Hi all -- I had come to this forum as a desperate last resort to help me decide whether or not to declaw Chopper, which I had found freezing outside as a 3 week old kitten in October.
Even though she had been scratching me a lot, many of you strongly advised me to not declaw her, and I must say this was sound advice. Since she was fixed and since I started clipping her nails she NEVER uses her front claws.. even when she is playing. I can't figure it out, but all of a sudden she stopped using them.
Like many of you pointed out, if she "does" use her claws, she uses her back claws, not her front. But even that is extremely rare.
Also, she hasn't scratched any of my furniture with her claws. She sometimes enjoys attacking a couple scratching posts I bought, but her favorite is still those cardboard scratch boxes that lay on the floor.
I also clip her claws about every 2 weeks and that has worked great.
I realize this success isnt the same for everyone, but I certainly would suggest to anyone that they at least TRY letting the cat go with their claws. Declawing should be a last resort, not a first solution as I used to think it was.
Thank you for sharing your experiences and opinions on this controversial subject, and I'd urge you to point any future declawing prospects to this post.
[keith & chopper]
Even though she had been scratching me a lot, many of you strongly advised me to not declaw her, and I must say this was sound advice. Since she was fixed and since I started clipping her nails she NEVER uses her front claws.. even when she is playing. I can't figure it out, but all of a sudden she stopped using them.
Like many of you pointed out, if she "does" use her claws, she uses her back claws, not her front. But even that is extremely rare.
Also, she hasn't scratched any of my furniture with her claws. She sometimes enjoys attacking a couple scratching posts I bought, but her favorite is still those cardboard scratch boxes that lay on the floor.
I also clip her claws about every 2 weeks and that has worked great.
I realize this success isnt the same for everyone, but I certainly would suggest to anyone that they at least TRY letting the cat go with their claws. Declawing should be a last resort, not a first solution as I used to think it was.
Thank you for sharing your experiences and opinions on this controversial subject, and I'd urge you to point any future declawing prospects to this post.
[keith & chopper]
