If the apartment complex I'm thinking about moving to requires you get your cat declawed. She's a real good cat right now. I heard that having a cat declawed should be done when their a kitten. She's 4 years old. They got this new type called laser removal what do you think? Is it possible for me? Or should I not move.
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Declawing your cat
- Thread starter princess nikita
- Start Date
No apartment is worth declawing your cat, regardless of the means of removing them. It can cause all sorts of problems for the cat as it involves removing the first bone in the digit. Find some other place to live that will welcome your cat.
Please find another apartment. If you declaw, believe me, you will regret it until the day you leave this earth. I did it once, when I was naive. Never again
Please read up on the procedure. Perhaps give a copy of the main article to this landlord.
Please read up on the procedure. Perhaps give a copy of the main article to this landlord.
I would not even consider looking at a place that requires a cat to be declawed
Please read these for what exactly declawing and the painful effect it will have on a cat:
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/why-cats-should-not-be-declawed
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/declawing-more-than-just-a-manicure
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/declawing-and-alternatives
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/declawing-post-surgery-care-and-complications
Do you know why the apartment requires declawing? You can ask the management office. If destroying walls and carpet is a concern, there are many ways to prevent this: soft claw caps, scratching posts, keeping claws trimmed, etc. Do you even need to show proof (letter from vet maybe) that the cat was declawed? If management won't budge on their policy, find an apartment elsewhere that is pet friendly and doesn't require declawing.
Please read these for what exactly declawing and the painful effect it will have on a cat:
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/why-cats-should-not-be-declawed
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/declawing-more-than-just-a-manicure
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/declawing-and-alternatives
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/declawing-post-surgery-care-and-complications
Do you know why the apartment requires declawing? You can ask the management office. If destroying walls and carpet is a concern, there are many ways to prevent this: soft claw caps, scratching posts, keeping claws trimmed, etc. Do you even need to show proof (letter from vet maybe) that the cat was declawed? If management won't budge on their policy, find an apartment elsewhere that is pet friendly and doesn't require declawing.
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TCS is anti-declaw; I don't think you will find a person here who will say to go declaw your cat. No apartment is worth that. Declawing is actually illegal in many countries and a growing number of places in the US.
Any apartment complex that requires you to mutilate your cat needs a beat down on social media.
Owners of rentals have the right to forbid pets, ask for a pet deposit or a more significant damage deposit before moving in and have the right to take neglectful pet owners to court to make them pay for damages that are not covered by the deposits. They don't have the right to make you mutilate you pet. It would be the same as demanding that dog owners have their dogs de-barked before renting to them.
By simply clipping their claws every 1-2 weeks they are still able to use their claws and play but reduce damage done to what is usually the pet owners furniture anyway.
Owners of rentals have the right to forbid pets, ask for a pet deposit or a more significant damage deposit before moving in and have the right to take neglectful pet owners to court to make them pay for damages that are not covered by the deposits. They don't have the right to make you mutilate you pet. It would be the same as demanding that dog owners have their dogs de-barked before renting to them.
By simply clipping their claws every 1-2 weeks they are still able to use their claws and play but reduce damage done to what is usually the pet owners furniture anyway.
Echoing the rest, definitely don't declaw.
If the complex is the sort of place where you can talk to the person in charge directly, it might be worth talking to them and educating them on declawing -- not only on how it harms the cat, but how it could be hurting their business; you might be able to convince them to make an exception or even change their policy. Around where I live, many landlords are anti-cat (will even allow dogs in some cases, but no cats), because they view cats as destructive. Having had relatives with rental properties, I can understand why -- they have had tenants that have unfixed cats that spray or pee everywhere, scratch all the furniture, etc. But even my relatives didn't understand the real issue. The problem wasn't the claws, it was that the cats weren't fixed, so the cats were spraying and scratching to assert their territory, and also that the owners weren't properly training their cats to scratch in appropriate places. Just as you have to housetrain a puppy to teach it to not chew up the house, you have to train a cat to not scratch everywhere (and that is much easier than training a puppy!).
So anyway, one of the places I ended up renting from had a declaw policy for cats. I explained all of the above to him, and I also let him know that requiring cats to be declawed could actually cause more destructive behavior; a cat that has been declawed can start associating the pain in their paws with their litterbox, stop using the litterbox, and the rest is cat pee everywhere. Enforcing a policy that could cause a perfectly well-behaved cat to become destructive was not beneficial for them at all.
End result -- at the very least, they waived the declaw policy for me. Whether they actually changed the policy for everyone, I don't know, but I think that even if they didn't take my advice into account for their future tenants, they at least were comfortable with the idea that my cats weren't going to be problem cats since I was willing to take the time to argue on their behalf.
If the complex is the sort of place where you can talk to the person in charge directly, it might be worth talking to them and educating them on declawing -- not only on how it harms the cat, but how it could be hurting their business; you might be able to convince them to make an exception or even change their policy. Around where I live, many landlords are anti-cat (will even allow dogs in some cases, but no cats), because they view cats as destructive. Having had relatives with rental properties, I can understand why -- they have had tenants that have unfixed cats that spray or pee everywhere, scratch all the furniture, etc. But even my relatives didn't understand the real issue. The problem wasn't the claws, it was that the cats weren't fixed, so the cats were spraying and scratching to assert their territory, and also that the owners weren't properly training their cats to scratch in appropriate places. Just as you have to housetrain a puppy to teach it to not chew up the house, you have to train a cat to not scratch everywhere (and that is much easier than training a puppy!).
So anyway, one of the places I ended up renting from had a declaw policy for cats. I explained all of the above to him, and I also let him know that requiring cats to be declawed could actually cause more destructive behavior; a cat that has been declawed can start associating the pain in their paws with their litterbox, stop using the litterbox, and the rest is cat pee everywhere. Enforcing a policy that could cause a perfectly well-behaved cat to become destructive was not beneficial for them at all.
End result -- at the very least, they waived the declaw policy for me. Whether they actually changed the policy for everyone, I don't know, but I think that even if they didn't take my advice into account for their future tenants, they at least were comfortable with the idea that my cats weren't going to be problem cats since I was willing to take the time to argue on their behalf.
- Cataria It would seem that requiring all pets to be neutered might be the better policy.
Just echoing the rest. The one time I declawed, way back before any of us knew what declawing actually was, I ended up with more problems than were solved. My cat did not develop litterbox issues, but she did become very antisocial, and had arthritis before she was seven. When she was eight it was so severe that we had to have her put to sleep. I will never get over knowing that I changed a sweet, friendly, happy cat into a pain-wracked, ill-tempered, morose one. And shortened her life by a good 8 years.
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IMO: Your cat is too old to be declawed without lasting adverse effects. There are two sides to this subject, both have merit, but....in your case, there shouldn't be a decision due to the age of your cat. (IE: Don't declaw her, end of story).
NOW, solutions.
Can you find a different apt?
Yes....problem solved.
No, or it's already too late.....
1) Lie, keep cat hidden, and make SURE she doesn't claw anything that belongs to the apt. (If she does, you'll have to replace it). If you not going to be able to replace such things that aren't yours? Thus the reason for the policy. (however, Lying about it, will solve, or prolong your apt problem). What they don't know, won't hurt em'.
2) Find your cat a new home. Even temporary. Until you find another place, or are able to move again.
If you can find another place to live, and are passing on this particular apt. I would then go to them and explain to them that, While you understand they are trying to accommodate, they would be better off just flat out saying "NO PETS" at all. For their own good.
If you need this apt, and have no other options. Do not go to them and try to reason.
NOW, solutions.
Can you find a different apt?
Yes....problem solved.
No, or it's already too late.....
1) Lie, keep cat hidden, and make SURE she doesn't claw anything that belongs to the apt. (If she does, you'll have to replace it). If you not going to be able to replace such things that aren't yours? Thus the reason for the policy. (however, Lying about it, will solve, or prolong your apt problem). What they don't know, won't hurt em'.
2) Find your cat a new home. Even temporary. Until you find another place, or are able to move again.
If you can find another place to live, and are passing on this particular apt. I would then go to them and explain to them that, While you understand they are trying to accommodate, they would be better off just flat out saying "NO PETS" at all. For their own good.
If you need this apt, and have no other options. Do not go to them and try to reason.
Lying on a lease or even a month to month rental can have you getting a notice to comply or vacate. Even worse it could end up reflecting on your credit which will make it even harder to find another place to rent.
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That is correct.
I doubt the apt folks are demanding that people mutilate their cats. I guess they might, but, common sense says otherwise.
We require cats to be declawed is not saying to go do that to your cat. Just like a no pets allowed policy doesn't mean go get rid of your pets.
I'd think it best to find another apt. But, we don't know "that" situation. (I sure wouldn't declaw a 4 year old cat though unless it was a life or death decision). And hopefully, this isn't.
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Please don't hate me, I had a 3 of my cats declawed and I never had a problem. I had to use special litter for a couple of weeks called yesterday news. Yes they are in pain for a few days and then they were fine. I know now a lot of people are against it. I had them declawed when they were 6 month old and neutered to. But it up to the owner. I gave my cats a wonderful home. They were very loving also.
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I believe that you got lucky. There are many, many more cases of cats having lasting behavioral or medical issues.
Though I’m just repeating the vast majority, I nevertheless hope my post is not redundant, as it adds one more voice against cruelty to cats.
Declawing is not only unnecessary, as cats can be trained to sharpen their claws on special posts etc, but it creates phantom pain, like that felt by people who lost a limb. And this quite apart from the psychological suffering of the cat. I would never consider subjecting my loved companion to such mutilation and torture.
Declawing is not only unnecessary, as cats can be trained to sharpen their claws on special posts etc, but it creates phantom pain, like that felt by people who lost a limb. And this quite apart from the psychological suffering of the cat. I would never consider subjecting my loved companion to such mutilation and torture.
No one will hate you. Until this past year, every cat we had was declawed since the mid-80s. That's a lot of cats I'm talking about. Of course the vast majority of the ones that we had declawed were pre-internet. The others (which was only a couple) were post-internet, but there wasn't nearly as much out there as there is now. It was all about chat-rooms back then more than using the web as a research tool.
We never had a single cat that had issues due to being declawed either, which is amazing considering how many we've had. We had to use shredded newspaper as well. Of course, "Yesterday's News" didn't exist back then, we had to shred newspaper ourselves (back when people had newspaper subscriptions still). But other than that, had perfectly normal cats. Sara's the only one that I think may have had a bad experience, but she was declawed on all four paws (we never did the back ones) and that was done before I got her. Could be wrong though.
Anyway, we broke the tradition of declawing after we got our kittens last July. I won't say it's been easy having a combination of clawed/declawed cats. Especially with Sara, who somehow always backs herself into a corner with kittens that just want to play (and don't understand that she doesn't). So, we now have three clawed cats (the kittens and Penelopy) and two declawed (Sara and Maple). There's only a few pieces of actual furniture they scratch on, and that's because it's old and not worth stopping them. They don't scratch the leather furniture, or the recliners we having in the living room. They do like to scratch my mattress/box spring in my bedroom, so I put a scratching post in my bedroom as well. They haven't completely stopped, but don't do it nearly as much.
I am also diligent about keeping their nails clipped every other week. I have finally come up with a schedule I can remember. I brush their teeth every other day, and when their tooth brushing falls on a Saturday (like yesterday), they get their nails clipped. They're not fond of me doing that but they survive, and I survive. I even feel like I bond with them a little bit.
I'm not US based - I am surprised that this could end up on a credit record. Would you care to explain how this could happen?
Probably through an eviction. Landlord can and will sue for breaking a lease and damages that aren't covered. Also consider that landlords check references. So if your last rental ended in an eviction your application may go to the bottom of the pile. Landlords aren't in it for charity. They want tenants that pay on time and do minimal damage. Most allow pets not simply to get the pet deposit and pet rent if they decide to go that way up front knowing that if they don't allow pets renters will likely sneak them in. It would be far better to negotiate with a landlord than trying to pull the wool over their eyes.
I would agree with the above.
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I'll link the paw project. I've never declawed a cat and will never declaw one. Some cats may never outwardly show any symptoms but that doesn't mean they aren't suffering in silence. I think it is cruel to take away a cat's first defense and then if the cat has severe negative issues such as biting, etc, then the cat is no longer wanted.I surely hope you will look into another apartment, for the sake of your kitties. I'm not sure if you realize that declawing is just not the removal of the nail, its not like nail trimming, its actually the removal of the first joint. Bend your finger, you see the first bend right under your nail? That is how much is taken off a cats claw. Sometimes they regrow with bone fragments and its extremely painful. Please don't declaw your cat, especially with her always known her life with the claws. http://www.pawproject.org/
