Budget buster-cat declawing

[la79al]

I know this is a controversial subject. And I was really against it, but our cat is destroying our house. DH has never liked the cat and is giving me one week to do something about the cat or he is going to take the cat for a little car ride. Our cat has never actually been to the vet so I don't know what to expect as far as cost but I'm pretty worried . We're already pulling from the savings every month to cover basic bills.

 

[cornflake]

First... your cat has never been to the vet?! For regular shots like FLV?! Has he or she been spayed or neutered?! Those are an absolute MUST.

Second, no, please do not declaw the cat. Do you trim his or her nails? Does he or she have a scratch pad?

Softpaws nail covers save furniture, are cheap and simple to apply.

Take your cat to the vet!

 

[NYEmomma]

I don't recall off the top of my head how much declaws usually ran at our office, but one of the most important things for you to do is ask them HOW they do the procedure. If it's not done by laser, run far, far away. The horror stories you hear about declaw procedures are from doctors who do it the old school way with a tool akin to human nail clippers. I wouldn't go anywhere that doesn't use a laser for the procedure, no matter how much cheaper it was.

 

[torinsmom]

You can also learn to clip your cat's claws yourself and do that weekly to keep them from doing damage to the furniture. I have heard that declawing is like someone removing all a person's fingernails. Imagine the pain that would cause

BTW, if my husband took my cat for a "car ride", he better not come back home

 

[DizMom11]

I have several cats, they are inside/outside cats - we have cat doors. None are declawed and are house is fine. I use double sided tape which they sell at Pet stores. You put it on the furniture and the cats stay away. you only have to have on the the furniture for a short time. Please do research on the down side of declawing and maybe think about finding another home for your cat, in turn can always adopt a cat that has been declawed, which would work out for your home. hope it helps

 

[nancygirl1]

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT DECLAW YOUR CAT!!
If clawing your furniture is a problem then please look into ALL alternatives available. If you remove their claws you are taking away their only natural defense. I guarantee you that the cat will start to bite and then become aggressive because it will have no other way to defend itself and then you will get rid of it anyway. This will make it so much more difficult to adopt it out.

I would rather see you give it to a no kill shelter than declaw it. PLEASE DON'T do this to your cat. What would happen to it if it got out. It would have absolutely no way to defend itself.

You are breaking my heart...sorry, I LOVE cats! Right now I have 2 sweet little kittens sitting on my desk napping.

Please Don't....

 

[jseargent]

We just had our kitty neutered and declawed, total which included an overnight stay was $266.50. Lucky is home and pouncing on everything just like he was before. My vet wouldn't perform any procedures until 2 weeks after Lucky had been the series of his kitten shots.

 

[auralia]

my cats lazer declaw was a bit over 400$ including pain meds and antibiotics and an over night to give him extra time to heal. it also included his first round of shots. We did it because we have 2 little ones at home... this cat would have been put down if we hadn't taken him in and dh wouldn't take him without claws so ... really declawing him saved his life. Not cheap... the regular declaw ran anywhere from 100-250 from vets around my area (east GA) but I wanted the best and safest for him since i didn't want it done in the first place (as i said dh's requirement) I went with the least painful (or so i was told) and most successful, though much more expensive procedure.

please note, my cat is not agressive, doesn't bite except when playing, and doesn't complain about his paws (it has been 2 years)

 

[Eeyore98]

I have heard that declawing is like someone removing all a person's fingernails. Imagine the pain that would cause

It is actually worse than that. They don't just remove the claw, they remove the entire last part of the toe where the claw rests. Whether done with a laser or not, it is basically like if you got the tips of all your fingers down to the first knuckle removed. I am a dog person and cats actually freak me out, but no pet deserves to be mutilated like that!

OP, *please* look into Soft Paws or training methods rather than resorting to surgical declawing. And get your kitty in for his basic vaccinations and a checkup!

 

[hereyago]

You know usually I don't flame away on the budget board. BUT:

I see by your ticker you are going on a vacation in 11 months? is another family member (say your parents) paying for it? cause really, you write that you are pulling from savings to cover basic bills.

If you are paying for vacation: then honestly get rid of your cat-not have your DH take it for a ride(i don't even want to think what that could mean)because if my spouse ever said that, I'd be giving him a neutering he wouldn't forget-or more like he's feel like he had been neutered. Caring for a pet is thinking about them and their needs before a vacation.

If someone else is paying for your trip all expenses paid: then I agree with the soft paws or educate yourself how to cut the cat's nails. Cut back on even more stuff and get your cat to the vet. call your local spca or humane society and see if they offer vaccination at low prices.

 

[la79al]

OP here. It's not the furniture that's the problem. She claws the doorways, doors and walls. We have had success with deterring her from one spot, only to find that she has started somewhere else. She has a scratching pad thing that she does use sometimes. I know the declawing is not pleasant but we have not been able to find her a new family and our local shelter will not take any more cats. She doesn't scratch either of the babies. Can you tell me more about the Soft Paws? Will she still try to scratch stuff? Will she just chew them off pretty quickly? Like I said, I have been given a timeline.

 

[la79al]

You know usually I don't flame away on the budget board. BUT:

I see by your ticker you are going on a vacation in 11 months? is another family member (say your parents) paying for it? cause really, you write that you are pulling from savings to cover basic bills.

If you are paying for vacation: then honestly get rid of your cat-not have your DH take it for a ride(i don't even want to think what that could mean)because if my spouse ever said that, I'd be giving him a neutering he wouldn't forget-or more like he's feel like he had been neutered. Caring for a pet is thinking about them and their needs before a vacation.

If someone else is paying for your trip all expenses paid: then I agree with the soft paws or educate yourself how to cut the cat's nails. Cut back on even more stuff and get your cat to the vet. call your local spca or humane society and see if they offer vaccination at low prices.

Yes, actually, my mom is paying for our vacation.

 

[hereyago]

Yes, actually, my mom is paying for our vacation.

Sorry I wasn't trying to get into your business, but some people will get on the boards say how broke they are but have all these vacations planned that they are paying for and it makes no sense to me.

I am a huge animal lover: we have a GSD, 1 cat that has been diagnosed with FIV(which I knew when I adopted him) and 2 dumbo rats(um my DD13 has these I am afraid of anything that doesn't bark or meow. So even with all that, I know it can get pretty expensive.

But do call your local human society and maybe they can steer you to a low cost vet or vaccination clinc.

Soft paws are great. www.softpaws.com They look like little fake fingernails,lol

 

[torinsmom]

The soft paws go on with something like glue, I believe, so they are not easy to chew off. I know people who have had great success with them. I used to cut my first cat's nails every week and that worked for me.

Now that you said it's the door frames, maybe try double side tape with aluminum foil on top of that. Cats HATE aluminum foil. At the same time, add a new scratching pad or post with catnip and bring him over to that often to encourage him to scratch that instead. After a week or so, try taking the foil off and see what happens. Chances are if you give him a replacement behavior, he won't go back to scratching the door frames.

And do call your local animal shelter to see if they offer low cost vaccines. I only do rabies for my cats. If your cat does not have a current rabies vaccination and there is any possibility he has been bitten by an animal like a bat, he will be put to sleep.

Do you have no say in this? God help if my husband ever gave me an ultimatum like that. Maybe that is why I don't have one of those....

 

[hereyago]

And the cat scratchers. You know, cats are well, finicky and bossy,lol. So the cat scratcher that your cat has, just doesn't have the same texture as the doors,etc say if you have a cardboard like texture scratcher, the cat may get more use out of the harder type ones.

 

[bedogged]

I know this is a controversial subject. And I was really against it, but our cat is destroying our house. DH has never liked the cat and is giving me one week to do something about the cat or he is going to take the cat for a little car ride. Our cat has never actually been to the vet so I don't know what to expect as far as cost but I'm pretty worried . We're already pulling from the savings every month to cover basic bills.

Does your husband realize that it is against the law to dump a cat? He could be charged with animal cruelty. He really needs to rethink his position about "taking the cat for a little car ride."

 

[torinsmom]

And the cat scratchers. You know, cats are well, finicky and bossy,lol. So the cat scratcher that your cat has, just doesn't have the same texture as the doors,etc say if you have a cardboard like texture scratcher, the cat may get more use out of the harder type ones.

Yes, I find cats like the wood or hard cardboard ones covered by sisal material.

 

[la79al]

OP here again. I was looking at the Soft Paws and found some Soft Claws on Amazon that I might go with. She hates having her paws messed with so I'm not sure how it is going to go. I am wondering if instead, I can just start trimming her nails and maybe get her a better scratching pad. I am going to work on fixing the many, many things she has destroyed so maybe that will buy some time with the husband to let the other things work. I'm not really in favor of the declawing but I know if we try to turn her into an indoor/outdoor cat, she will be hit by a car. Plus, she absolutely hates being outside, odd since she was born in a barn .

 

[bedogged]

Oh my gosh, if the cat has never seen a vet, is it spayed or neutered?

 

[la79al]

Oh my gosh, if the cat has never seen a vet, is it spayed or neutered?

Yes, she is spayed.