Soft paws?

caprice

caprice

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I am highly considering getting Mittens "Soft Paws" the nail caps for his claws. He has torn up the leather sofa in the living room and has made Zack highly unhappy. We got a sofa cover on Sunday and it already has threads coming out of it!
He is getting frusterated, so I told him I would get the claw covers to prevent Mittens from destroying the rest of our sofa...so...does anyone else use these and do you recommend a certain kind and where I can get them from? I want to do this fairly quickly...in the next day or so! Thanks!
 
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portdevoix

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I clip my kittens' claws every week. Their shorter claws get rounded at the tips. As their claws don't "catch" on the sofa fabric, they're not interested in shredding it. They like the texture of their cat tree, which still "catches" their claws.

I'm too damn cheap to incur the recurring expense of the Soft Paws. I have found that clipping their claws has the same effect of making their claws less destructive.

When I am trimming their claws, I gently chant this little mantra in their ears:
"you let me clip your claws, you get to keep your toes..."
 
turtlecat

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I HAVE seen the soft paws at the local petsmart, candie Maybe try there? they're usually on one end of the scratching post section. Remember, the first set comes off the fastest, but is Mittens is a fastidious paw licker/nail chewer, they will come off more quickly.
 
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caprice

caprice

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Thanks guys. I can't even clip his claws without taking him into the vet, that's why he has a scratching post. I went ahead and ordered next day shipping from Petsmart since I can't get down there tonight since I have classes. I ordered them in blue
Hopefully, he'll coperate with me to put them on, I don't see that being a problem though. I just can't stand seeing my sofa and now the cover messed up.
 
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Remember, you WILL have to trim his nails before putting the soft paws on- Hopefully the towel trick will work
 
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portdevoix

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Originally Posted by caprice

Thanks guys. I can't even clip his claws without taking him into the vet, that's why he has a scratching post. I went ahead and ordered next day shipping from Petsmart since I can't get down there tonight since I have classes. I ordered them in blue
Hopefully, he'll coperate with me to put them on, I don't see that being a problem though. I just can't stand seeing my sofa and now the cover messed up.
Click to expand...
My trick with one of them, when I can't get him asleep, is to feed him a treat while I am holding him in claw-clipping position. While he is distracted with the treat, I clip one or two claws. Feed-clip-feed-clip. I have more trouble doing his rear claws than the front. I don't need the treat tick for the front paws with either of them.

Lucky me.
 
pinkdaisy226

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Originally Posted by portdevoix

My trick with one of them, when I can't get him asleep, is to feed him a treat while I am holding him in claw-clipping position. While he is distracted with the treat, I clip one or two claws. Feed-clip-feed-clip. I have more trouble doing his rear claws than the front. I don't need the treat tick for the front paws with either of them.

Lucky me.
Click to expand...
Yup, that's what my boyfriend and I used to do... he would hold Baylee while I would clip, and he would distract her with treats. We trim her nails every Sunday and after a few weeks she didn't need to be distracted anymore. I can do it all by myself with minimum fuss.

But now we have Max. And I have no idea how that's gonna go... eek.
 
pinkdaisy226

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Good luck! By the way, I heard that some people who have used those claw covers have only had to use them once, that after that the cat learns not to scratch the furniture. So maybe Mittens will learn the same way... here's hoping!
 
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caprice

caprice

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Originally Posted by pinkdaisy226

Good luck! By the way, I heard that some people who have used those claw covers have only had to use them once, that after that the cat learns not to scratch the furniture. So maybe Mittens will learn the same way... here's hoping!
Click to expand...
He doesn't intentionally scratch the furniture at all--when he jumps off and on it, is what tears the couch, especially with his weight, half the time he can't get on the couch so the marks are long....which looks terrible on a dark brown leather couch...with the slipcover his claws get caught up in the fabric and that's what snags it. He does have a scratching post and that's the thing I've seen him use, the only thing. I can't wait to see how he reacts to these--a lot better method than getting him declawed!
 
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portdevoix

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Originally Posted by caprice

He doesn't intentionally scratch the furniture at all--when he jumps off and on it, is what tears the couch, especially with his weight, half the time he can't get on the couch so the marks are long....which looks terrible on a dark brown leather couch...with the slipcover his claws get caught up in the fabric and that's what snags it. He does have a scratching post and that's the thing I've seen him use, the only thing. I can't wait to see how he reacts to these--a lot better method than getting him declawed!
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Try clipping his claws. It truly blunts the nail tip, and it's WAY CHEAPER than press-on-nails for kittens.
 
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caprice

caprice

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Originally Posted by portdevoix

Try clipping his claws. It truly blunts the nail tip, and it's WAY CHEAPER than press-on-nails for kittens.
Click to expand...
I've tried. That's why I take him to the vet to get them clipped. Even though, they have been clipped many times before, it doesn't matter...he still snags the furniture. The reason why I have taken him to the vet...well...it's a little hard holding down a 24 pound cat!


I am gonna try before I put the soft paws on, does any here know the proper technique to cutting them? Like for instance, how far back do I cut them?

Thanks!
 
tuxedokitties

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Hi Candie,

It's best to wait to trim his nails until you get the SoftPaws packet, with its complete application instructions - you do trim the claws before applying the nail caps, but not as short as you would if you're just trimming the claws to blunt them - if the nails are too short the caps won't adhere to the claws properly. Also, as the instructions warn, you want to fill the caps only 1/3 full - if you use too much glue it will seep out around the edges of the cap when you put it on, and stick to his fur.

Also, if you have any trouble putting them on (hopefully you won't
), some vets & groomers will apply them for you, and let you watch so you can see how it's done - that's what I did the first time, because I was nervous about putting them on myself at first.

After you put them on, try to distract him from his paws for about 10 minutes, with some petting, his favorite toy, or some treats - that will allow the glue time to dry thoroughly, making it more difficult for him to remove them. Most cats will initially chew on the claw covers & try to remove them - if you notice he's persistent about it, you can dab some bitter apple on the caps (spray some on a cotton ball & wipe them with it, or spray his claws directly). If he manages to pull some of the caps off, just put new ones on & coat them with bitter apple, and try to distract him from them.

Out of 4 cats I used the caps on, 2 accepted them immediately with minimal fuss, 1 took them off but then accepted subsequent applications without fuss, and 1 took them off pretty persistently, but adjusted after couple of weeks - I used bright pink caps for her, so I could easily spot when she'd taken one off, and replace it.

I haven't been able to get to the computer much lately, but if you have any questions drop me a note & I'll try to check in & see if I can help.


www.softpaws.com has a phone number you can call if you have any questions, too.
 
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caprice

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Originally Posted by tuxedokitties

Hi Candie,

It's best to wait to trim his nails until you get the SoftPaws packet, with its complete application instructions - you do trim the claws before applying the nail caps, but not as short as you would if you're just trimming the claws to blunt them - if the nails are too short the caps won't adhere to the claws properly. Also, as the instructions warn, you want to fill the caps only 1/3 full - if you use too much glue it will seep out around the edges of the cap when you put it on, and stick to his fur.

Also, if you have any trouble putting them on (hopefully you won't
), some vets & groomers will apply them for you, and let you watch so you can see how it's done - that's what I did the first time, because I was nervous about putting them on myself at first.

After you put them on, try to distract him from his paws for about 10 minutes, with some petting, his favorite toy, or some treats - that will allow the glue time to dry thoroughly, making it more difficult for him to remove them. Most cats will initially chew on the claw covers & try to remove them - if you notice he's persistent about it, you can dab some bitter apple on the caps (spray some on a cotton ball & wipe them with it, or spray his claws directly). If he manages to pull some of the caps off, just put new ones on & coat them with bitter apple, and try to distract him from them.

Out of 4 cats I used the caps on, 2 accepted them immediately with minimal fuss, 1 took them off but then accepted subsequent applications without fuss, and 1 took them off pretty persistently, but adjusted after couple of weeks - I used bright pink caps for her, so I could easily spot when she'd taken one off, and replace it.

I haven't been able to get to the computer much lately, but if you have any questions drop me a note & I'll try to check in & see if I can help.


www.softpaws.com has a phone number you can call if you have any questions, too.
Click to expand...
Thank you sooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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caprice

caprice

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Wow...that was a loooong process. Got the Softpaws on Friday, and just about an hour ago we finished the whole process. Friday night, I clipped the front paws and got one foot done. Yesterday, I got some more clipping done, and finished the front paws. Well, we spent the last hour getting the back paws done. Watson was running around the house in the process and when Mittens started growling and he went after Mittens....so after calming Watson down I had to take Mittens into the bathroom to finish, then I had to try the catnip trick along with a towel....ALL DONE! He's not in the best mood, but we played with the cat dancer and had a treat to celebrate his weight loss too
BTW, he only pulled one off so far...
 
tuxedokitties

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Wow!
I'm glad you were able to do it yourself, at home.
Hopefully he'll be good & leave them on.

I'd love to see a pic of Mittens in his Soft Paws.
 
eburgess

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There is a procedure where the tendon that retracts the nail is cut. If the soft claws don't work, you might want to look into that. It's not as drastic as declawing but it will safe your sofa. Talk to your vet about it
 
tuxedokitties

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Originally Posted by eburgess

There is a procedure where the tendon that retracts the nail is cut. If the soft claws don't work, you might want to look into that. It's not as drastic as declawing but it will safe your sofa. Talk to your vet about it
Click to expand...
That sounds like a good idea, but when I asked my vet about that several years ago, before hearing about softpaws - (hubby & I were dating, & I knew he was worried about my cats tearing up the furniture, but there was no way I'd declaw my babies!) he said he didn't recommend that, b/c it can lead to complications. Cutting the tendon leaves the cat unable to maintain his own claws, so the cat owner has to be extremely careful to keep the claws trimmed, or they can grow back around into the pads & really hurt the cat.

We ended up trying softpaws, and they worked great for us - we used them while training the cats where it was OK to scratch. Our furniture is still undamaged.
 
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