Budget buster-cat declawing

[hereyago]

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 .

Yes. I think it would be best and to buy some time to get a nail trimmer and get her a different textured scratcher,something she can really just work those paws on until you get the soft claws.

i have no advice on how to make it easier for the both you and your cat for the first time trimming-I got our cat from a rescue that rescued him and his siblings and mom and they worked on getting the kittens used to nail trimmings.

 

[bedogged]

Yes, she is spayed.

Good, did you adopt her from a humane society or other rescue group that had her spayed?

 

[pigletto]

I am not going to flame. The cat needs help. She is doing what comes NATURAL to her. So a solution is needed. I have one cat who doesn't scratch, one who likes the wood on our cupboards. There is a bitter spray that helps, most pet stores carry it. Keeping her nails trimmed is important if you learn to do it correctly. The nerve isn't very far into the nail so please if you are going to do it yourself, make sure you research first. Also soft paws are an option. I've seen them mentioned many times and called my vet this morning to have some ordered in.
This is something my cat has only started to do recently so we are still trying to do what works.
Please don't declaw.

 

[torinsmom]

Just be careful when clipping the nails. If you look at them really carefully, you will see a red part that is shaped like the actual claw. DO NOT clip into this red part, or you will have a very angry and very bloody cat! I would have someone hold the cat wrapped up in a towel to clip the nails. It is only $10 at my vet to have them clipped, so you might try that first to save your sanity.

 

[adventure_woman]

Please - trim your cats nails. That is why she would be clawing on everything!! I can always tell when ours need to be done, they start kneading on the carpet. One is a piece of cake to trim, she just holds still The other, not so much. He is a monster and hisses at me when I do it. I tried bribing w/ treats everytime and sometimes that works. BUT, I finally bought a little kitty muzzle so if he gets all sassy on me, I can put that on him for a few minutes and do what I need to do. If not, he is prone to even bite me....I figure the little muzzle for 2 minutes is better than declawing him!

 

[cornflake]

Yes, she is spayed.

Has she had her vaccines?

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

We had horrible luck with the soft paws - our cat hated them. She would let me trim her nails, but wouldn't tolerate the soft paws.

I know declawing is wildly unpopular - but if it saves the cats life...

 

[Arabelle]

Has she had her vaccines?

Indoor cat doesn't need them.

Op, hope the soft claws help.

 

[cornflake]

We had horrible luck with the soft paws - our cat hated them. She would let me trim her nails, but wouldn't tolerate the soft paws.

I know declawing is wildly unpopular - but if it saves the cats life...

It doesn't save the cat's life though.... because the only way the cat's life is in danger is if the OP's husband does something horrifying and illegal.

Adding to the slew of people who would not be married if a spouse threatened something like that, nevermind just accepting that that'd happen because he said so? It's not ok, on several levels.

 

[cornflake]

Indoor cat doesn't need them.

Op, hope the soft claws help.

Yes, an indoor cat needs them!

 

[Zim]

For me, I've never worried much about the state of the carpeting or anything like that. But when I moved into our new house and bought this really nice brown aviator jacket type soft leather sofa set, I was all set for a huge battle with the cats. So any time they raised a claw to it, I immediately whisked them into the bathroom for a knock down drag out clipping of the front claws.

Most of them dealt with it very well and learned the association quickly and stay away from the furniture. I have one serious fighter though, and it's almost a two person job to clip his claws. I've found normal human nail clippers work best, and I only clip the tips, which does no harm and grows back. It's a worthy battle though if she can make the association between the clawing and the clipping.

 

[pixiewings71]

The cat will need vaccines if she becomes an outside cat due to clawing. OP, please try the soft paws, or please try to clip her claws yourself. It really isn't that hard to do but it takes a few tries to get it right. It may be better to do it at the vet or groomers first and then try yourself, you can use regular (large) nail clippers for cats, that's what we use for our 3 when they need it.....speaking of one of them needs it. LOL Also, to attract her to the scratching post get some dry catnip, rub a small amount on the post and then direct her to it, she will use it. I also know someone who used carpet protector on her couches because her cat was tearing them up. She was studying to be a vet and didn't want to declaw so she bought carpet protector (the plastic stuff with nubs on the bottom), turned it nub part out and stuck it to her couches, I think she did have to staple it but it worked like a charm, and she was able to take it off after about a month. Good luck, I will say that I do not agree with declawing, I've seen too many cats react poorly to it but it's not my choice to make.

 

[torinsmom]

Indoor cat doesn't need them.

Op, hope the soft claws help.

They need at least rabies vaccine. It is mandatory in my state for all pets to be up to date on that one. Bats can get into houses and if animal control comes to get one out and there is an unvaccinated pet in the house, it will be quarantined at the owner's expense or euthanized.

I don't do any other vaccines for my indoor cats, but if ever get another cat, I will make sure the old ones get the calcivirus one before the new cat comes in. The last two cats we got had been vaccinated, but still carried it on their fur and my other two cats got sick, one almost died from a secondary infection.

 

[englishteacha]

Squirt guns! Seriously. We kept a little squirt gun in every room of the house when we got our kitty. We'd squirt her whenever she tried to scratch the furniture. It was a good deterrent and didn't hurt her at all. My husband can trim her claws, but she won't let me do it. I got an Emery Cat but my kitty won't go near it.

 

[SandrA9810]

It only costs about $30-$40 for the low cost vaccines, which is what I did for my dog.

You could also create your own scratching post. If you go into a Home Depot, you'll find a large bin near the saws of cull lumber. These are left over pieces other customers didn't want, or slightly warped and unsellable wood. Do not get any of the green/pressure treated lumber, there's an arsenic in it, which wouldn't be good inside your home.

Just make a little triangle out of different size pieces of wood. Like 4x4 or a piece of a plywood. Doesn't have to be pretty, just functional. Cats most often like pieces that are on an angle, which makes it easier for them to scratch.

For cleaning up any door jams, use a medium grit sandpaper to get the roughness out of it, and then clean it up with a fine grit. If there's any painted surfaces, you can get those mini bottles of paint that they use for samples. They can mix it to any color.

The quickest fix is going to order those soft paws. That will keep the cat in the house for now. Then get used to clipping her claws before you apply the soft paws. Just in case one or two fall off, there won't be a sharp claw underneath just waiting for a good scratching post.

 

[pediatric-rnp]

We use the softpaws on both of our kitties and they are wonderful! Our cats are 2 yrs old and we just started to use them, as we had bought some new furniture. Our vet had told me about them. I went to the website and watched the video of how they are applied.

Once they arrived, I clipped the end of each nail (don't clip too much, as the little nailcovers need to grip), and then my son dripped the 2 drops of glue into each one and I applied it. In the video she shows you how to hold them while doing this. Our cats jumped right down afterwards and totally ignored them. They stay on for about 4-6 weeks, before needing to be reapplied.

For Christmas we got the red and green ones. They looked soooo cute!! They stlll occasionally stretch and try to claw , but no damage done. They try it less and less since they realize it's not the same as before.

Another idea to try by itself or use in conjunction with the softpaws is COMFORT ZONE SPRAY with FELIWAY. You spray it on the areas they like to scratch and it really helps reduce the scratching. It's analogue of feline facial pheromones, and makes them feel safe and not needing to mark their territory, which is what yours sounds like it is doing.

It also comes in a room plug-in, which we just recently had to get on our vets advice. We've had a lot of changes in the house over the past few months and people unfamiliar to them coming and going ( remodeling, new flooring installation, furniture delivery, ) One of the girls is losing weight. Bloodwork and exam and xray were all negative, so our vet really thinks she is stressed out from everything. The minute we plugged it in the room, she perked her head up and wandered right over to it. Now she sleeps near it, and definately seems more like her old self.

Not inexpensive stuff, however, but well worth it. The spray is appprox $30 and the room plug in is $50. Plug in lasts for about 4-6 weeks before needing a refill. The spray lasts a long time. Our vet rec NOT using the generic sprays or plug ins. They are not as effective.

Also, while waiting for the softpaws to arrive ( I think mine took about a week ), the pet stores do carry knock offs. They'd help at least until the softpaws arrive.

 

[kelly1218]

It only costs about $30-$40 for the low cost vaccines, which is what I did for my dog.

You could also create your own scratching post. If you go into a Home Depot, you'll find a large bin near the saws of cull lumber. These are left over pieces other customers didn't want, or slightly warped and unsellable wood. Do not get any of the green/pressure treated lumber, there's an arsenic in it, which wouldn't be good inside your home.

Just make a little triangle out of different size pieces of wood. Like 4x4 or a piece of a plywood. Doesn't have to be pretty, just functional. Cats most often like pieces that are on an angle, which makes it easier for them to scratch.

For cleaning up any door jams, use a medium grit sandpaper to get the roughness out of it, and then clean it up with a fine grit. If there's any painted surfaces, you can get those mini bottles of paint that they use for samples. They can mix it to any color.

The quickest fix is going to order those soft paws. That will keep the cat in the house for now. Then get used to clipping her claws before you apply the soft paws. Just in case one or two fall off, there won't be a sharp claw underneath just waiting for a good scratching post.

This is NOT true!
Home Depot stopped carrying arsenic treated wood about 7 years ago. While I still don't recommend using pressure treated, because it does still contain substances to treat it...it does NOT contain arsenic

 

[hsmamato2]

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 .

Soft paws don't work, when I tried them,my problem cat just tore them all off. SO if you're tight on money,don't bother. Try clipping the nails.But honestly you need to get your cat spayed and vaxed. I also recommend letting it go outside to work off it's nervous energy,it's a cat,it's going to do cat things,and why would you assume it's going to get hit? Sound to me like it's in more danger the way you've got things now.

 

[soonerfan2008]

Don't let your cat go outside unless you have it leashed or contained in the backyard, as is the law in most communities (same with dogs). Your neighbors didn't get a cat, and they likely do not want one roaming, pooping in flower beds, scratching up their fences, climbing on and scratching their cars.

I know you didn't say you do this, but other people have suggested it.

 

[Arabelle]

We have no laws regarding containment of cats in our area. So it isn't a requirement in most communities.

If the cat goes out, then she will need vaxed, obviously. She is already spayed according to the op.