Declawing a cat....please help!
 

Hello everyone,

I never declawed my cat b/c I thought it was
inhumane. However, he did ruin my old furniture.
Not badly, but enough to bother someone anal
like me. And it was more from jumping up on the
dressers than it was scratching the couch and what
not.

Anyway, I just got my cat back (long story) and I have
new furniture and I have to buy more, etc. and I
figured that I should get him declawed.

However, I got up this morning and cancelled the
appointment. I just don't have the heart to do it.
I just can't get over what they do to the cat. It
seems inhumane. I'm afraid he will be in too much
pain, for too long and I'm afraid it will change the
type of cat he is.
They do have their own personalities...I swear!

I know some of you might think I'm crazy and that
I'm thinking about it too much. However, I'm hoping
someone (cat lovers?) can offer me some words of
wisdom. Advice? Comfort? Reason?

I really am torn. I don't want a life of scratched and ripped furniture, but I don't want to put my cat through hell either.

i would never delclaw a cat, it is inhumane. and to let you know most (I say most, and know I don't remember which, I know most of Europe) of the world it considered inhumane if not illegal!

Think about that, you can get those little plastic covers for your funiture to keep it nice. and it is painfull. The claws are part of the bones. and they have to break the bone and then rip it out, most cats then loose there balance and have infections with the feet for the rest of there life.

Buy your kitty one of those tower carpet things. Where she or he can play and scracth that. if it does not alreadt have catnap on itI am sure you can sprinkle it with it to make your kitty use it.

Don't do it. My older sister declawed my cat without my consent. I had no idea she was planning on it. That was about 10 years ago (he's 12 now). It is never the same for them. They can't hold onto things and fall off of furniture when they jump onto something. They lose their balance easily and its a long recovery period. Do a little bit of cat behavior research. I'm sure there are some other ways of keeping him from ruining your furniture or at least when your home and you can catch him.

Please Please Please DON'T do it! Many vets don't even declaw cats anymore because it is inhumane.

What they do is DISLOCATE their first joints of their "fingers" so they can't retract their claws.

And, yes, it sometimes does change the kittys personality. Often times they stop using the liter box and other personality traits are "off."

My suggestions are this, 1) you may not have a problem with your kitty scratching but DEFINITELY buy a scratching post for EACH level of your house. And, IF they start to scratch your furniture, either squirt them with a water bottle or put a soda can with some pennys in it and rattle it when they scratch. You need to be on top of your kitty to train him/her to not scratch your furniture.

I am the biggest neat freak on this planet and my kitties have scratched this one chair of mine. I purposely only spent a little on it because it is unfathomable to me to declaw them. But what I did was put a scratching post next to the chair and then scratch that instead of the chair.

Please don't declaw your kitty. Please!

They also make little caps that you can put on kitties nails. They are soft plastic and fit right on without bugging them. They still keep thier claws and can use them, but they aren't sharp enough to snag fabric. They make them in different sizes depending on how old your kitty is. They don't hurt and you can pout them on while they are sleeping, eating or hanging out in your lap, it's not a huge process and they hardly notice they are there.

Those are called SoftPaws. I got some, but my kitty is too little to put them on yet. Does anyone know if they actually work? Has anyone used them?

DONT DO IT!!!

I heard of this spray stuff that you can spray on your furniture (people cant smell it ) that makes a cat not want to claw at things...

the squirt bottle for water works well too

I agree with everyone who says don't do it.

If your cat goes outdoors, s/he will lose all methods of defense without claws.

I'm in agreement with the others responding to your post. I've had three cats and none of them have been declawed. I don't think it's cool to physically modify a cat simply to keep it from doing something which comes naturally to it. However, we must all live together and thus the key is to train the cat properly. Look again at what aabby757 said:



I take the approach that aabby757 details above. My first cat liked to try and scratch the corner of my couch below the armrest. Whenever she did, I would call out a sharp "Hey! Hey!!" and clap my hands about three times quickly and loudly. That would startle her and send her skidding away. The pennies in a taped up aluminum can works too, but I found that the sound isn't as sharp and effective. The short yell and clap worked better for me and was easier than trying to fumble for the can while my cat tore up the couch. Nonetheless, it's the same concept.


In addition, I used a second method to drive my point home with the cat. I happened to have an extra piece of scrap carpet. You know, the sample squares they always seem to be throwing out from carpet stores? Since she would sometimes scratch when I was in another room or not home, I leaned the carpet piece against the area of the couch she liked to scratch. That helped keep it safer.


If I was home and I saw her trying to scratch the couch, I would run over (or go chase her around the room), grab her front paws and put them on the carpet. I would then make her run her claws across the carpet piece. Yes, forcibly. Why? Because at the very moment she exhibits scratching behaviour, I need to take advantage of the current state of her kitty mind and demonstrate *where* to take out her scratching urges.


It didn't take long at all for her to associate scratching = carpet piece. As a matter of fact, I recall that she would go over to the carpet piece and then look at me before trying to scratch. When she would go right for the carpet piece and scratch, I did nothing (no yell and clap, nothing). After all, that's exactly what I want her to do. Once she got that down, I moved the carpet piece away from the couch and viola! no more scratching on my furniture. Whenever she wanted a scratch, she simply found the new location of the carpet and went there.


My second cat didn't scratch furniture at all. My third cat was a tiny kitten and so she did try. However, she didn't need all of the extra training the first did. A yell and clap was all it took for her to realize that "mommy doesn't like me to scratch on this." :)


The same thing goes for training your cat to go in the litterbox. If I saw my cat about to go, or going, I would immediately jump up, run over, *pick up the cat* (yes, while it's making piddle) and run over to the litter box and place her in it. I would then hold her feet and force her to paw at the litter. Why? Again, peeing is what's on the cat's mind. Their instinct after peeing/pooping is to paw at the "dirt." So, I tap into the cat's instinct by dragging it's feet through the litterbox. Yeah, it's not great having to pick up a dripping cat, but it's not great that the cat is peeing outside the box anyway.


With all pets, one has to make sure that you also give a lot of love and praise to the animal so it doesn't feel "got at" while you're training it.


I even retrained my friend's cat after she found herself practically ready to give it away because of it's bad behaviour. My friend had no clue how to raise an animal. When the kitten tried to pee on the carpet, my friend would scream at the kitten by yelling out the cat's name and then throwing a shoe at it. :( After some time, my friend wondered why the cat was still peeing on the carpet, why it didn't seem to like her, and why it wouldn't come when you call her name. (Uhm... it won't come when you call it because it associates it's name with a flying shoe).


My methods may sound off beat, but they have been *extremely* effective for me. It only took about two weeks to get my cat to stop scratching the furniture, a couple of *days* to get my friend's cat to properly learn her name, and about two weeks to get both cats litterbox trained.


Dogs have a slightly different set of training but, again, hands on training is necessary, even with the "icky" or "irritating" behaviours. Declawing a cat is a relatively easy way out...just eliminate the claws and all is better, right? Training takes extra committment and effort. Then again, people who don't want to make any committment and effort shouldn't really own pets.


Just be patient and firm and your cat will come around soon enough. Best of luck to you!


.....Kelly :)

Great advice Kelly!

BTW. I've litter trained 3 cats and they each only took me 1 day! So send them to me if you need help LOL! :D

I agree with everyone! I have three cats with claws (and one without, but she was declawed before I got her) and I've really not had a problem with clawing at all. I got one of those gigantic kitty jungle carpeted things that's like 6 feet tall, and that gets most of the action. :)

I'm in complete agreement with everyone who says not to do it!

I'm a kitty lover even though I can't keep cats at my current place of residence, but we do own several cats at home.

It will definately hurt them!

Like someone else mentioned there are other options like using that spray that will deter them from going on or near the couches and other furniture. My parents used it successfully with our cats at home, and it doesn't smell like anything (to humans anyway)

Kelly, AWESOME post! great advice! :)

shopgrl, best of luck with your feline friend :)

I have 2 declawed cats and they really do not know that they don't have front claws. They will paw at the sofa and the wicker back chairs like they are clawing. They do still have back claws. They never go outside. If you are going to have in & out cats, I would not do it.

Been there
 

My last kitty (R.I.P. :( ) was NOTORIOUS for scratching on my couch. Here's what worked for me that got him to break that habit...

1. Buy a scratching post! As soon as I got him one, he left my furniture alone.

2. Squirt bottle. On those ocassion then I would catch him getting ready to do it on my furniture. After a few squirts, he left the furniture alone and just used the scratching post.

3. Clip his nails. I kept my kitty's nails clipped because those things do get sharp. They sell kitty clippers for about $3-$5 bucks everywhere (pet store, Wal-mart, etc.)


I'd thought about getting him declawed, but didn't, mainly because I'm cheap.

WOW!

I never have heard people so opposed to declawing a cat.

We have had 4 cats over the years, and all have been declawed. They are all indoor/outdoor cats, so just have the front claws removed and they are fine out at the barn and around the yard, etc. We did make this choice by talking with our vet. He also declaws his own cats in the same way.

I guess if your more worried about the cat than your furniture you can opt not to declaw, but it is safe and we have never had a cat get infected paws from it. I'm not sure what kind of vets you all go to, but I can reassure you that my vet is not only safe, but makes sure owners know the proper after care and follow up visits.

I have heard all the bad about declawing. And to be honest I am kind of on the fence about the issue.

My Dad had my cat declawed while I was at school (front paws only). And my cat is now 11 years old, and she has never had any infections or anything detrimental happen to her because of the declawing. She was about 2 when it was done.

The cat was asleep when the procedure was done. So there was no pain. And I was able to keep my cat. I lived with other people, and had she continued to destroy things I would have had to part with her. And I know I treat her well. So I think the declawing was the best answer. Who knows how someone else would have treated her if I had to give her up. Or she might have been put to sleep by someone if I gave her up and the new owner's couldn't deal with the destruction.

So if you can fix the problem without declawing, I think you should try that first. But if the only way to keep the kitty in your good care is to declaw, I think that you shouldn't feel guilty about it. You are doing what is best for the cat and you.

Thanks for all the advice.

I'm still pretty torn. BTW, my cat is six years old. I never declawed him b/c I thought it was inhumane. Then he ruined all of my new furniture. Not seriously, but enought to make me unhappy. He hasn't been too bad lately. My sister had him for the last year, which is why I stated that I just got him back. (I no longer have the furniture that he messed up). I don't have any furniture pieces yet, but the ones I had were all scratched up b/c he liked to jump up on them. So, I'm worried about getting new furniture b/c I don't want them to get all scratched up. I love my cat so much. I could never give him away, especially knowing he would more than likely be declawed by new owners anyway. I tried the spray stuff years ago. I don't remember it working all that well, but I could give it a go again. I do clap and yell no which gets him away. So, he has done o.k. I just haven't given him a replacement.

How will I prevent him from jumping up on my dressers? He loves to be up high.

So, I'll try the spray again. I'll get a post or piece of rug.
Perhaps I'll give the soft paws a try and buy clippers.

Thank you again, everyone.:)

Don't declaw your cat! Below is a link to an anti-declawing website, but I must warn you that some of the images are very graphic (not for the faint of heart). You should invest in several scratching posts and teach the cat to use that instead of the furniture when he has an urge to scratch something. Also put that double-sided sticky tape on the furniture. When he touches the furniture, he won't touch your furniture again. I also heard that a foul smelling spray can deter them from antiquing your furniture. With so many humane alternatives to declawing kitty, don't do it!

http://community-2.webtv.net/zuzu22/STOPDECLAWCOM/

http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmili.../pinkieone.gif http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmili...re/catmilk.gif http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmili.../catsmiley.gif

I will second the double sticky tape. if there is anything a cat hates, it is having his feet touched....the only thing that is worse is something sticky touching his feet. If they associate dressers with sticky feet, they will stay off.

Incidentally, I just heard that declawing was outlawed in a county in I think Florida or California.

Always a controversial topic
 

I was going to post the same site as CatStar. A city in California outlawed Declawing!

http://www.spacespider.net/emo/thumbsup.gif

I have 2 cats at home myself...scratching post trained

I would never have a cat declawed. As others have said, it's painful to the cat and leaves them defenseless should they wander outside. Think how you would feel if someone ripped out your fingernails.

You'd want to make sure kitty's claws are trimmed, and try to coax him/her into using a scratching post designed for the purpose, rather than your dining room table :)

Here's a thread I started a few weeks ago, when I thought I might be getting a kitty. (It fell through :( ) There's some discussion of declawing there as well.

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...threadid=34502

My husband's grandparents used to have a cat that had had ALL FOUR PAWS declawed :eek: The cat was like that when they got her. Their furniture was never scratched, but the poor cat!!

In terms of declawing cats, it's generally bad news because it can cause litter box problems down the road. Imagine that you'd just had all of your toes amputated at the first joint and you had to dig in and squat on gravel to pee. That's what it feels like to a newly-declawed cat. Though she might not have litter box problems right away, they could crop up when she's in a stressful situation, e.g. a move, an illness, or a new animal in the house.

I would especially discourage you from declawing a cat who's already six years old and has learned to live with his claws. It'd be way too traumatic, and he could undergo a major personality change.

Please do not declaw! It's not that they dislocate the first joint of their claw, but they accuately remove it alltogether. It is like an amputation of the first joint of all your fingers.
There are many ways to "teach" (train) your cat not to claw furniture. Try this: (it will look odd at first) tape blown up ballons on your couch. Kitty will pop these as he scratches them and it will scare him off. Also, get a small squirt bottle and spray him a little. Then redirect him to a scraching post. Encourage him by putting cat nip on the scraching post, and positive attention. That should work.

Hehehe..well, there *is* a reason it took two weeks to get the cats litterbox trained. My cat was a newborn kitten who had been abandoned in a mall parking lot. She was thin and had worms which made her stools loose. So, it wasn't very easy for her to "hold it in" when she had to go. :) I had to take her to the vet to get the illness cleared up first which helped her focus on the box training.

My friend's cat also took two weeks because my friend had made no real efforts to litterbox train her to start with. In the meantime, the cat peed on her bedroom carpet, on her clothes and on my friend's bed. The cat even went upstairs to the neighbor's apartment and peed on his futon bed! Even after washing up, cats can smell urine and they keep wanting to go back to pee on the same spots. So, with this cat it was harder to break her of peeing wherever she felt like it. She was hyperactive and had behaviour problems. With a bit of training and a lot of love, we got her out of her destructive behaviours fairly quickly. After about a year or so, she really mellowed out. She became the sweetest, most gentle cat ever!


.....Kelly :)

Damn, thats an awful lot of problems caused by declawing . . .

Behavioral changes, personality changes . . . .

All I can say is that all your cats need therapy. My cat adjusted fine to declawing. He didn't change personality, he didn't change behavior.

Hell he didn't even mope around. Obviously my cat is just a little bit better adjusted and resillient than all of your spoiled felines LOL.

Maybe if you raised your cats right, instead of babying them so much, they might be able to handle some of the curves that life throws at them lol.

Oh and he never developed any litter box problems either . . what wierd cats you must all have!

I have 5 cats and none are declawed but sometimes I am tempted b/c my furniture is toast. I have declawed cats myself and I did not like doing it (that is about the only thing that makes me queezy about vet. med). I work emergency and I don't have to do it thank goodnes. I however am against outlawing it. The county that outlawed declawing is in west hollywood (I think they also want to outlaw spaying and neutering but I will have to refer back to one of my vet. journals for that info. to confirm). If declawing becomes outlawed I GUARNATEE the euthanasia rate will increase dramatically. I would rather have a cat declawed and on proper pain control (ie fentanyl patch) than have to kill a cat which is no picnic. I already have to euthanize animals for fixable things (just euth. a puppy tonight with parvo). Some apartment complexes will not allow you to have cats unless they are declawed (at least in Austin). My best friend has a declawed cat (she is a vet too) and he is a happy/healthy/normal cat. Yes there can be complications if not done rt. Nails can regrow, get infected etc...l I have yet to see this and the percentage in my opinion is low as many cats are declawed daily here in Austin.

If you do decide to get your cat declawed MAKE sure they use good pain control afterwards for 3-5 days. Some veterinarians do not use enough pain management and that makes me angry. Ask your veterinarian what type of pain management will be given after declwing and if you need a consultation PM me.

I have seen clients successfully use the soft paws but they do fall off and have to be replaced but you can try this.

Karen

Hmm
 

Hmm. . . I don't even particularly like cats, however, I like them enough to say that declawing is inhumane. And as a former pre-vet student and as a person living with a pre-vet student, I'd have to say don't do it. Think of it as yourself, how would you like to have all of your fingernails removed, and not only that, but also the tip of your finger above that joint amputated too? While not every cat will change behavior or personality, there is a very, very good possibility. And also, it is true that not all cats suffer physical complications, but an overwhelming about do suffer problems post-surgery. I'd work on retraining your cat, and investing in a scratching post; and get some toys with catnip in them to keep your cat amused.

Court

Re: Hmm
 

I have to disagree with these statements (again not that I am for declawing b/c I am not). While it is a possibility that a cat may have a personality change (but this can be true for any surgery, vet visit, new pet introduced etc.... cats sometimes are difficult to understand) you cannot say that it is a very very good possibility. Also, you cannot say that an overwhelming number suffer complications unless you have a study to back this up and as far as I know I have not seen a study that supports this. Sorry I just want people to the know the facts and since this is my profession (I have been in it for over 15 years partly as a technician and last 6 years as a vet.) I feel I can speak up on this topic.

I see many declawed cats-I see them everyday I am in practice and I have not had a client complain to me that it caused such and such problems or personality switch maybe a day/regular veterinarian would have a different perspective but I doubt it.

We declawed my current cat when he was very young. I think it was a pretty nasty surgery but it's saved my skin and my furniture a lot of scratches. Given the choice, I'd have it done again. He's certainly not a helpless creature either. We have 2 dogs that are terrified of the clawless cat.

I have two cats, and I will not declaw them.

Why alter an animal's body because it is more convenient for you? Think about it, we didn't exactly get their consent to adopt them. So I'll just live with slightly messed up furniture, as I cut my cats's claws down on a regular basis. They do make special clippers for cat claws.

Please don't hurt me, I love you!!!!
http://thumbs.webshots.com/sym/na3/7...3WopjUu_th.jpg

The giant kitty will come get you if you hurt my friends!

http://community.webshots.com/sym/im...6MdWPta_ph.jpg

I think there is also a "more humane" way to do it. I don't know the exact details, but I think they cut the tendon thats controls the claw, taking away the ability to engage them and cause damge, but they are not ripping the claw out, so it's less toturous with less chance of infection because there is no big open sore where the claw once was. The procedure is more expensive, but a lot of animal people I've talked to said it was a lot better for the kitty. You should look into it. And onl do the front paws so they still have some defensive/grip.

I have four cats, all of which are declawed. I don't recall any of them acting like they were in pain after the procedure, and they haven't had any problems in the 2+ years since. The cat is anesthetized during the procedure, and mine were given pain medicine afterwards.

As for the litter problem, you should use shredded paper in the box until toes are healed competely - after that it shouldn't be a problem. If regular litter is used when the toes are still a bit tender, the cat may associate any pain from digging in the litter with the litter box, which would cause the problems with not using the litter box.

I honestly don't think a vet would do the procedure if they really believed it was painful and inhumane. However, since your cat is a bit older (and used to the claws, as someone said) I would try to find an alternative, only because older cats may have complications from the anesthesia.

wow, i didnt know declawing was considered so taboo.

my precious little princess kitty is 12 now, and we got her declawed when she was just a baby. (i was only 7 yrs old at the time, so i had nothing to do with it!!) i dont think it has affected her in any way other then she has no claws. i think since she was so little she doesnt even remember ever having claws, or know that she should have them. also i am a vegetarian and have a HUGE soft spot for animals, but i really dont see it as being that bad... i mean, geez, we cut out theyre utereus's and no one complains about that, so whats the diff?? but if you do do it, i think it should be done when they are little so they dont suffer any mental repercussions. i may sound crazy, but what they hey.