Declawed cat ??? Help !

Question

I have put in an application to adopt a cat from a local foster home. They have a clause in their contract that no cat is to be declawed. I know a lot of people think it is cruel, but I've never had a cat that isn't declawed. How do I protect my furniture, will I regret adopting this cat ? She's too beautiful for me to refuse !

Answer 1

keep her claws trimmed

about once a week just like trimming finger nails

get a special trimmer from a pet store

miss kitty loved to have her nails trimmed

hold the cat upside down on your lap (best to wear jeans for this)

pet the cat until it is calm.  Gently trim each claw working slowly and calmly.  It may take a try to two to get the cat accustomed to this.

There is also a battery operated device that files the nails but I have never used one.

Hint...do not trim the nails too short or you will hurt the cat..at first just trim the very end of the "hooks" after a few  sessions you can trim them a bit shorter ....

nearly all the damage comes from the sharp pointed hooks digging into fabric and then pulling.  with trimmed claws this will not happen

good luck!!

Answer 2

I have had 4 cats. Every one was declawed. They would ruin the furniture. On the last one I got i gave her many scratching posts ans other stuff to scratch on besides my furniture. But, in the end I had to. But it was only the front claws I only declawed!

Hope I helped!

Answer 3

You should just tell the people that you want to declaw only the front paws, so that they have their back ones for fighting/defending.

If that doesn't work, then you could get a scratching post, so that cat won't be interested in scratching furniture.

My cat is 4 months old, and she never scratched the furniture, and she isn't declawed... I just trim/clip her nails regulary, so just in case she does, it wont leave any marks.

Or you could try that approch. Clip/trim her nails regularly (Kitten= once a week, Adult=once every two weeks, and make sure a vet or groomer clips them, not you!), and then you won't have too many problems...

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

Declawing is only humane if it is done on *young* cat that will NEVER go outside and only if the procedure is done while the cat is under general anesthesia during the surgery to spay/neuter it.  If it isn't done during the other surgery then the cat will be fully aware and without any anesthesia at all even if you instruct and pay the vet to have the cat under anesthesia (hence all the problems that occur with declawing...it's really traumatic).  

While some people say that leaving the hind claws is enough for protection, no it's not.  The hind claws are the LAST line of defense-the front claws are the first.  By the time a cat has to use its hind claws, it's in deep trouble.  Under no conditions should any cat have its hind claws removed.

Shredding furniture is actually more for marking a cat's territory than to "sharpen" the claws.  Only strategically placed locations will be scratched-if you pay attention you will learn where those are and move the furniture slightly out of range and/or place a good scratching post there.  As a side note, make sure that scratching posts are no shorter than 24" or a couple inches higher than their max scratching hieght so that they can stretch out adequately.  There are also some sticky sheets that you can put on likely to be scratched areas of furniture (without harming the surface) that will deter scratching.  A loud "NO!" also works well-hitting them or spraying them with anything will just make them scared of you.  Cats are creatures of habit so if you can nip a habit in the bud (like you can with a new cat) then you shouldn't have any problems.

My cats are both fully clawed and they don't cause damage even to the chair that I just gave up on (in my old apartment there was no place to put it that *wasn't* strategically located but I bought it for comfort, not looks).  All the damage/injury that they do is with their hind claws.  I don't even bother to clip their nails...although the larger one could use it...he has unusually large claws and a "when in doubt, dig in" mentality.

My family has had many cats, all of them declawed (while being neutered) and without any problems from the surgery.  I wish that the cats we had when I was little had been fully clawed so that I would have learned to respect them years earlier than I did.  Kids can be extremely cruel, mostly because they don't know any better (even the sweetest, more innocent little girl).  To a young kid, it is perfectly acceptable to treat an animal roughly like a stuffed toy or to hit/throw it hard against them because they don't see why they shouldn't punish the cat for some imagined slight when they get spanked or put in a corner for time out.  Punishing kids for mistreating animals only serves to make them more careful not to get caught.  In a year or two when I have kids I will *not* get my cats declawed.  All creatures have a right to protect themselves and I have a giant bottle of peroxide in my medicine cabinet.

Answer 5

i know this sounds ridiculous, but i have a special chair that i allow my cats to scratch, plus they have many posts and condos that they can go for, they never touch my couches. i also trim their nails on a regular basis. Good Luck!

Answer 6

Give her lots of scratching posts. You may also want to try the pads that are horizontal too (I have one cat that prefers vertical, one that likes horizontal and one that uses both). I have one of each one every level of my house. Put double sided tape in areas that the cat scratches, that will teach them not to scratch there since they don't like the feeling. Place the scratching posts next to where the cat scratches so they have the option. Put catnip on the posts where you do want them to scratch to attract them. Also, you can run your nails along the scratching post when the cat is watching so they understand what it is for. If you catch them scratching the furniture, redirect them to the post.

I also trim my cats nails once a month or so, it won't keep them from scratching, but will minimize the damage if they do. Some people recommend Soft Paws (nail covers) but I don't think I could ever get them on my cat, much less keep them on. I have also heard reports that the cat can't always retract the nail with them on which can cause pain and discomfort, but I have never tried them.

EDIT: I recommend the scratching posts with the rope, not the carpet, mine seem to like it more. Anything with cardboard is also a big hit and easy/cheap to replace.

Answer 7

Make sure to get a couple of scratching posts and place them in different areas of the house. They also make a spray that you can spray on the furniture to deter them from scratching your furniture. All of the cats that we have ever had had their claws and we just made sure that they had plenty of scratching posts and they have not scratched any of our furniture. If you see her scratching something that she should not, tell her no and then take her to her post.

Answer 8

theres this new thing called peticure, its safe

alot of pet groomers use it . because it doesn't rip the nail off and make it bleed ,http://www.peticure.com/

Answer 9

I got a cat in fact I was in the same place as you but lucky me she distroyed my stuff so i got cat repelent i thought it would not work and now she won't scrach it at all but what she does not know is that i stoped spraying it days ago!!!!! if you think it is a mush declaw your cat but still get a post for her it will make her think that she has claws. Also i had to get my nails removed... WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME and my nails grow back now thing of a cat that nails will not grow back. Also i don't know of a cat that wil go for a post most cats go for the post i had one at one time for years and looked new .

Answer 10

My cat isn't declawed and she is fine. She doesn't scratch the furniture because we bought her a post that she can use.  

You do have to trim the claws though.  I use little clippers I got at the pet store.