? for all cat lovers? To declaw or not?

[mommaU4]

Well now, I had no idea I'd get such a huge response! But I appreciate all the varying opinions. If I didn't want different opinions I wouldn't have asked!

Some things I wanted to say:
I love cats and of course I know they scratch, but was not prepared for the extent of the damage.

We have tried other options and they have not worked. The scratch posts, cardboard scratchers, water bottles, tin foil, etc.

I would never take my cats back to the shelter where we got them because I would be afraid they would never be adopted again and would be put to sleep.

At this point I am NOT going to de-claw them but we'll have to see how things go. Mainly I want to try one more thing and that's the Soft Paws I read about. We haven't tried those yet. I researched them and they seem to work for the majority of people who try them.

My question for those who use them is this, how do you keep the cat calm and still long enough to glue these tiny things to their claws!!? My cats love to curl up next to us but do not want to be picked up. Any more advice from those who've used them? Thanks!

 

[Marseeya]

Birds get their wings clipped to prevent them from flying afar. Other animals probably have things done to them for their safety.

Their actual wings don't get clipped, just a few feathers to keep them from flying into walls or anything else that will hurt them. You can leave enough feathers on their wings so they can still escape a predator animal.

There's a huge difference between declawing a cat and trimming a bird's feathers for safety.

 

[emmoms]

My question for those who use them is this, how do you keep the cat calm and still long enough to glue these tiny things to their claws!!? My cats love to curl up next to us but do not want to be picked up. Any more advice from those who've used them? Thanks!

We make it a two person task here. I hold the kitties - their back to her belly, paws forward, while DD3 clips their nails. Then we switch and she holds while I squeeze the super glue into the Soft Paws and slip them onto each nail. Our cats seem to respond calmly when we approach the task matter-of-factly.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Well now, I had no idea I'd get such a huge response! But I appreciate all the varying opinions. If I didn't want different opinions I wouldn't have asked!

Thank you for not getting offending at the discussion!

Having you tried clipping the nails?

 

[Redbudlover]

Your vet will put them on for you if you have trouble!!!!!

 

[Sleepy]

I don't think you can compare docking a tail to declawing. Cat claws are used for survival. A tail is just there.

I think you need to do more research.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

MOre info on Soft Paws please...the young one is about ready to get evicted as he scratched a kid, yet again!!!

What prevents them from chewing these little suckers off?

My understanding is kitties hate anything foreign on their paws....what makes them not try to get the soft paws off and where do you get this stuff?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I don't think you can compare docking a tail to declawing. Cat claws are used for survival. A tail is just there.

If it is an indoor cat, the claws are not needed for survival.

Tails help cats balance.

Not sure what the primary function is on dogs....but how can one be considered inhumane and not the other---BOTH deform the animal?

 

[Laura]

Well, the claws aren't needed by the cat if indoors, but since declawing involves cutting off the first knuckles of the toes, it can throw a cat off balance when walking, at least at first. As regards to dogs, tail docking is done purely for appearance.

I've only had cats declawed as kittens (this was when I was a kid and didn't make decisions for the pets), and they handled it well. I have two cats now (one of them is a new kitten) and neither are declawed. I don't use Soft Paws, I just trim the claws about once a week to keep them blunt. It has worked well so far; I haven't had anything destroyed.

I don't think declawing is a particularly cruel thing to do, but I do think people should not go ahead and do it without pursuing other options first.

 

[Jpgirl]

My dd is a vet tech-we have 2 cats and she has 1 cat and 2 kittens all living with us. The 3 adult cats are declawed adn all of them are strictly indoor cats. She doesn't want to declaw the kittens after working at the vets and finding out what the procedure entails. She's using the Soft Paws product just started last week. I was very skeptical. It works great. The pack comes with assorted sizes of claw sheaths. Think of them like a sword sheath. You trim kitty's claws and then fit them with the right size. Then you fill the sheath with the glue provided and put them on kitty's claw. Let it dry for a few minutes and voila no more claws. They will continue to claw but the sheath is blunted at the end so it doesn't ruin anything. They do fall off so you have to keep an eye on it. They're suppose to las a month but we've had a couple fall off in a week. We're hoping that as the kittens get used to them they won't pull at them. You can get them at the pet supply place or on line. DD found them cheaper online and in colors. Our kittens are sporting pink ones right now. Good luck.

 

[GailT]

I declawed my ally but then again I also circumcised my son. I'm not sure thos two things have anything to do with each other but I feel I did the right thing for my cat, she's my girl. OK, Maybe I was selfish, she doesn't ruin all my things that I work for