Did you declaw your cat?

[SookieStackhouse]

I am definitely against declawing cats.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I read through this thread and didn't see this, so my apologies if someone has brought it up and I just missed it.

There is an easy way to keep your cats from going some place or shredding furniture even if you're not around, and it doesn't involve vigilance on your part every minute of the day - double sided tape.

You can buy wide pieces of it at the pet stores, although you'll pay a premium for it, or you can just buy double sided rug tape. (Used to keep rugs from sliding around.) This tape won't hurt furniture - it's not that sticky and it doesn't leave residue.

Apply the tape where ever you don't want the cats to walk or to scratch. The moment paw meets sticky the cat will get a really disgusted look and stalk off.

Combine that with a carboard scratching pad (like this one) to give them a place that they CAN scratch and would like to scratch (sprinkling some nip into it helps!), and you shouldn't have problems with scratching inappropriately.

 

[penn19]

Perhaps you'd get more interest if you offered debarking instead. Pesky children too loud? Interrupting your endless line-up of trashy reality shows with their yelling? Why, simply have their voice boxes mangled and you and your babydaddy won't even hear them whine. After all, it's for their "comfort" and your piece of mind, since parenting is SO hard. It was the hardest three minutes of your life trying to teach them to be quiet, right?

That's quite a stretch. Par for the course, but still a stretch.

 

[kamik86]

I have 3 cats and they all have their claws. Although there is one my husband and I may have to have declawed eventually. She has a tendancy to scratch herself and make herself bleed. She mostly does this around her mouth and she does have a problem with her teeth she is on antibiotics for now so we are hoping that is why she is scratching so much and that she will stop when she gets better.

We try to keep her claws trimmed but they sharpen them REALLY fast.

We don't have issues with the furniture really. One dresser got scratched badly but the oldest because he would try to climb up and if the missed would scratch with his back paws to scramble up... but the thing was old and scratched anyway.

 

[kamik86]

I read through this thread and didn't see this, so my apologies if someone has brought it up and I just missed it.

There is an easy way to keep your cats from going some place or shredding furniture even if you're not around, and it doesn't involve vigilance on your part every minute of the day - double sided tape.

You can buy wide pieces of it at the pet stores, although you'll pay a premium for it, or you can just buy double sided rug tape. (Used to keep rugs from sliding around.) This tape won't hurt furniture - it's not that sticky and it doesn't leave residue.

Apply the tape where ever you don't want the cats to walk or to scratch. The moment paw meets sticky the cat will get a really disgusted look and stalk off.

Combine that with a carboard scratching pad (like this one) to give them a place that they CAN scratch and would like to scratch (sprinkling some nip into it helps!), and you shouldn't have problems with scratching inappropriately.

My only addition is that you may need a tougher scratcher then cardboard. I have 3 rope ones (well if you count the cat tree as one) and a cardboard one... the cardboard one only lasts about 2 weeks before it has to be replaced and gets little pieces of cardboard everywhere... but they seem to love it so we let them anyway.

 

[AlwaysMoving]

Cats with trimmed claws do not try to scratch at furniture nearly as much as untrimmed cats do. I would say that for about a week after I trim their nails, I seldom see them scratching at anything. But, at the two week mark, they start up again.

We never had a problem with our cat scratching furniture, but one thing we have noticed over the last 4 years is when her claws start becoming more pointed/sharp, she becomes Edward Scissorhands with a vengence. She knows what those claws can do for her and she lets everyone know. The second we clip them, she calms down, but not before pouting for a while.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

We have 3 cats, and none of them are declawed. We have scratching posts on each level of the house. We haven't had any problems. I make sure to clip their nails every other week.

 

[luvsJack]

This may have been addressed but I sort of skipped around all the arguing and condescending posts and such:

I see what the internet says about declawing a cat so please no more links. I don't believe everything I read on the internet and would discuss it with the vet if I was to have this done. BUT, I was always under the assumption and was even told this by one shelter, that the reason shelters and vets prefer for the cats to not be declawed has nothing to do with the procedure but that the cat basically loses its ability to defend itself and the ability to climb if need be to get away from an attacker (barking dog, etc.).

For those of you that say your vet won't do it or the shelter made you agree not to, did you ask why or are you just assuming its because of what you have found on the internet?


I also wanted to add that I find it interesting that some of you will sit here and call people barbaric for doing this and I am guessing that if the discussion was about cutting a dogs tail or their ears (like a Doberman has done) you would find that barbaric too; but some of you are the same posters that will debate to the death that abortion is acceptable. Not trying to debate it. Just thought it interesting.

 

[Scurvy]

This may have been addressed but I sort of skipped around all the arguing and condescending posts and such:

I see what the internet says about declawing a cat so please no more links. I don't believe everything I read on the internet and would discuss it with the vet if I was to have this done. BUT, I was always under the assumption and was even told this by one shelter, that the reason shelters and vets prefer for the cats to not be declawed has nothing to do with the procedure but that the cat basically loses its ability to defend itself and the ability to climb if need be to get away from an attacker (barking dog, etc.).

For those of you that say your vet won't do it or the shelter made you agree not to, did you ask why or are you just assuming its because of what you have found on the internet?


I also wanted to add that I find it interesting that some of you will sit here and call people barbaric for doing this and I am guessing that if the discussion was about cutting a dogs tail or their ears (like a Doberman has done) you would find that barbaric too; but some of you are the same posters that will debate to the death that abortion is acceptable. Not trying to debate it. Just thought it interesting.

I was in the pre-vet program in college before I realized I just couldn't do it emotionally. (I got too upset every time an animal died and decided I just couldn't spend my life dealing with that.) During that time I worked with two different vets (and on one farm). The vets were competitors and did not work together. Neither vet would declaw cats unless it was medically necessary. Both said it was because they had seen too many lasting changes and problems in declawed cats, and they considered it cruel and unnecessary. They both could have made quite a bit of money by offering that procedure. People were always asking about it and some ended up going elsewhere to have it done. The fact that they gave up what would have been easy money made me believe that they truly believed it was not in most animals' best interest to be declawed.

 

[fortwildernessishome]

That is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever seen. You are actually try to claim that amputating your cats feet is better than taking the time and effort to train them because they might be told no and sprayed? Holy cow You have absolutely NO idea your cat is not suffering as a result of what you did. Just because they can walk doesn't mean you didn't maim them..doesn't mean they are not in pain..it's not like they can tell you or will be visible in a limp. Cut off the tips of all your toes and learn to walk around again..sure you could probably do it but it doesn't mean it will feel good and you will not suffer lasting problems or pain as a result..that is what declawing does to a cat. Your cat simply adapted to amputation..that is hardly better than some training and discipline.

I said that I won't debate declawing anymore and I won't. I have shared our experience with our five cats and that is all I can do.

I am not trying to "claim" anything, I just shared our experience.

I have to wonder though, do you go through life telling your friends that they are "ridiculous" because they think different than you or have a different life experience than you?

I find it funny, here on the Dis, that some posters are so quick to tell people they are "ridiculous" or whatever term they choose to use, I always wonder if they are as vocal and outspoken in person as they are hiding behind their computer.

I am all for debate and sharing different opinions. I just don't see the point in telling others that they are ridiculous.

 

[liznboys]

We adopted our cat last fall. He was a stray in our neighborhood and we took him in. He is not declawed and never will be. I had cats as a child who my mother had declawed and never knew much about it. Since then I learned so much and it's not something I would do now.

I also don't trim his claws. I read that that is also not a good thing to do as it opens up the shaft of the claw and germs can get in there. Plus, in my opinion getting scratched by trimmed claws is worse than pointy ones. It's a wider, more ragged scratch that takes longer to heal (based on my first hand experience).

Our cat has a scratching post and uses our carpet to scratch his claws. He hasn't damaged anything yet. We adore him even though his claws hurt us sometimes.

 

[AintGonaGrowUp]

I DID get my cat declawedin the frunt. He was young, and going to be an inside cat. From a verry young age he distroyed so much (he would even shred a newspaper if it was sitting there) no matter what we did. Scratching posts with cat nip the sprays and tape to keep him off the furniture, even tried the "soft paws" that he chewed off after a couple of hours. We were tired of being angry with him, and we know he was just being a kitty. He was put under and had pain meds. We got him fixed at the same time. I look at getting declawed no diffrently that getting puppt tails docked of dewclaws removed.