SoftClaws Opinions?!

[nekoha]

Well, since Piccalo and Pounce have been successfully moved to Japan and are (mostly) settled in, I thought I would get some opinions from you guys.
I used SoftPaws/SoftClaws/whatever they are called in Houston several times. Pounce is the worst at using those claws, but that is what they are for, so I honestly never kept up with using the claw covers. In Houston we had carpet and they did scratch it up, but we got a full refund on our deposit at our first apartment, so it wasn't too bad. I use scratching posts and don't get after them for scratching the furniture - it is cheap, anyway!

Well, when we let our new apartment manager know we were bringing the cats to Japan, he kind of freaked out that they weren't declawed. Just so you know, I screamed at an apartment manager in Houston for suggesting such a thing and we didn't rent that apartment! I understand that some people find it okay, and it may be okay for some cats, but not mine! That said, I don't know enough Japanese to tell our apartment manager why my cats aren't declawed. Also, my cats don't scratch/mark wood floors (which is all we have in this apartment) and all the furniture is mine, so I don't know why it would matter.
Anyway, moving on. I had my husband tell the manager that they would have claw covers on, and when the manager dropped by unexpectedly, I had fortunately already put them on! Also, since I have gotten pretty badly scratched by back claws several times in the past 3 weeks, I put them on the back paws. After about 2-3 min of apparent confusion, the cats don't act like they know the covers are on. They scratch the scratch pads, knead their paws, use the litterbox - everything is normal.
I just want to know what everyone here thinks of them.

 

[ducman69]

Personally, just had a rough time putting them on, as its a pain compared to a quick nail clipping. Not sure how most people do it by themselves unless their cat is a wet noodle.

Other issue is that they don't fall off simultaneously, you can get some glue in fur if not careful which would be pulled on when they walk, and when grown out when there is a gap between the cover and the end of the claw it creates an arrowhead or harpoon and it can then get stuck like Buttercup did with one in my office chair. I believe the best way to get em off is to snip the tip, then along the side w/ a small sharp nail scissor, but again thats a bigger challenge than just a regular nail clip so may not work w/ fussy cats.

The claw is also pretty much rendered useless from the cat's perspective, BUT it can still kiiiiinda grasp toys and the like, and so it is more functional than a true declaw. Still needs to be indoor only like any declawed cat IMO.

And declawing is no more universal in Japan, Korea, and China than it is in North America, so while the landlord has every right to want to protect his investment from destruction, I'm sure he'd be happy with a compromise security deposit large enough to alleviate his concerns to be refunded if there is no damage (some cats do claw not only floors but walls).

 

[taryn]

As long as they are the right size I see no problem with them. Attitude and Nuts require larges and have since they were under 10 lbs(14 lbs and over my foot) so the last time I got them I made sure to get large as the mediums didn't fit against that base of the nail like they are supposed to.

I use them when I think about it. Nuts has a thing for scratching the box spring and it's rather annoying, other than that and occasionally Attitude going after the carpet they are fine.

They don't harm the cat and I had Attitude climb a tree(as in one outside, she door dashed on me) wearing them. Like I said I use them when I have to, if the only alternative was declawing. Our landlord doesn't care if the cats have claws or not. Paul started out with a dog and a cat then it was 3 cats and now it's 2 cats and neither one is the one he moved in with. Of course he also doesn't care about the 6 outside cats but he knows they would be there even if I wasn't feeding and taking care of them.

Taryn

 

[nekoha]

Thanks! We did give the landlord an exhorbitant deposit already, or what I consider exhorbitant! As for putting them on myself - impossible! I hold the cat and ready the claws for the cap, and my husband puts the glue into the cap and sticks it onto the claw. We are also very careful to sweep all the fur out of the way before application (not a problem with Pounce, but it is difficult with Piccalo!)
As for them falling off, we have never had a problem with that. When we used them before, they fell off after about 4 weeks (though the website says 6-8).
Also, I bought several different sizes because not every nail seems to be the exact same size. Again, Pounce is easy - small on all claws. Piccalo takes small on a few claws and medium on others, even though she is a large cat (and not because of weight - her bones are big!)

 

[cococat]

What did your manager say when he saw the claw covers?

 

[darkmavis]

I think Soft Paws are great. I used them on Genever for about 6 months, with no problems. Then again, she is an easy cat, so I could put them on by myself. Sure, sometimes the glue drips out and gets in the fur, but she never seemed nothered by it. After about 6 months though, I guess she decided 'No more!' because she just kept biting them off as soon as I got them on, so it wasn't worth it anymore. She's not very destructive anyway, so we just keep up with nail clipping and all is well.

 

[nekoha]

Cococat-
The landlord/manager actually protested that he didn't want to see the cats, but I brought out Pounce anyway (Piccalo was way too scared to subject her to scrutiny!) and he seemed really happy when I showed him the caps. He apparently explained to DH that there used to be a cat in the apartment below us that completely trashed the window ledges. My guess is that the cat had long back claws...
DarkMavis-
I sincerely hope that Piccalo and Pounce don't decide "Enough" on the caps! I love being able to pick them up and not worrying about a loud noise startling them into kicking a hole in my stomach! Piccalo needs daily eye cleanings, so that is a real danger.

 

[goldenkitty45]

Most people I know that have used them find them pretty good. I show cats and the nail caps are not allowed in the show ring. But I'm used to trimming nails on a weekly basis, and don't need them.

However, I'm really thinking about getting them for our Lab!

 

[cruisermaiden]

We use them on Jinkers and love them. It is very important to get the right size. He doesn't attempt to scratch anything but the Berber carpet, however. And soft claws do not protect Berber carpet, because he can just pull the strings out even with the covers on. If you have a cat that does scratch furniture or whatever they would be perfect to protect your stuff. The soft claws DO protect me from any accidental scratches while we are playing or if he is on me and gets startled, etc. This is important because I am on blood thinners and any sort of scratch can be an emergency. My husband helps me put the covers on Jinkers because he is a little spazzy. He doesn't like to be held even for clippings. So DH holds him while I clip his claws, then I apply the soft paws and we give him treats. No big deal.

 

[fastnoc]

I am so jealous of you people. i would give anything to be able to use soft paws, or to even be able to clip nails. tinker and wilbur absolutely refuse for me to even touch their feet. it's not like they get mad, but they immediately move, pull back etc. there is NO WAY they would let me put those on, or hold them still long enough to clip them.

Is there any hope for me? I was actually thinking about taking them to a pet groomer to see if they could do it. but 20 bucks to install softclaws seems excessive lol

 

[ducman69]

Originally Posted by fastnoc

I am so jealous of you people. i would give anything to be able to use soft paws, or to even be able to clip nails. tinker and wilbur absolutely refuse for me to even touch their feet. it's not like they get mad, but they immediately move, pull back etc. there is NO WAY they would let me put those on, or hold them still long enough to clip them.

Is there any hope for me? I was actually thinking about taking them to a pet groomer to see if they could do it. but 20 bucks to install softclaws seems excessive lol

If they are older, probably not.

 

[nekoha]

Originally Posted by fastnoc

Is there any hope for me? I was actually thinking about taking them to a pet groomer to see if they could do it. but 20 bucks to install softclaws seems excessive lol

$20 is a bit expensive. Just a nail clipping should be about $10-12. Maybe after the vet or groomer does it a few times you would have a chance?!?!
I honestly think the claw caps are a two person job. One person has to hold the cat and ready the claw, and the other person has to clip the claw, stick the glue into the cap, then slide the cap on. That's for my cats at least!

But I do a lot of paw-petting when we aren't clipping or capping, too, so they are used to their paws being touched.

 

[justjayde]

I have always clipped my cats nails (all my life ) and some squirmed but usually they got used to it. I had one friend who's cat fought tooth and nail (pun intended) when it needed it's nails clipped so we used to wrap it up in a towel and then hold it like a baby and just sneak out the paws one at a time to clip.

My new kitten has not had his done yet (by me) so I am not sure how he will do - we will find out in the next few days when he feels better - cuz they are getting sharp

I did look into nailcaps, I think if you are patient and do them a few times your cat will adjust (or you will get skilled and speedy at getting them on LOL )

 

[momonigiri]

wow, I never knew such a thing existed! Growing up in the country, I am new to all of these things that make keeping a cat a lot easier.

I'm surprised your landlord rented the apartment to you with cats! (in a good way~)

I hope everything works out for the best and 頑張って！ (good luck)

 

[justjayde]

I thought I would post again...

So as I stated above, USUALLY I am a nail trimmer only - and have never really had issues with kitties scratching furniture. I supply them with appropriate scratching surfaces, trim nails and teach them the house rules. However my little man seems to be having an obsession with my one chair - I often find his nails in it and even though they are TRIMMED I decided to go ahead with nail caps and make sure (( I have a new sofa and sometimes even trimmed nails can snag the soft material. ))

I got the soft claws from my vet clinic on Friday when we were there and put them away and did a "wait and see". Well this morning I decided that we would try them when he kept trying to claw my chair.

NORMALLY he will let me touch, massage and play with his feet but he just did not like the caps..... so what I did was put glue in one, hold it in my hand. I put ONE CAP ON ONE NAIL... then stopped, gave him a bite treat. Put the next cap on, gave him a bite of treat. Repeating this process over and over for all 10 nails. He did fight me for the first 2 and then he realized that every one I got on, he got a treat.

I won't say he layed still and was pleased to have me doing them - but we got through it just the two of us (( I thought I would need my mom to come over after work to help )). His soft claws are in place and I will watch for a few days to see how he does with the furniture and climbing and such.

I hope they stay on for a fairly long time, I will see. I also want to see how he does climbing his tree - and how hard they are to REMOVE if I need to.

So far though my experience with them while frustrating went VERY WELL for our first application. I think if I continue with applying them it will be routine and he will adjust to it quite readily.

 

[nekoha]

Originally Posted by JustJayde

So as I stated above, USUALLY I am a nail trimmer only - and have never really had issues with kitties scratching furniture. I supply them with appropriate scratching surfaces, trim nails and teach them the house rules.

I do the same thing, but sometimes I still get scratched if I am giving meds or they will accidentally scratch something with their back claws when jumping.

Originally Posted by JustJayde

NORMALLY he will let me touch, massage and play with his feet but he just did not like the caps..... so what I did was put glue in one, hold it in my hand. I put ONE CAP ON ONE NAIL... then stopped, gave him a bite treat. Put the next cap on, gave him a bite of treat. Repeating this process over and over for all 10 nails. He did fight me for the first 2 and then he realized that every one I got on, he got a treat.

You are so lucky! When I do the treat thing, they stop eating those treats for eternity!

Originally Posted by JustJayde

I won't say he layed still and was pleased to have me doing them - but we got through it just the two of us (( I thought I would need my mom to come over after work to help )). His soft claws are in place and I will watch for a few days to see how he does with the furniture and climbing and such.

Originally Posted by JustJayde

I hope they stay on for a fairly long time, I will see. I also want to see how he does climbing his tree - and how hard they are to REMOVE if I need to.

So far though my experience with them while frustrating went VERY WELL for our first application. I think if I continue with applying them it will be routine and he will adjust to it quite readily.

As to that - It depends on how good of a fit they are. I have found that if they are too small or too big, they fall off in a few days.

Also, if you get any fur caught in the glue and stick it in the cap, they fall off fairly easily. I mean a VERY small amount of fur.
Removing them is easy once the glue has dried... just cut off the tip of the cap and gently pull. They always came off for me (though I tried once with one that the glue wasn't dry on and it didn't come off...)
Good luck!

 

[fastnoc]

edit: wups. misread

 

[justjayde]

Nekoha, AWESOME reply thanks!

Yea I tried the kitteh ones first but they were too tight - So I went with the small cat... they are a bit LONG and I looked (later) I don't have them pushed up as far as they should be - so next application I will strive to do a better job. At least every time I do it, it will be teaching him it is no big deal

Other than not cramming them on far enough up the nail I think they are pretty darn good for our first shot!

I somehow managed NOT to get any fur in them -

dunno how as he is a medium hair cat - so there is fur EVERYWHERE but in the glue .

My guy never scratches/claws people... even when scared or mad or having things done to him, he is truly a lover not a fighter. If he wouldn't keep trying to claw my chair I wouldn't have capped him but I have a brand new sofa that if he claws I would have a seizure. lol So better safe than sorry.

I hope when he is a big boy he will know the rules and listen to them. For now he is testing kitten boundaries and the caps are handy.

I like that they are not harmful

Clipping the nails is great but he can still dig them in enough to damage - whereas with the caps, he can't.

My complaint? They are CLEAR caps - so I will have to really LOOK at his feet a few times a day to make sure all are in place

As for him letting me touch/play/massage his feet? He loves it. He also loves to "hold hands" but he does NOT like it when I push his nails out so for the next few days when I MASSAGE his feet, I will work on pushing his nails out for him to get used to me doing that

I really did luck out with him as my cat, I just wish he would hurry up and get better!