VERY VERY hard on them.  The vet I work for tries to avoid it at all costs.  It takes weeks to even months for them to get back to normal, some never completely do.  My dad has a cat that was declawed (he's a vet and after kitty lost his paw his owners didn't want him any more) and had complications, he lost his paw because of it, he can't walk on that foot/leg at all.  A lot of declawed cats can resort to biting after they have been declawed.  Have you tried Soft Paws?  They are little nail caps that you can put on your cats claws to protect your furniture. 

There are very good reasons why declawing is illegal in many countries.  Think of it this way:  you have a child, and despite everything you do, she keeps running into the house with dirty feet, ruining your carpet.  So the only solution is to chop off her feet.

Sounds wildly melodramatic - because it (and declawing) is.  Declawing chops off their toes.  They will never be able to walk or move properly again, which has massive implications for the body.  I'm recovering from an ankle injury at the moment, and walking 'funny' to avoid the pain - so now my back is out!  If I had my toes cut off, I'd have the same issues, cause you can't walk properly with no toes - plus of course I'd have terribly bad emotional/psychological adjustments to the loss of my mobility, and the arrival of a pain-ridden body.

Please reconsider. 

Vets can get a lot of income from advocating declawing.  Some even push it as a 'kitten-care' package.  This is despite the overwhelming scientific evidence of the damage and cruelty of the practice, and why so many countries have outlawed it.  

Many, many vets in America, of course, abhor declawing and wouldn't advocate for it, so please bear in mind these 'interests' in how you receive the advice from your pro-declawing vet.

I'm really glad you are reaching out for information from other sources.  

Since your cat is an adult you can fully expect your cat to display all the negative behaviors that come with declawing.  Sometimes a kitten won't but an adult will will because he is used to having those claws and will feel very insecure and defensive without them.  He will probably become a biter.  Litterbox problems because in the beginning using the litterbox will hurt so he will develop an aversion to the litterbox.  He will probably become either aggressive or continously hide because of his insecurity of being without claws.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/destructive-scratching

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...cat-behavior-problems-scratching-behavior/215

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/health_resources/brochure_destructive.cfm

I know for myself anyway my living room has started to look like a pet store because of all the scratching posts, turbo scratchers and a cat tree.  The above articles have suggestions for curbing the behavior.  If all the training methods truly fail then please consider soft paws as an alternative to declawing.  

http://www.softpaws.com/

I don't have much experience of declawing. It's illegal in all the countries I've ever lived in. However, I once "cat-sat" for a friend of mine who'd brought her cat over from America with her. He was declawed at the front but that didn't stop his attacking the furniture. He'd jump up on to the chair arms and back, sink his teeth in scrabble with his back legs. He actually did a lot more damage than my own cat, who had only left a few little pin pricks in the leather when jumping onto the chairs.

If you only reason for declawing your cat is to protect the furniture there are other options. I have thick pieces of card pinned to the walls in the places my cats regularly scratched, I've covered this card in the same wall paper as the walls are done in so it doesn't look too noticeable. I've also put scratching posts in these places so they have an alternative. A thick blanket over the back of the sofa has protected it really well. They don't even try to scratch there.

I've also heard that Walmart sell something called Scratch Not by Smartycats that works really well. I hope you'll try some of these things before declawing your cat. I've heard it can cause all kinds of health and behaviour problems for them. And you love your cat more than you love your sofa, right?

Please don't declaw the cat. PLEASE!  I am so against it I would go so far as to rehome your cat rather than declaw.

It is better to seclude your cat to a part of the house where it is ok to scratch than to amputate. If you are not open to that there are cat claw covers made of rubber or plastic you can have glued on their claws by the vet in lieu of amputation.
http://www.softpaws.com
Here is the website

Actually you can with a little practice put the softpaws on yourself.  They do have to be replaced because they come off when they shed their claw sheath.  You can get them in colors so you can tell at a glance if he has shed one.

I got great advice from a woman years ago who told me to get a very heavy strong sturdy cat scratching post strong enough that if the cat reaches up to grab at and scratch it, it won't fall over. I got a good heavy one, rubbed it with catnip and that's what my cats have used for years. They never did, never have Clawed my furniture. I know it's easy for someone else to say but please don't declaw your cat. It's like cutting a human finger off and some cats get abnormalities, chronic pain, numbness, don tush the litterbox properly anymore cuz it hurts their paws etc. it's a dreadful in humane thing to do, truly

You've gotten a lot of good information and help from some other members, but I just wanted to remind you of the Forum Rules regarding declawing:

4. This website is anti-declawing. Understand that if you are pro-declaw in your posts, you will encounter opposition. Please learn more about alternatives for declawing here in our forums as well as on our website itself. Declaw - More than Just a Manicure.

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The Paw Project http://www.pawproject.org/ also has good information regarding declawing.

I just want to repeat something someone else said and that might have gotten lost. Soft paws are caps you glue to the nails after trimming and it's done about once a month+/- when they eventually fall off. Your vet can show you how it's done and then you can take over.

It's easy, protects your furniture, and while the caps are on you can reinvest in a serious behavior modification program on using scratching posts etc. Soft paws are much easier for the cat to get used to than amputation. If you're not willing to do this easy step for your cat's benefit then I don't think we can really advise you further.

Www.softpaws.com

After watching my declawed cat (I didn't do it to him, it was done by his previous owners) suffer with re-grown claws and a second surgery to fix it, I would say DON'T DO IT. It's not simple.

Use Soft Paws, or find him a home that doesn't value furniture over cats.

My cats were destroying my furniture and I finally put clear double sided tape where they were clawing, they HATE it and it worked! I also got them those corrugated cardboard scratchers from Walmart and that is ALL they want now. After a while I could even take the tape off my furniture. I, too, detest declawing. You should get a cat that already has that done at the shelter instead of doing that to another.

A tall enough scratching post is very helpful. I also put the double sided tape on the corners of my furniture most likely to get it, it works because the cats never claw the furniture! I just leave it there. Occasionally a cat will stretch out using the hassock and get tempted to use it for a scratch post but I just yell "HEY!" and they snap out of it.

There is also the trusty squirt bottle. It will take a few times for the cat to get it. Now, if I see a cat lurking or getting that look in the eye, I just have to pick up the squirt bottle and they go running!!

To me, the best is the double sided tape, put it everywhere. It works while you aren't at home and the squirt bottle works while you are 

I have a small cat condo type thing about 3 1/2 feet tall and I also have a 3 foot post. I move them around and turn em around,and I lay the plain post down and they play with it like that.  [I've had the posts re-carpeted a couple times]

Having something for cats TO scratch on is essential.

I have a Persian cat who is declawed at the front. No, I didn't do it, never would. Not only was this cat declawed before she was 1 year old but she was abandoned by her original owners (they were NOT cat PARENTS) when they moved back to Japan, they just dumped her outside after closing up their house which was then sold. This is a neighborhood where coyotes roam at night and sometimes even during the day, attacking small dogs, so you can imagine what they do to cats at night. After a neighbor took her in and kept her for 10 years until the new cat mom died, I became her new cat mom. She acts like she has claws and "pats" the furniture. The only time I have any problems with her is when I comb her. If the comb gets stuck in the tangles she bites. Her teeth are like razors and she is fast as lightning. Those tiny scimitars can do a lot of damage  in a very short time, the scars on my hands and wrists can bear witness. So what's worse: clawed furniure or bitten hands? I love my skin and my cats more than my furniture.

Get nail caps, I got those for my one furniture scratcher and also put clear packing tape on the places where she had already done some damage, she hates that slick stuff, and the tape is barely visible and keeps the shredded parts from getting worse. And yes, she also uses the scratching post and the corrugated cardboard, but still tries to scratch the furniture, so the nail caps was the only thing left to do. 

So please don't torture your cat with an amputation.

In my county declawing is still legal and my vet will do it. However, when I asked him how he can do something so cruel he said " I will try to talk them out of it but if I refuse to do it they'll get it done somewhere else, at least I know that it has been done right, I impress on them how important it is to bring the cat for a check-up afterwards and how to care for the paws while they are healing".  

Sidliz31 said:

 
I have decided to have my cat declawed in the front. Despite literally trying everything to reduce his behavior to claw at the furniture and walls I have come to the conclusion that this is the only solution. My only experience with declawing cats in the past is doing it when the cat was younger between 6-12 months old and it never seemed to take an emotional toll on the cat. My cat is five years old so I'm concerned about the emotional toll it will have on him because he is older. My question is what can I expect from him after the surgery behavior wise and will there be any health risks I should be aware of? The vet has reassured me that the recovery process is rather quick and he should be back to his old self within a week or two but I thought it would be good to get information from others. Thanks!

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I would hesitate to do it.   I've found if they have enough cat trees (at least 1 per cat) they tend not to use the furniture once you let them know a few times that you won't allow it.  When I've caught them in the act I say no no pick them up immediately and rub their claw on the carpet of their cat tree.  It only take a few times doing that for me to get them to stop on the furniture they are pretty smart and pick up on it right away. 

I live in the UK and routine declawing is thankfully illegal here.  It involves amputating the end joint of their toes.  It's like cutting off the ends of your fingers between the bottom of the nail and the joint.  I saw it on TV years ago and was horrified - they simply took a bit pair of clippers to a kitten's paws and there were all the ends of it's toes lying on the counter.

I have a huge scratching post - 4' tall and the top is about the size of my hand with fingers outspread.  My cats find it far more attractive than my furniture.  It's tall enough for even my biggest cat to reach up properly to scratch.

Scratching is normal for cats.  They have scent glands in their paws and are marking, and it's essential for stretching their muscles.

OMG shunra, I never wanted to think about how "it" was done.........now I know  how could anyone do that????? Even if I was a vet I wouldn't want to do it....

No one ever declaws a dog, why should it be acceptable for a cat?

JuJubee said:

OMG shunra, I never wanted to think about how "it" was done.........now I know

 how could anyone do that????? Even if I was a vet I wouldn't want to do it....
No one ever declaws a dog, why should it be acceptable for a cat?

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That's right! Dogs chew furniture and can cause so much damage, yet we do not pull out their teeth. We retrain, and work hard at it! I agree with everyone who says that having something to scratch is a must. We live in a tiny 2 bed victorian house without hardly enough room to swing our cat (joke!) and we have one large, ceiling height cat tree, a large post for him to stretch and scratch plus several of those cardboard scratch boxes - he loves those. Our cat did a few times attack the carpet outside the bedroom where he sleeps and I twigged he likes to scratch when he wakes up. I put a cardboard scratch box there and he's not touched the carpet since. I think if there wasn't so many things he'd attack the furniture, but as it is, he much much prefers his toys.