To declaw or not to declaw that is the question...

Is your cat fixed yet? If so I'm probably not much help. If not, please read about my experience. My cat did a complete 180 with her claws after she was fixed and after she aged a few months.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84925

[keith]

After many years of having inside cats, my husband developed severe allergies. We tried medicines, air purifiers, everything short of getting rid of carpet and redoing the floors. The cats were trained to use several scratching posts located at strategic places in our house. Finally we had no choice but to get an enclosure system for our fence and put our cats outside.
Even though they are confined, I could not rest at night if they were declawed because they are outside. Our fence system works well and they have never gotten outside the confined area, but nothing is without risk. I am glad they still have their claws so they could fight if they had too.

I don't know what else to do, i have to get my 3 year old indoor cat declawed, i live in an apartment building, with very fussy owners, and he is tearing up pieces of the carpet everywhere, no matter how many times i squirt him, he keeps on doing it, he also has two posts, a cardbord scratch tray, mats that he moves just so he can get at the carpet and scratch, and dig, and toys that he won't even look at, i tried finding him another home, but i know if i do, as soon as he starts doing it there, he would be out the door again, finding himself in another home or maybe even homeless, i cannot part with him anyway, he a big handsome cat, so please keep him in your prayers, hoping that everything goes well for him. As much as i really don't want to do this.

Try nailcaps.
Can't destroy anything if his claws are covered in vinyl.

seesee, have you read any of the previous posts in this thread that suggest alternatives to declawing?

I can't believe it is still legal. In LOTS of countries it is banned. People do not have an easy quick fix, and have to find an alturnative solution to clawing, it's just not an option. Is there any one who can take the cat for you till you move to a place where the cat isn't a problem, or find a new home for him, and when you have your own place, and can deal with cats who claw, get one? Or get a pet that doesn't scatch things? Scratching carpets isn't really a good reason to de-toe a cat. Have you looked at the link that was posted? It has a section on building posts, and training your cat to use them and other alturnitives, you can try, if the horror stories of people who have done this, and the pictures of the proceedure didn't make you sick. I hope you find another solution for your poor kitty. If you go through with it, look up info, so you can do every thing to make sure his feet doesn't get infected, and he is as comfortable as possible, like what to use in his litter box, and how often to change bandages, or what ever else that needs to be done, I am not familiar with it, never had one de-toed. So I don't know all of that, but it's just like some one getting sergury, there are post sergical directions you will need to follow. I pray for your kitty.

Edit: I just saw you tried to find another home for him, at least you tried to do the right thing for him, try to find some rescue, that will take him in until they find the right home that is willing to take on a cat with issues. No-kill shelters will keep him til they find the right home for him.

You've already been linked to pretty much all the relevant information, so there's nothing for me to add, other than pleading with you not to declaw your cat.

It's a horrible thing to do. There are many alternatives. Please don't do it.

I truley hope you will find sometyhing else other than declawing your little babes...

How old is your little man? And did u just get him recently? IAm very sorry to hear that you are even faced with this decision...

Are u clipping his nails on a regular basis?

Jayme&Jackson!

There should be no reason to declaw if you are clipping them every week. Its easy once you and your kit get used to it. Please at least TRY some alternative methods that everyone has mentioned before you get your cat mutilated. You're not going to want to deal with your cat having behavioural problems after its declawed...and most of them do have (litterbox) problems.

DO not declaw... Also he is use to you triming them just keep it up

He wont have to declaw or use the caps right if the kitten lets him cut the nails I would keep up with that.

My cat's shredded up my couch. The got to the wood structure and made a mess everywhere. Scratching posts, nail clipping, water squirts, whatever, I tried it all!

BUT!!!... I never even once thought of declawing my cats. They are indoors, but the thought of them ever getting out and having no defenses just terrifies me.

What was my solution... I bought a couch they couldn't scratch (wood arm rests versus cloth covered ones).

A "pet" (and I use that term lightly as my cats are my babies) is for life and a huge responsibility. It's like having a child, and since I would never maim my child, I could never do it to my furry babies.

So as a person who was in your place, don't declaw, get rid of your couch.

Originally Posted by DragulescuGirl

A "pet" (and I use that term lightly as my cats are my babies) is for life and a huge responsibility. It's like having a child, and since I would never maim my child, I could never do it to my furry babies.

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I think the reasons why you shouldn't declaw have been stated enough times so I won't repeat them. I will just say that however hard it is we should always put the health and welfare of our pets ahead of our own convenience. If you can't find a way to stop your cat scratching the carpet and it's a problem then you need to rehome him and wait until you're in a more suitable place to have a cat. As has been stated previously - cats scratch. It's what they do. It's what they need to do. I know you love your cat but perhaps a cat isn't the right pet for you right now.

try using a repellent spray to keep your cat off the furnitures and carpet...or maybe use the nail caps like she said...

For everyone that is talking about using spray bottles or other repellents for furniture:

Telling a cat what not to do without showing him what to do isn't an effective way of changing the behavior in a cat. Spraying them with a bottle tells them they shouldn't be doing what they are doing, but do you stop and take the time to redirect them to a scratch post? It would be analogous to a teacher asking you what 2 plus 2 is without telling you the answer first, then slapping your hands when you get the answer wrong.

The best way to train a cat is to direct them to the right behavior. If they are scratching a sofa, give them a firm NO, then carry them over to the scratch post, rub their paws on it, join them by rubbing your hands on it, then give them a treat for being a good kitty. I have 11 cats with unclipped claws and my furniture is intact. It's never taken me more than 3 days to retrain a cat when they arrive in the house, but it doesn't work unless you are dilligent and persistant.

There are alternatives to declawing that are physically easier on your cat and only suggest that you use those alternatives before you maim your cat.

Just a thought -- you might not want to give a treat for a cycle that started with acting out. My cat seems pretty smart, and I realized that when he wanted a treat, he would go and scratch in an unwanted place and wait to be redirected to the scratching place and rewarded. He was learning that the desirable sequence of events started with scratching the carpet.

Now I just praise him verbally at the scratching post in a case like that, and only give a treat for spontaneous use of the scratching post. I'll also take him to the scratching post randomly and give him a treat (or hide a treat on it for him to find when I'm not around). I don't want the cat to associate the treat with bad behavior.

It sounds like the SoftPaws claw caps are the right solution for this poster.

Originally Posted by emmylou

It sounds like the SoftPaws claw caps are the right solution for this poster.

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I agree...hopefully she'll listen to all the posts about it. I really hope this poor kitty didn't get declawed just from lack of reading our responses and trying different things. My kitties have had Soft Paws for about a month now. We originally got them so they couldn't hurt our bunnies in playing, but have since been happy to report that they haven't been able to do anything to scratch up our couch, and when they play with my daughter they're no longer able to scratch her. They're easy to do, and well worth it.

PLEASE give Soft Paws a try...for your baby...

He's counting on you to do the right thing here, and keep him safe and happy. Please don't let him down.

Here's a recap of how to handle problems scratching -
http://www.thecatsite.com/Behavior/5...o-Stop-It.html

please DO NOT DECLAW YOUR CAT!!!! If you love your cat dont declaw it!!!
use soft claws.