How Can I Save My Cat From Being Declawed?

Hello! I'm new to TheCatSite, but I'm not new to cats! I've been carry for, raising, and loving them for most of my life, including assisting two mothers give birth to litters of kittens. However, I'm in a bit of a stump at the moment, and it's not a particularly tricky stump, but I need advice simply because I'm running short on time.

My dad and I have owned our cat Izzy for a little over a year now. She's three years old, on the small side, incredibly affectionate, and a squeaker! She's a good, loving, short-haired, indoor cat. Absolutely gorgeous too, I'll see if I can post a picture?

Anyway, my dad, his new girlfriend, my sister, and I have moved into a new house. Him and his girlfriend decided to purchase a brand new furniture set worth thousands of dollars, which - much to my dad's girlfriend's dismay - Izzy has fallen in love with and has taken to clawing and scratching on the corners (I don't like the couches, I think they're itchy, but the cat LOVES them!).

Now, we permit Izzy to scratch in other areas of the house - an old floor rug in the dinning room, her cat tree (three tiers with a rope scratch post from Costco), and an old mattress hanging out in a currently empty bedroom (which will be thrown out when the baby is born). We've tried some of the usual tricks to get Izzy to stop scratching on the couches, such as a spray and covering the corners with tin foil, but the spray doesn't seem to affect her and the moment the tin foil is off, she zooms right for the couches!

I've taken to clipping her claws about once a month, and I associate it with fun times - cat treats before, after, and during; grooming with the brush (she loves to be petted and brushed!); and catnip in the cat tree - but it doesn't seem to be a long term solution. I've tried to get her to use her cat tree for scratching purposes, but she's not interested or doesn't like the texture of the rope. I've thought about getting her a cardboard scratching board, but I've had experiences with it before and it makes a HUGE mess (plus she's never shown an interest in boxes except for laying in them).

My dad girlfriend's says either Izzy gets declawed or kicked out of the house. D: I'll be taking Izzy with me when I move out - hopefully by September, October - but obviously the problem is NOW and I'm running short on ideas. I will fight tooth and nail to prevent her from being declawed, because I know it's a painful solution for a cat (I've owned a declawed cat before, he was never a happy kitty, but at least we didn't declaw him), but I'm afraid it's only a matter of time that Dad's girlfriend just schedules the surgery and takes Izzy while I'm at work or school.

I'm just asking for some advice as what I can do to get Izzy interested in scratching elsewhere, and NOT on the couches? She needs somewhere that she can stretch upwards. I've tried catnip to get her more into her cat tree, plus showing her that she can scratch the rope, but she's not interested in it and doesn't find it pleasant.

Try putting her favorite scratching posts beside her new found love (the couch). I would also consider making her a puzzle rug and putting it near the new furniture as well. Ideally this should redirect her interest back to the proper scratching items. 

Do NOT under any circumstance declaw your cat. It is inhumane and illegal in most countries. 
Check out these links to educate yourself and your family on what declawing REALLY is:
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/declawing.html
http://www.declawing.com/
 

Clip her claws twice a week. This will keep them dull enough that she can't do much damage. You can also apply Soft Claws (rubber tips you superglue onto their claws---look them up). Actually, forget about just frequent clipping---I honestly think that Soft Claws will be your best bet, since the pink, blue, etc. Soft Claws are so visible, your dad's girlfriend will be able to see that the cat won't be able to damage anything.

Personally, I find frequent clipping to be just as effective as Soft Claws but I think she'll want more proof.

If you're not confident in your ability to apply the Soft Claws, most vets and groomers will do it. Even better for your dad's girlfriend---a professional did it!

We have placed her cat tree right next to the couches, and she does love to hang out in it (though I wish it was by a window too, so she could look outside), but she hasn't found any love in scratching on it.

Declawing is legal in this state (Arizona), and I've tried to inform my dad's girlfriend about the process of declawing, but she doesn't seem to care simply because she's met a declawed cat before that was, "perfectly happy and content, and I don't want to waste thousands of dollars!"

I haven't heard of a puzzle rug for cats before, but I'll look it up and see if I can make one!

I've heard of Soft Claws, however. Do they work? Are they effective? And will they be safe for Izzy?

Yep, Soft Claws are safe and effective and the colored ones are kind of cute . They do get weird when the claws start to grow out, and sometimes one falls off, so you have to stay on top of things. If she doesn't fight having her claws clipped you shouldn't have much trouble applying them.

There are off-brands that work just as well, too, I'm just using the brand name to refer to any plastic claw caps.

Simply because I love my pets more than my furniture, I would probably tell her to shove it and proceed to ask her how she would feel if you amputated her fingers but that's just me.  

Tell her under no circumstance will you declaw her and that you will do your best to keep her from ruining her new furniture but to have patience. I have however,  heard that putting aluminum foil on the legs of furniture that cats will not scratch it because they don't like the sound it makes. I'm really not all that experienced with this sort of situation since none of my cats have ever scratched furniture. Just giving you information based on what I have read and learned on this forum! 

To Alyssa M: We are putting aluminum/tin foil on the couches at the moment, held there by bright green tape, and it seems to be effective in keeping her away, but we've had it there for two months now, and when the foil comes off, Izzy gets attached. It doesn't seem to be an effective enough deterrent for her. Plus, we've seen her go around the tin foil - she definitely doesn't like the stuff, but she's learning really quick that it's easy to knock off.

To Willowy: I'll look into PetSmart or PetCo to see if they have them! I've never seen them at Wal-Mart or Fry's/Kroger (actually, the Fry's near us doesn't even have Catnip, shame on them!). While Izzy is new to claw trimming, she sits still through a paw at a time. It's the second one where she starts getting antsy, and I've yet to try to get her to sit still through her back ones. It's a work in progress, that's for sure, but if I start trimming her claws once a week, she'll get used to it. I won't be giving her catnip every time, however. Maybe just a brushing and treats.

Do SoftClaws have to be applied to front AND back claws, or would it be safe to just do the front ones? Izzy doesn't really scratch with her back ones, but I'm not sure if this will be uncomfortable for her.

Don't worry guys! I will NOT allow her to be declawed! I refuse to let this happen to a feline under my supervision!

You don't really need to trim her back claws as cats do not use them to scratch on things, only for hunting, defending & play (the kicking motion they do). 

Continue to keep us updated on her progress!

The girlfriend sounds - eurgh. Maybe you can get her to sit through the Netflix documentary on declawing!

I would second the nail clipping. I clip my cats' nails once a week, and even if they tried, I don't think they can break human skin (let alone furniture). (OK, well, they did poke a few holes on leather when they almost fell and gripped, but I think the gripping made it easier for punctures than scratching. And the holes are the size of a needle.) Since it sounds like you've had success in clipping your cat's nails using treats and during grooming sessions, might as well clip them more often! That hopefully will at least decrease damage until you move out. Another option may be limiting the cat/keeping her out of the room with the fancy furniture, unless the fancy furniture is everywhere. If the girlfriend is really insistent, that could be proposed as a compromise solution - cat doesn't go near the furniture/is kept out of that room, cat doesn't get declawed.

i've heard SoftClaws are overall good, but you have to keep an eye to make sure they're popping off appropriately. I've heard a few terror stories where the softclaws didn't pop off, and led to ingrown nails and really bad issues.

But really, maybe get her to watch that documentary. Then maybe she'll learn better than to make one anecdotal example a blanket statement for all cats.  

Maybe you can keep her in your room?

I was able to convince my dad's girlfriend to purchase some Soft Claws! She says she'll go within the week to look at PetSmart or PetCo! Victory! The only thing is, I have to take care of them/put them on her. Thankfully, they trust me to do it since I've been able to clip Izzy's claws all on my own (Dad and her have to teamwork together and hold Izzy down, which I always thought was ridiculous).

I'd love to keep her out of the room with the furniture, but it's in the downstairs living area in a house with open concept, and her litter box is in the utility room with her food in the kitchen. And keeping a cat confined to one room, I think, is a little inhumane. My room is tiny, mostly occupied by a large bed, and while my window would provide a great view of the backyard, it wouldn't feel right to keep her so enclosed.

I'll make sure to keep a close eye on the soft claws! I often groom her, play with her, and pet her (especially before I head to bed), so it won't be easy to forget to look at them! In the meantime, I'll keep trimming her claws once a week.

You should tell her not about the pain or mutilation but of the aggression and bathroom issues that OFTEN arise from declawing. Scratching won't seem a big deal if your cat is peeing or pooing inappropriately

The soft class came in today! My dad's girlfriend helped me put four of these on Izzy, two for each paw, and while she seemed uncomfortable with me handling her so soon and so much, she hasn't been reacting to the soft claws much!

She keeps wanting to lick her paws, but she does this a lot after I handle them usually.

The second picture of her is her right now. She's sulking under the dining room table because I wouldn't let her lick her paws and kept spraying her with water!

I suggest refraining from spraying her with water. This could cause her to associate the soft claws with something that is unpleasant. You don't want this. I would use an interactive toy and play with her instead. Make it fun! =)

She is so precious! Her pale coloring completely contrasts those bright pink caps!

That's a great manicure, the colour goes really well with her fur.

I'm really glad to hear that you've gone to such lengths to protect Izzy from being declawed, you're a great cat mom.

Oh, no, don't spray her for licking her paws! That could really create a bad association with the claw covers. To prevent licking, try distracting her with a toy or something like that. Once the glue is dry licking should be fine.

She looks great in her pink toenail polish!

You can get colorful caps to go over their claws. I know Pet Smart has them I'm not sure how well they work though

Izzy actually doesn't like cat toys. We've given her tons of little mice and those plastic balls, but she just watches them and only plays with them when were not watching (how else would they move around the house?).

I'll keep in mind to try and not spray her however! She seems to have received the idea not to chew on them anymore. She ripped one off that I knew I mightn't have put on correctly (she got spooked by my younger sister and squirmed right when I was putting it on), but she's completely fine with the other three.

I associate clipping her claws with treats and brushing - her two favorite things. So I associated putting the soft claws on with the same thing.

We'll put on the next three later tonight (one of her claws seems to have split sideways to the quick, so I'm nervous about putting a soft claw on something so exposed!). I'll give her some cat nip afterwards C:

In other news, she's adjusting. She sulked and crawled over to her water dish and drank while lying down - something I've never seen her do before, ahaha. I'm sure she was just mad that she couldn't walk normally.

Some other things to help on the couch scratching front:

1.  Try to find out what it is that she likes about the couch.  Is it the angle of scratching? Is it the material?  Now provide that for her in a thing that is all hers to scratch - you may need to go to a fabric shop and make soemthing up yourself.  It's all about giving 'suitable' replacements...they gotta have the thing that is so needed in the first place. (Also, I have a cardboard scratcher on a 45 degree incline - it doesn't make that much mess!)

2.  It could be the thing she loves is the smell of the couch, or her people sitting on the couch.  So put her  excellent new alternative scratcher next to the couch.  Redirect her each time she goes to scratch the couch.  And yes, even though she has soft claws, this is still important training.  Soft claws prevent damage to furniture from scratching, but cats still scratch (as they should!), so we are ultimately looking at changing where she wants to scratch.

3.  Praise and treats, every time you see her scratch on a 'good' thing.

4.  A firm but very very gentle voice to go with your redirection when she scratches on a 'bad' thing.  I say 'uh-uh', which makes my cat pause and look at me, and allows me the time to get over to him to gently reposition either him or the scratcher we put on top of our couch (it was a horizontal position thing on a couch arm that felt like hugging a 'branch', so we just lay a scratch mat there - but havent firmly attached it so sometimes is falls off.  Works for us).  If you are repositioning your cat to the 'good' scratcher, gently and happily take them to it, and 'scratch' it with your nails making happy noises.

5. Deterrents.  I have heard that double sided sticky tape works well - you could try that on your couch instead of the foil.  Also, if she is scratching the couch to mark it as 'hers', you could also try spraying the couch (you have to do this fairly often to keep the scent fresh) with spray feliway.  There is a spray, and a diffuser - for territory marking (usually peeing, but hey, scratching is also a way of marking territory, so why not try it?) they say you can spray the spot with feliway and this tells the cat that it is 'theirs' and thus takes away their need to mark it  themselves.

I think you will need the whole arsenal of ideas - think of it as a 'recipe' not just a one thing that will 'cure' her.  Good luck!