? for all cat lovers? To declaw or not?

[mommaU4]

My 2 cats have destroyed my DH's speakers with their scratching and are moving onto our couches. They are lucky they are still alive as DH is not quite the cat lover I am. Should I get them declawed? I didn't think it was a big deal but the more I looked into it apparently there's a big debate over whether it's okay or not. I love my cats and don't want to get yelled at, just looking for some answers...

 

[simba928]

I strongly disagree with getting cats declawed. I feel that if I would never do it to myself, why do it to my kitty. I would not rip my fingernails off. Why do I have the right to rip hers off? What we do is keep a spray bottle full of water within reach at all times. When my cat does something that we don't like, we spray her with the water. Another thing you could do (I don't know if this works, I just heard about it) is put aluminum foil on there. They supposedly don't like the sound and will stay away from it. Eventually, you can take it off once they figure out that touching it makes the sound.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Just an FYI--this can be a really hot topic here.

We have 3 declawed kitties and 2 non-declawed ones. I am on DIS-record saying I could never do it again..and i probably wouldn't. I just foudn out my daughter is allergic to cats--so if something behavioral was making me think of declawing, I would just try to give the kitty to someone else.

Some thinking it inhumane equating it to what the same procedure would be on your hand (I forget what that is though). It is banned in a few countries even b/c it is considered inhumane.

But if the problem means declawing or taking to the pouind where they are at a great risk of being euthanized--I think saving the kitties life can be considered more important than saving their claws. 2 of my kitties--the situation post-declaw was pretty yucky regarding their paws..the 3rd one got declawed b/c we were concerned about her clawing the other kitties.

Ultimately the decision is yours. And you should do what YOU feel is good for the well being of the cat and shouldn't feel bad in either case.

 

[Aurora63]

I agree with Simba. Imagine if somehow your kitty got separated from you, lost outside. How would it defend itself?

With the water thing, try to do it so that you cat associates it with picking on the speakers or whaterever, and doesn't see it coming from you. They say it works better that way.

Good luck!

 

[Jasminesmommy]

Declawing is amputating there fingers from the first knuckle down. I would never do it to my cats. Do a google search and you can get graphic pictures of the procedure.

 

[lisajl]

My boss, a veterinarian, does not recommend it.

With that said, he does say if it is between you keeping the cat or dumping it, he says to go ahead and declaw.

I have 6 cats, not one is declawed. I have had cats declawed before and will never do it again.

My sister just got a kitten from the humane society today and she is already talking about having it declawed.

It's her cat, and she knows how I feel about it.

Good luck to you. It's a tough decision.

BTW, a client of our was going to have her cats spayed/neutered and declawed at the same time. She came in that morning to sign the paperwork before the surgery and was angry at us for not telling her what a declaw involved.
She looked up info online and swore she would never have it done on any cat.
We just smile when someone says that to us.

We use laser surgery, but you are in effect taking off the first digit of the cats toe.

Lisa

 

[tiggersmom2]

I have had cats my entire life and I had them all declawed when they were kittens. Didn't alter their personalities at all and my furniture and curtains thank me for it. aw:

ETA: I only declaw their front paws

 

[eclectics]

I personally think it's a cruel thing to do but that's just my opinion. Cats do respond to well taught behavior modification such as using a scratching post. You just have to be willing to invest the time and patience.

 

[mudnuri]

can you get the scratching stuff?

I have 1 that claws, but she doesnt like scratching posts, I found a cat nip box thing that is about an inch off the ground, and is 8 inches wide and 16 inches long. She scratches that thing all the time.

Worked great for her, where the posts she just rubbed against, did nothing for scratchin

no opinion on declawing never thought of it myself

Brandy

 

[KeepSwimming]

Have had all my cats front paws declawed only. That way they can still defend themselves outside (if necessary), but are unable to REALLY claw anything with the front claws, which are usually used for most of the damage.

I understand this is a hot topic. I cn only tell you that this has worked out nicely for us, and was recommended by my Vet.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[SDFgirl]

Declawing is not an ideal situation and should only be used as a last resort, after other behavior modification techniques fail.

My cats started to shred my fiance's couch after we all moved in.

We tried it all - water bottle, tin foil, can filled with pennies. Nothing worked permanantly. I had a hard time coming to the conclusion to declaw them, but eventually I decided it was for the best.

It was a very, very difficult decision to make. I felt horribly guilty. But, 6 months later, the cats are exactly as they always were. They're playful and loving. They even still "scratch" at the couch, they just don't tear it up.

I wish that I didn't have to declaw them, but I feel that I exausted all the options. It's not my first choice, but I don't think it's as horrible as some make it out to be. I honestly don't feel it has impacted my cats' personalities or health at all.

 

[MomofKatie]

We have one kitty- he is front paws declawed. We tried for the first 3 years we had him to modify his strong digging behavior- no result. He ruined the wall to wall carpeting in 3 different apartments/houses because he dug at the floors. There were holes all over the place.

When we were looking for our first new home, we made the decision to have Woody declawed. We agonized over it, but DH was at the point of sending him to a shelter- he could not put up with the digging. Woody got declawed, and came home 48 hours later. He has never shown any of the behavioral problems that others report in declawed cats.

We figure that we are happier, since he is not destroying our property, and he is happier because we are not yelling at him, spraying him with the water bottle (which didn't deter him anyway) or shutting him in a non-carpeted room at night anymore.

If it's a choice between declawing and de-kittying, I say declaw.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Declawing is not an ideal situation and should only be used as a last resort, after other behavior modification techniques fail.

This is only your opinion. My vet and I are very happy with the decision of declawing. As I have said earlier....it does NOT alter the cat's personality if done at an early age(and sometimes not at all) and recovery time is minimal (especially with the laser technique).

 

[Tigger113]

A long time ago I and got my cat declawed. That was very stupid of me. She is very shy and is scared of everything and she wasn't before. After I had it done she was in a lot of pain. I would not recommend it to anyone under any circumstances.

 

[Bashful2]

We have 5 cats and no matter what we do, they continue to scratch our new Durapella living room furniture. I love my furniture, but I love my kitties more. I just couldn't do it to them.

 

[eclectics]

We have 5 cats and no matter what we do, they continue to scratch our new Durapella living room furniture. I love my furniture, but I love my kitties more. I just couldn't do it to them.

That's how I feel. This batch of kitties are not too bad and they seem to prefer the back of one chair and the back of the sofa where it is not too noticeable, so I let them. And luckily I don't have anyone "on my case" about clawed furniture. None of us mind. I have had a lot of luck with previous cats that were a problem. It takes time and patience but they did graduate to a post. With my latest three, well, they've got me under their "paw"! After all, it's their house. They just humor us by letting us live there!

 

[Jessd]

We have two cats, one declawed and one who is not. We have had Ozzy, our declawed cat for 7 years and had him declawed about 5 years ago. He has never had any behavior problems. Our son was a baby when we got it done, he use to scratch the furniture and we didn't want him scratching our son. He never showed any signs of intense pain. I cried about it but we figured he was better off getting declawed then going to the pound and being put to sleep. He is a mellow cat and still scratches the carpet once and a while even though he has no claws, we just say he has "itchy" paws. We only got the front claws done.

Our other cat, we adopted at 2 years old. He is starting to scratch our leather sofas. I have looked into declawing him, but have not decided. I am going to try those Soft Paws. They are rubber covers that you can glue over your cat's claws. They are kind of cute, they come in all kind of different colors. They have them at Petsmart, but you can look on softpaws.com to see what they look like.

There are all kinds of people who say that declawing is animal cruelty, but if it comes down to declawing or being sent to the pound where there is a good chance the animal will be put down, I say declaw.

Jess

 

[Aidensmom]

I got my cat declawed (front paws only) when she was a kitten as a safety measure for my son, who was not quite one at the time. Ally did not display in any way that she was in pain, and she is the most loving, affectionate cat that we joke that she thinks she is a dog. It did not alter her personality in any way. She has only ever once snuck outside, as she hates to be away from us, and when she did, as soon as she discovered she was closed out of the house, she was meowing at the door to be let back in.

I think if it was such a horrible thing to do, it WOULD be illegal here, and it is not. I love my pets very much and would not do something to them I thought was cruel. I find it more cruel to leave a cat just wandering around outside to take care of itself all day.

I have posted this same thing on another thread though and got flamed, but I think it is a personal decision to make. I don't think it is any worse than getting your pet "fixed". As a matter of fact, there are probably a lot of cats that end up in shelters because of scratching problems that would not be there if they were declawed.

 

[eclectics]

I'll just say one more thing and then I will shut up. If someone would send a cat to the pound (to perhaps be put to sleep) for scratching and damaging a piece of furniture, then maybe a cat isn't the best pet for you to have in the first place.

 

[pattyT]

WOW
I never knew it was such an issue...
When i lived on a real busy road I had an INDOOR cat that I did have declawed - she was beautiful... it was a tough process to go through - I was a sad for her - but ultimately glad I did it (she was a curtain climber - lol)
The last 2 cats I got 4 years ago we were living WAY out in the country and they were outside during the day so we kept the claws (and you can tell by the carpet corners of the house!)
I think it is a personal choice for your situation...
I did not find to to alter a personality in any way...
I do agree that it is only necessary to have the front done