Maybe adopting an 8 yr old cat that is not declawed......Questions...

[furryfriend2013]

Thoughts? I had a cat growing up so I have experience, but she was declawed...I am against declawing now, and I fell in love with an 8 yr old cat that has claws......Im concerned about her age, and about a cat that has claws....I just dont want all my living room furniture ruined, but I will be buying the best scratching posts possible if we adopt...I feel maybe she wont be so destructive as much cause of her age?? Not sure....She is sooooo affectionate, and coming from a family that is getting a divorce so they gave her up I would be adopting from a shelter from Petco...

I am so attached to this cat...We wanted to adopt a younger declawed cat, and now Im going an opposite direction....She is a lap cat and laid back...Just would  love to see your opinions on an older cat, and scratching at that age   It is just me, my husband, and 5 yr old daughter..(will be anonly child) ....She is a gorgeous Domestic short hair..Deep gray, with dark black strips....

 

[spiffykitty]

Congratulations on your new kitty!!

There's no way to know in advance if your cat will scratch the furniture.

Having scratching posts makes it less likely.

Cats have different tastes in scratching posts, so if she doesn't use one post, she may use another type of post. Also, the location of the post can make a difference. Sometimes moving the post can make it much more attractive to a cat.

I've never had a problem with furniture being scratched, even though I've adopted several adult cats.

If you keep the cat's claw's trimmed, that helps. The front claws grow longer than the back claws. If you feel nervous about trimming the claws, you can look for a house call cat groomer or take the kitty to the vet every few months for a claw trim.

Have fun!

 

[blacktrack208]

I grew up with a declawed cat also ( my mother didn't know better I guess), so when I adopted my cat I thought that was just the norm+ that she'd scratch otherwise.. Nope! As long as they have scratching posts that are not furniture material they should be okay. We have a pretty large living room/dining room and have 2 scratching posts and a little cardboard scratcher spread out for her and we've never had a problem.

 

[furryfriend2013]

Good information!!!! Thank you!!!  I was looking into this post...Got great reviews....Plus I can offer some others...

http://www.petco.com/product/12529/...t_3-_-SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post-12529

 

[blacktrack208]

Good information!!!! Thank you!!!  I was looking into this post...Got great reviews....Plus I can offer some others...

http://www.petco.com/product/12529/...t_3-_-SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post-12529

That looks a lot like the one we have .. My cat loves it, when she gets in the right mood she'll even scratch-climb her way up it lol

 

[Willowy]

Most cats, if given the proper outlet for their natural scratching behaviors, do not scratch destructively. Especially at her age (kittens are naughty, but adult cats usually only scratch for functional reasons). I honestly don't think you'll have any trouble, probably won't even notice her claws. If she's inclined to be pokey with her claws, keep them trimmed, but most cats don't even need that. If she does have scratching issues, check out the links in my signature for suggestions.

 

[buddha n jack]

In my experience that cats were pretty good providing that you gave them options and kept them dusted in catnip.

The male was very good and only 1 time did I find him scratching furniture. Our female likes the carpet or the top of one of our Ikea chair, but 

she'll use the scratch lounge If I put some fresh catnip.

Maybe limit her access to other rooms at first and lace her post with catnip everyday to start a good habit.

 

[betsygee]

None of our cats scratch the furniture.  We do have several scratching posts around the house, and I keep their nails trimmed, too.  We did have a couple of cats who wanted to tear up the carpet so I bought a couple of these which worked great.  They leave the carpet alone and go for the catnip pad.

http://www.wag.com/cat/p/petmate-fa...pla&ca_sku=PTM-138&ca_gpa=pla&ca_kw={keyword}

 

[sivyaleah]

We adopted Casper at 9 years of age.  He never scratched anything in the house at all.  Of course, we also provided him proper places to do so but being older, we can only assume his prior owner did a good job of training him not to.

Cocoa, who is between 2-5 years old (we don't really know) tried a couple of times only at the tall edge of the couch, which resembles a scratching post.  Once we put the post right near that area, she left the couch alone.  I will admit to her clawing at our area rug in the dining room but this has diminished greatly over time.  I think in her case, it had more to do with settling into the house since she was a rescue and had been outdoors for an indeterminate amount of time and while we are sure she was someone's pet at one point, probably had lost some "house" skills.  She also had more anxiety issues than Casper did.  She hardly ever does it anymore and if we firmly say "No" to her, she stops immediately.

Claws are kept trimmed, just in case, of course and to protect them from when they play with each other.

 

[tulosai]

We adopted Casper at 9 years of age.  He never scratched anything in the house at all.  Of course, we also provided him proper places to do so but being older, we can only assume his prior owner did a good job of training him not to.

Cocoa, who is between 2-5 years old (we don't really know) tried a couple of times only at the tall edge of the couch, which resembles a scratching post.  Once we put the post right near that area, she left the couch alone.  I will admit to her clawing at our area rug in the dining room but this has diminished greatly over time.  I think in her case, it had more to do with settling into the house since she was a rescue and had been outdoors for an indeterminate amount of time and while we are sure she was someone's pet at one point, probably had lost some "house" skills.  She also had more anxiety issues than Casper did.  She hardly ever does it anymore and if we firmly say "No" to her, she stops immediately.

Claws are kept trimmed, just in case, of course and to protect them from when they play with each other.

Note that if they claw the rug they may just want/ need a horizontal scratching post and this will eliminate the problem once you show them what it is for.