Anybody used nail caps to cover claws?

leo_jasminesmom

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
16
Purraise
1
I'm seriously thinking of purchasing some nail caps for both of my cats as we are about to have new carpet laid in our basement and they both have a fetish with tearing up carpet.


Just wanted to know if anyone uses these and has had good experiences with them.
 

ldg

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
41,310
Purraise
842
Location
Fighting for ferals in NW NJ!
I don't have any experience, but have heard of others who've had a good experience. Personally, I can't imagine being able to get the soft paws onto our cats. We just clip our cats' claws, but have to do it while they're asleep
. Please try a quick search in the Care & Grooming forum, as I think this may be something discussed there too.


Thank you for thinking of the paw-friendly solution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

flea

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
May 28, 2004
Messages
62
Purraise
0
Location
USA
Yes, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I got my first set of softpaws off of eBay.

Be diligent, they work if you and your cat give them a chance.
 

ucgsb

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
May 24, 2004
Messages
2
Purraise
0
Softpaws and softclaws are fantastic.

There are a couple of issues to worry about.

Be careful with the glue. I have on occassion put to much into the sheath...it spills out and glues our cats fur to his claw making for a real angry cat.

Our cat also is fairly smart and will chew, scrape, and even catch his claw in a carpet fiber loop and yank.

Our . not the sharpest tool in shed cat.. is oblivious to them. The older smarter one has begun using with teeth more.

Aside from that, they have been a life saver. Our furniture is saved and no more cats in the curtains.

The woman Vet that invented these things is really nice and will answer emails.

softpaws.com softclaws.com same people.

I purchase mine in bulk from petedge.
 

tuxedokitties

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 3, 2003
Messages
4,005
Purraise
31

I've used them, and they worked very well for me.

I'm glad you're interested in trying them. I used them for several months while the cats learned to scratch a heavy rag throw rug instead of the carpet & new furniture. But for determined scratchers, you can certainly continue use for however long you need to.

You can find detailed application instructions on www.softpaws.com .

If you've never tried them before, you might want to call around to find a groomer or vet who can apply them for you the first time, and ask them to let you watch while they do it - my vet's assistant showed me how to put them on my cats the first time. Also, I'd recommend using the clear ones at least at first, so you can see how much glue you're using. Then, after you've had some practice, you can use the cool colored ones - they're nice because you can easily spot it if your cat has lost one.

Out of the 3 cats I used them on, only one was bad about pulling them off. It helps if you distract the cat for a little while after you've applied the caps - I feed them a can of food & play with them with the laser pointer for a little while. For the cat who was a little more persistent about removing the caps, I just started appying bitter apple (a gel or spray taste deterrent you can find at the pet store) to the caps immediately after I put them on her.

The caps will usually last from 4-8 weeks, depending on how fast your cats' claws grow. They'll fall off as the nail sheath sheds naturally, or as your cat pulls them off. If you notice that a claw is getting pretty long & the cap hasn't come off (my elderly kitty sometimes had this happen), you can clip off the tip of the cap with cat nail trimmers & gently remove it.

Good luck


*ps:
Just another thought - even with Softpaws on your cat, I'd recommend against buying carpeting with a loop style - we bought a nice Olefin looped carpet for our living room and the cats & dogs pulled a lot of snags in that carpet in a matter of days.
I suspect that if large dogs can pull snags in a looped carpet, cats probably can even with Softpaws on.
 
Top