Declawing our kitty....

[JenDaveBrendan]

I know I will probably get flamed for this one - but it's okay! I want to hear all experiences/opinions about this.
Our kitty is 7 months old, and claws EVERYTHING, including my son. She is also literally tearing up our carpets. We want to get her declawed, but are wondering if it is the right thing to do.....
For those who have a declawed kitty - how was the recovery time? Does the kitty act the same since the declawing?
My parents will be taking her for 2 weeks when we go to Disney in Jan. , and the last time they took her (just for a weekend) they had a fit because they just renovated the house and she was clawing at the molding and the walls nonstop.
I have thought about those "softpaws" things, but don't know if I can deal with putting them on her (and if she would get agrivated with them and pull them off)... it takes all we have just to hold her down to clip her front claws.
Thanks!

Jen

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Please don't do it

 

[tiggerlover]

No flamming here, I am all for declawing kitty! We declawed our kitty when he was a kitten (can't remember how old) and I don't regret it at all. He lived to be 17 years old and never had any problems living without his claws (front only). I don't remember him having any complication at all, but that was almost 20 years ago. My sister has had a few cats over the years, one she adopted and it was declawed front and back and he had no problems that I know of either .

 

[ntburns22]

We had our little guys front paws done. He is just fine. My sister just had her 'little man's" front paws done and he is doing great too.

 

[LK03]

I was very against declawing and since I didn't want ruined furniture and carpets I read about how to train the cat. Well, I was lucky in that my first cat took instantly to the scratching post after showing him a few times but my second cat that was adopted went right for the furniture. As soon as we caught her we'd say no pick her up immediately take her to the scratching post and run her paws through it making sure her nails dug into the carpets of the post. After several times she regularly uses it. Also I regularly clip their nails because once they start clawing the post several times and then touch the furniture it's this clue they are saying that their nails are too long. I'd at least try this method, water bottle spraying and maybe those sprays at a pets store.

 

[DebbieB]

We got our last cat declawed at the same time as she was spayed, that was about 18 years ago, she passed away 2 years ago and never had a problem with it. She was strictly an indoor cat. We have neighbors who let their declawed cat roam the neighborhood, I think that's wrong. I heard they have some kind of laser method now that is less painful.

 

[FSUGrad97]

Is she going to be an inside kitty only? If not, I don't think you should declaw her.

That being said, we have two declawed kitties (they have their back claws), and they had no problem with recovery and acted as goofy as they did before.

Our cats were starting to scratch us when they wanted to get our attention or if they were irritated at us. Also, our girl cat scratched the heck out of the boy cat's nose, and we were afraid they would hurt each other. They were fixed and declawed at the same time when they were kittens.

 

[EthansMom]

I had my cat declawed at the same time that I had her fixed. There are a couple of different methods of declawing, so you may want to discuss it with your vet. I had my cat declawed on only her front claws, so she still has her rear claws for defense and climbing, if necessary, although she's an indoor-only cat. I haven't noticed any difference in her attitude or personality. I did feel really bad for her when I first brought her home with her paws all bandaged up and she was nauseous from the anesthesia. But, overall, declawing has worked well for us.

There are some folks who advocate spraying the cat with a bottle of water any time he/she claws anything unacceptable. You should also provide some acceptable clawing surface, such as a scratching post.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Please don't do it

OT but you're killing m with that pic in your sig

 

[simba928]

I am very much against declawing. I just think it is cruel. There are many alternatives to declawing. You should try to train your kitty to use a scratching post as another poster said. You can also give those soft claw things you said a try. It doesn't hurt to try it. Hope you get your problem solved. If it is between getting rid of your kitty or declawing, then I say declaw, but use that as a last resort. DO NOT turn to it until you have tried ALL other solutions.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Please don't do it

And if you do,please get kitty morphene.. It costs some money but it's worth it to save your kitty pain

 

[eclectics]

A million dollars wouldn't get me to comment on this subject again!

 

[Laura]

I am very much against declawing. I just think it is cruel. There are many alternatives to declawing. You should try to train your kitty to use a scratching post as another poster said. You can also give those soft claw things you said a try. It doesn't hurt to try it. Hope you get your problem solved. If it is between getting rid of your kitty or declawing, then I say declaw, but use that as a last resort. DO NOT turn to it until you have tried ALL other solutions.

I don't agree that it is cruel, but I do agree with everything else you said. It should be done only as a last resort.

 

[Aidensmom]

We had ours declawed (front only) when she was a kitten, at the same time she was spayed. She is a strictly indoor cat. If she went outdoors I would not do it. She recovered very quickly, and never acted as if she was in pain. She is a very sweet, affectionate, playful cat, it did not adversely affect her personality in any way.

 

[MickeysMommy]

Please don't do it

 

[JenDaveBrendan]

thanks for the quick replys!
In response to other questions: yes, she is strictly an indoor cat, and we would only have her front paws done.
In response to the spraying her if she scratches: Our biggest problems with her clawing the carpet are at night. She is a very loving cat, but at night when we are trying to sleep, she wants to sleep on my DH's face. I know she means well, but DH needs his sleep. Needless to say, DH hates this, and kicks her out of the bedroom and keeps the door shut. She has totally clawed up the carpet trying to get into our bedroom. So at nighttime, I don't see the spraying as an option, in fact I don't know what to do about it.
I think I will go out tomorrow and buy the saftpaw things and see how they work out for a few days before calling the vet about declawing. If the softpaws don't work, I really don't see any other option.

thanks -
Jen

 

[golfgal]

I don't think it is cruel and the way I think of it is that if a can't can't be trained to a scratching post it will keep the cat out of the pound because someone couldn't deal with the claws. If I ever got a cat (we had them growing up, all declawed) I wouldn't hesitate to have them declawed.

 

[Sparx]

Please dont' do it. Just clip her nails. Declawing should be considered animal cruelty. And trust me, I know. we declawed before we knew it was bad. I would NEVER do it again. It is the equivelent of removing your finger from the first knuckle. ANd cats get meaner afterwards. It is just so wrong. Clip her nails if she claws alot, its difficult, but ALOT less painful. Please dont' do it.

 

[MzDiz]

Not to nitpick here, but people keep saying things about not getting your cat declawed if he/she goes outside. Claws can't protect the cat from much outside. I had to collect my precious cat's body from the roadside this past summer, her claws didn't help her. Just keep your cats indoors. They simply aren't equiped to handle things like roads and wild animals.

I agree that declawing should be a last step. We have eight cats and they all have their claws and we still have furniture. It can be done.

 

[LK03]

I'd realllly try the scratching post. I was very hesistant that it would work (I had previously read about it on the internet) but my cats love it and play with it and use it ALL the time. They also have a little kitty climbing toy next to it so they see the scratching post also as a toy. Granted, your cat may not take to it but if it's a kitten and you keep showing the little gal/guy how to use it and reinforce it with praise and maybe a treat they will learn to use it.