Declawing a cat....please help!

[Kristin AGD]

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.

[shopgirl]

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.

[CatStarESP4]

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/

[33girl]

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.

[Jill1228]

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



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

[aephi alum]

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 The cat was like that when they got her. Their furniture was never scratched, but the poor cat!!

[KappaKittyCat]

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.

[Lisa Fishman]

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.

[navane]

Originally posted by ZTAMiami
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!

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

[James]

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.

[James]

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

Originally posted by James
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.

[aggieAXO]

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

[sigma3]

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

[aggieAXO]

Originally posted by sigma3
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.

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.

[Kevin]

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.