Can I bring a cat with claws into my house with a declawed cat??

I hope I am putting this in the right forum...

A little background - We adopted our kitty Adelaide from the shelter last October. They said she was about 6 years old (wrong-she's really about 3)and had been declawed by her previous owners. They couldn't tell us much about her life because they had found her as a stray and she wasn't in great health. When we got her home, we spent a lot of quality time loving her to pieces and getting her healthy. She adjusted to our schedule quickly and we never had any behavior problems to speak of with her-she is really such a blessing--the perfect cat

Anyway, now that we have fixed her up all nice and healthy, she is more..I dunno, energetic?? She runs around constantly, has a million toys, and we just dont seem to be able to play with her enough!! Now that she seems to be getting bored, I am a little concerned that she is "looking for trouble" I am wondering if maybe it would be nice to have a playmate for her since she does spend the hours that we are at work at home by alone...plus, its always nice to get another cat, right???

But, I am concerned because Addie is declawed. I am afraid that a cat with claws could really hurt her, especially in those first few days of getting to know one another--and its not even like she could swat back. She is such a sweet, friendly, WONDERFUL cat...I don't want her to get so intimidated by another animal that it hurts her quality of life.

So, what do you think...can clawed and declawed cats get along?

I've had a declawed cat live happily with other cats that had claws. There is a thread on declawing in IMO. If you are interested in finding resources that is a good place to start, I'll find a link for you.

Yes, you can bring clawed cats into a house with declawed cats. But read as much as you can before.

When it comes down to it, cats without claws can still bite. Even if both cats are declawed they can still hurt each other.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41850

I have one declawed and one clawed. Ophelia has never done any real damage to Trent, although he has certainly deserved a good swipe or two at times! I would think if you adopted a kitten, Adelaide would be able to "train" the kitty as to what's acceptable in play and what isn't, just like a momma cat would. Or you could see about an already declawed kitty up for adoption at your shelter. Or you could look for a really super laid back kitty who wouldn't get aggressive with her.

I'll move this to Behavior.

Why don't you find another declawed cat - I hear that shelters always have some.

Originally Posted by valanhb

I have one declawed and one clawed. Ophelia has never done any real damage to Trent, although he has certainly deserved a good swipe or two at times!

I would think if you adopted a kitten, Adelaide would be able to "train" the kitty as to what's acceptable in play and what isn't, just like a momma cat would. Or you could see about an already declawed kitty up for adoption at your shelter. Or you could look for a really super laid back kitty who wouldn't get aggressive with her.

I'll move this to Behavior.

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thanks for the relocate

I thought about the kitten thing..I mean, if there is any cat in the world that I want training a kitten, its Addie...
I am concerned about older cats because I have no idea if she has ever lived with other cats before..for some reason I think I remember hearing that the adjustment is easier for an older cat if you bring in a kitten, but maybe I am just making that up...
Maybe I am just an overprotective mommy to my girl...I just couldn't bear it if I did something to make her unhappy

Just wanted to add, when we adopted Max (a declawed 6 years old) the adoption agency had at least 3 other already declawed cats in there that I saw, some were young if you're looking for a kitten.

That's only my two cents though, I'm sure they'll be fine together either way!

Sometimes adding a cat to a home is done by guilt that we carry. Addie could be perfectly happy being a solo cat, but you feel guilty about her being alone- when chances are she is perfectly fine with it. When you add another cat, you add a change of routine in the house, the stress can get to both of the cats, they can even fall ill from it.

I am not saying don't adopt another cat, because God knows, there are enough in the shelters that need homes. But Addie being energetic is perfectly normal, because once she has settled in, she will rediscover a kittenhood, she likely never had. Play with her interactively at night, and give her love and affection, and don't add a cat for all the wrong reasons, add them for the right ones.

Originally Posted by hissy

Sometimes adding a cat to a home is done by guilt that we carry. Addie could be perfectly happy being a solo cat, but you feel guilty about her being alone- when chances are she is perfectly fine with it. When you add another cat, you add a change of routine in the house, the stress can get to both of the cats, they can even fall ill from it.

I am not saying don't adopt another cat, because God knows, there are enough in the shelters that need homes. But Addie being energetic is perfectly normal, because once she has settled in, she will rediscover a kittenhood, she likely never had. Play with her interactively at night, and give her love and affection, and don't add a cat for all the wrong reasons, add them for the right ones.

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Dont get me wrong...I am pumped that she is so energetic and happy right now! But you are right, it is my guilt that she is home alone on week days, and I was taking her change in behavior as a sign that she was looking for something more from me. I was thinking that she might have come from a multi cat household and was looking for that companionship-but I could be overthinking the matter. Maybe I just didn't realize how bad she felt before!!

I mean, no matter what we wouldn't bring a cat into our home that we couldn't spoil rotten and shower with love-we have all the "right" reasons in mind

I would be wary of bringing a clawed cat in with a declawed cat, not because I think the declawed cat wouldn't be able to defend herself. Cats are much better at resolving their differences than we give them credit for.

My concern would be for your property. A declawed cat may be habituated to "scratching" furniture, which is O.K. because it does no damage. If your declawed cat does this, it may be difficult to get her to stop, while it may also be difficult to train the new, clawed cat NOT to scratch in the same way the declawed cat does.

I think looking into getting a young cat that is already declawed is a good idea. This way the boundary framework wouldn't need to be different for both cats.

Originally Posted by SharonKay

I mean, no matter what we wouldn't bring a cat into our home that we couldn't spoil rotten and shower with love-we have all the "right" reasons in mind

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We know... and we believe that if you do get a cat, he or she would be very lucky!

I just wanted to give you a heads up... bringing in a new cat, as I'm sure you've read, requires a lot of effort - I'm going through it now. We've had Max for 4 days now and he's the sweetest cat in the world and I'm glad we adopted him... however getting him used to Baylee is very trying, requires an extra space for him, extra supplies, etc. Just wanted to remind you, I'm sure you know this but as someone who's dealing with it right now... I know it's all gonna be great eventually but right now it's frustrating!

Originally Posted by pinkdaisy226

I just wanted to give you a heads up... bringing in a new cat, as I'm sure you've read, requires a lot of effort - I'm going through it now. We've had Max for 4 days now and he's the sweetest cat in the world and I'm glad we adopted him... however getting him used to Baylee is very trying, requires an extra space for him, extra supplies, etc. Just wanted to remind you, I'm sure you know this but as someone who's dealing with it right now... I know it's all gonna be great eventually but right now it's frustrating!

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I'm sure! and thanks for the warning, its definitely a lot to think about :-)

I have three declawed cats and two kittens a year old now that have claws. They don't have any trouble. They wrestle and play and rough house with Max and he never has any scratches. Now I do keep Samson and Vanna's claws trimmed once a week. Vanna doesnt sharpen hers to needles but Samson does. So I make sure I keep them trimmed. Even my kids let me know when Samson's claws are too long.

Henry is declawed, and the other three are not, and you know - he's the one who does the most hurting of the others, with his teeth (he's getting better with time and work), whereas they don't use their claws on him - so I wouldn't necessarily worry about claws as much as I would finding a cat with a certain temperment, and making a good introduction of the two cats.

If you're really worried, though, then I think the suggestion of adopting another cat who's already declawed is a good one - both times I was at the shelter, to adopt Phineas and Henry, they had plenty of declawed cats, and I'm betting it would be similar in msot shelters.

One of my cats still has his claws (And always will!). He's very non-aggressive and just wants to have fun & play with the other cats, but when they get a little too serious in their fighting, he does claw the other cats. He doesn't go for the face like he's fighting for his life, I guess because he knows they're just playing! Even in the beginning when I first adopted my clawed-cat and after taking in unwanted declawed cats from other people... Hammie won't harm them at all.

The most I see when I come home of any evidence that he's been using his claws in a 'bad way' against other cats is, I find large clumps of Snicker's fur all over. They just play; there's nothing evil or mean between them. But Hammie likes to swat at Snicker's sides & grab handfuls of Snicky's fur. He's got long flowy fur and sometimes I'll see Hammie walking around with black furry tufts stuck in between his toes! Snicky's never been harmed, however, I hold the little bugger often and would be able to tell if he'd been clawed on his sides.

My meanest cat is Zorro, who is declawed. He has a hateful streak in him and bites so hard, he draws blood instantly. He's got mental issues from having a bad kittenhood (NOT WITH ME... he was given to me after he was beaten). I think his declaw-job helped to give him part of his mental issues. =-(

RE: Bringing a new cat into the house: It's great that you are thinking of adopting another cat. Here's my experience.
Oliver was about 3 years old. He went through a divorce with me, moving from a big house to a small apartment. After that, I found a wonderful boyfriend. He moved in. All was fine with Oliver. Then I found Tripod. Tri was about 6 weeks old and really needed a home. I brought him to ours. Oliver did not like him (but didn't hurt him). He began to accept Tri after a few months, but he was angry with ME for almost a year.
Now, Oliver is 5 1/2. He loves me again. He and Tripod are BEST FRIENDS. I am so blessed to have both of these wonderful kitties.

RE: Mixing a declawed cat with a non-declawed cat: I never had a declawed cat; however, Tri is missing most of one front leg and only has 2 claws on his only front foot. Oliver and he wrestle with each other. There has NEVER been one drop of blood or any kind of injury between the 2 of them.

I'm certianly no expert, but just wanted to let you know what my household went through. If you do adopt a new kitty, (as someone else already said), it will be a lucky cat!

I'm doing that (the claws and the no claws). So far, so good. I will never be able to clip their claws, though. I'm too chicken.

I had Merlin (clawed) for two months when I brought Hans (14 year old declaw) home, and then a month later brought a 5 and a half month kitten (clawed) home.

Merlin has never put his claws out when getting into slapping fights with Hans. And Hans has learned to just lay on the kitten when he starts to get annoying.

I do have to say that the kitten has hurt both Mer and Hans, though unintentially. I found teensy tiny scratches on Hans' ear and nose once. (He's white furred with pink skin, so it was very noticable on him.) And Merlin had a small scratch by on of his nipple once (again, pale skin, so it was visible). The kitten hasn't really learned the rules about not playing rough. I can't get him to realize that enough is enough, and neither can his elders. I had hoped they would be able to help train him, but he seems to enjoy being the rebel.

Whether you go with clawed or declawed, it's going to depend on the cats themselves. At the shelter people seem to have a great sense of what cat will get along with their current pets, so go with your gut instinct.