Anyone Declaw their kitten? No Debates please I have seen plenty of websites...

[ShannonRT]

Both my male cats were declawed as kittens, the same time they were neutered. My vet used the laser on the front paws only. They came home with no bleeding, no bandages and seemingly pain free. They weren't on any meds and only had to use newspaper litter for about 2 weeks I think. We have no behavioral issues now and they still "scratch" at the furniture, which I think is hilarious. I always tell DD "Would you please tell Oliver he doesn't have any claws to sharpen?"

 

[ashky71]

Hey I am new to the boards but have been reading them for a looong time. I finally had to post. My girl had her front paws declawed around 6 months when I had her spayed, and we haven't had any problems. We did use shredded paper instead of litter for a while right after. She is the same hyperactive, loving little pest she always has been.

 

[chager]

Our 2 oldest cats are declawed. The 2 youngest are not. Mostly for financial reasons. If you decide to declaw I recommend having the laser surgery. (I also recommend that for spay/nueter) It is a little more expensive but it cuts the heal time in half!! Not nearly as much pain after either. (At least neither of my girls had issues after their spays!) Good luck with whatever you decide!!

 

[kimmikayb]

I have had cats all my life...and yes they have always been declawed (front only). My cats have never had a complication. I have 4 cats right now. Disney is 16, Max is 10, Roxy is 4 and Rico is a kitten who just found us a couple months ago. He isn't declawed yet, but will be. He loves to jump on my back and grab on! The other three have been declawed since they were 6 months old. All can defend themselves agaisnt the dogs, climb trees and haven't had a behavior problem.

Cats are amazing animals. They adapt to a lot of things, for instance...Max only has three legs. He doesn't know it. He gets along great.


If you decide to go ahead and declaw....use shredded newspaper instead of litter for the first few days, much easier for kitty.

 

[pppiglet]

I have 7 cats, none declawed, but all like those cardboard scratchers that lay on the floor. One of them just drools all over it. They also like their scratching posts, but prefer the cardboard. We have new furniture and they leave it alone. (and I don't trim their nails)

 

[Jpgirl]

Ok I just gotta love the anti declawing web sites Like I said before I have 5 cats (2 on soft paws 3 declawed), since I was a teen ager up until this point I have had 8 cats. I have had problems with male cats urinating but it wasn't because of being declawed. Male cats are very prone to crystals in their urine (especially if they're fed a dry diet) and it's very painful to urinate if you have crystals and you're a male cat-if you get my drift. Cats are funny creatures they'll stop using the cat box for a number of reasons and yes on occasion because they get declawed BUT declawing a cat does not automatically mean they'll stop using it. I'd see a greater chance of not using the litter box if they're neutered or spayed (I had a hysterectomy last March-I know how hard it is to get things working). I'm not opposed to people declawing their cats-now that I've discovered soft Paws I probably won't get any future cats declawed. Yes they do have to remove part of the bone and it is painful but I've never had any issues including bow legged felines. If you do it when they're kittens they recover very quickly

 

[Mysteria]

Ok no debate here. I haven't read all posts. My opinion. The first cats I had ( I was 10) were declawed. That was when it was widely accepted and nobody really knew what it involved. Since then I haven't. Good cats (well really no we just got lucky) that used posts and stuff they were supposed to scratch. HOWEVER if it came to a point where it was declaw or put the cat down your darn right I would still declaw.

Let me give you an example. My MIL's cat is nuts. She just is. She is 5 LBS of fury when she wants to be. She has cornered 500lbs of grown men and had them scared ****less before. My MIL is considering putting her down because of the harm she might do. Declaw or put down. I say declaw. MHO

Myst

 

[Charade]

All the cats I've in the last 25 or so years have been (front)declawed. It's not a moral issue for me. I don't want them scratching the furniture or people. None of them have had any issues after the fact.

 

[Mommy2cody]

When I was younger, our cat (male) was an indoor cat and my mom had him declawed, he was fine! They would only do the front paws and not the back. But he never had any problems. (Sweetest cat....I had him for 13 years ) Well, when my DH and I got our first cat (Tinkerbell) she was great. A little scratching when we first got her as a kitten but she never had a scratch pad or post, she just never really scratched. Well, now we have a new kitten (Thumper) and she is a SPAZ!! We refer to her as the dog because she fetches and plays with huge stuffed animals and is just crazy....total opposite of our older cat. I am seriously considering getting her declawed because I cannot get her to stop scratching. She will come up to us and use us as a scratching post instead of the actual post!!! Anyways...sorry for rambling....I say go with what will work for you and your kitty!

 

[cnj]

Our indoor cat is declawed and I think she was even friendlier after getting it done. We have never regretted the decision.

 

[Sleepy]

All of our cats have been declawed (front feet only). My mother got a cat from a rescue place a year ago and the contract stated no declawing so she has claws and mom rarely has problems with the cat scratching. When she first got her, mom would put her in a small cage as punishment for scratching furniture and she learned quickly. Mom also says she will never have another cat declawed. I am on both sides of the fence on that one. I have lived my whole life being able to play with my cats and roughhouse with them and not have to worry about front claws. I just can't have that sort of bonding with my mom's cat because she will claw the crap out of you. My son tried to play with her and we finally started using oven mitts to protect our hands and arms. I guess it would just take some getting use to, but it just would not be the same.

 

[shortbun]

I've had over a dozen cats since I left my mother's home. I've never had a cat declawed. My mother never had a cat declawed. Nothing in either home has been destroyed by a cat. I've had scratches from kittens but my adult cats rarely play with their claws out.

 

[Fitswimmer]

I have 3 cats, none declawed. There is evidence that they live here on my furniture, but nothing that upsets me. (I don't have expensive furniture)

Mom and Dad's got a kitten this year and they did have her declawed. She was hanging on the screen on their lanai and they were afraid as she got heavier she would pull the screen down. There were no problems with the surgery or with behavior problems afterwards.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

We have a 14 year old cat that is declawed, front only,. That was the reason that we were turned down 4 times last week when it came to adopting our new kitten, Wishes. We had to sign on the adoption papers that we would not have him declawed or they would not have let lus adopt him. Having always been around declawed cats, I am extremely nervous about what lies ahead but won't do it because we promised everything in front of DS and I would not tell a lie in front of him, won't do that to my vet since they knew we adopted and the whole story, nor run the risk of losing Wishes if they found out we did.

That said, we are looking for any tips and suggestions anyone could give us so we can be prepared. I have a few questions if anyone can answer them:

1. How often should we clip his nails? They may have done it a few times before we brought him home and we did a little trimming last night, just because I wanted to get him used to it.

2. We have a little scratching post that he uses and he "schimmies" up the to the top LOL. Is there a way to show them how to use it?

3. I saw they have the SoftPaws/Claws at PetSmart and online, they have kitten sizes. Would they be best used when he is a little older or start now? I worry about him chewing it off.

I don't mean to change the topic of the thread, so anyone please feel free to send a PM with any suggestions.

Thank you!

 

[SDFgirl]

My two cats are declawed. I don't believe that it should be an automatic decision, but it can be a solution after trying everything else.

Honestly, my cats behave NO differently. They were already strictly indoor cats. They play, cuddle, wrestle, eat, drink, snooze...everything they did before. They still even "scratch" the couch except now they don't get yelled at for it.

 

[lilyv]

Another option to consider:
If you start when they are young, it's usually easy to trim claws. I've always done this monthly for our cat, front and back. A vet or vet tech can show you how to do it. Not hard.

If you do choose de-claw, please consider keeping your kitty indoors.

I am a big advocate for keeping cats inside, anyway. Far less chance of disease, they are safer, and the birds don't get bugged.

 

[TurboKitty]

We chose not to declaw our indoor kitten when she was spayed. We yell at her a little when she forgets and starts to use the sofa as a scratching post but we figure that's part of the whole "having a cat" package.

We had another cat that would seemingly attack us, and sometimes scratch or bite. She calmed down as soon as we got the second cat. Turned out, our single cat was lonely and needed a feline friend with whom to wrestle.

 

[jenm2878]

All three of ours are front declawed, but they are STRICTLY indoor cats. Not one of them had a problem after surgery, but my boy was a wierdo who wouldn't bite his stitches out. (It's normal for a cat to pull the stitches out of their paws when their paws heal) His paws were healed and the stitches were still in. We cut the loops and he still wouldn't pull the strings out. We finally had to remove them ourselves because he wouldn't do it. Goofy cat.

My oldest cat has learned to use her declawed front paws like fingers - she can grip very firmly on things. Honestly, I would probably declaw in the future if we ever add more cats to the family. I think it's a personal decision between you and your vet, and you shouldn't feel guilty for wanting to do it. Just my two cents.

 

[Scornelius]

Both of our cats are declawed, and neither have ever had any complications. With both of them I signed a contract saying I wouldn't, but I honestly didn't care about that. It was either have them declawed or watch them get thrown across the room when they do that 'kneading' thing on someone's thigh. I chose the method I figured my kitties would prefer.

 

[FayeW]

We adopted our cat from the animal shelter almost 5 yrs ago, and he was neutered and declawed already. I think we still would have taken him had he not been declawed, but not having to worry about him scratching the furniture was a definite plus. We already had a beautiful cat that we had adopted about 11 yrs previous. He was not declawed and I used to take him on my lap every month or so and clip his nails. He destroyed a lot of furniture before I started clipping!

I worked in a vet's office for a couple of years and I can tell you that I will never, ever, get a cat declawed. If we get any more cats in the future I will either adopt one that has been declawed or go back to clipping nails.