Should I get my kitten declawed?

Question

My kitten is a little over two months. The kitten is a boy named Woodstock. Should i get him declawed because my mom doesn't want him scratching everything?

Answer 1

Declawing a kitten/cat is one of the cruelest things you can do to an animal. It is like debarking a dog, or getting rid of your thumbs.

Cats need claws for more than just scratching. They use claws for stability when jumping. They use claws to help them in case they fall or need to get away fast. They need them in case another cat encroaches on their territory as well. And they also need claws to have fun. When you play with a kitten, they use their claws and teeth. It's their form of entertainment.

Kittens will scratch alot yes, but that is a part of their childhood. It's like us sucking our thumbs. Once a cat reaches about 1 - 1.5 years they will usually stop the scratching habit.

When they're adults, the only time a cat will scratch is if you do something to it that it doesnt want, or if you play with it.

If your mom is really adament about the scratching, buy a scratching post. At least the kitten will have something to scratch without damaging your furniture.

I hope I helped.

Answer 2

well ive always been a fan of declawing my cats in the past. but just recently i regretted that when my kitty accidentally got out and had a cat fight =( maybe you could just work on training them to a post to scratch but sometimes they just do what they want...some kittens you almost have to declaw i think.  

Answer 3

i have two cats and they're both declawed. we didn't want them scratching up all our furniture so we just did it. they're house cats and they haven't gone outside unattended in 11 years so they don''t need them for fighting other cats or anything like that. but i would say go for it.

Answer 4

Get a TALL scratching post and teach him to use it if he doesn't know how.  You can do this by pulling a string slowly up the TALL scratching post, he will climb up after the string.  If he does scratch the furniture, attach a wax paper smeared with vasaline to the exact spot he scratches, he will then receive a nasty pawful of vasaline! It will be an unpleasent experience, but it will not hurt him.  I have been using this technique for over 20 years.  If he finds a new piece of furniture to scratch just repeat the vasaline trick.  I used to work for a vet.  He hated to declaw the cats, and I hated it too, because I had to pick up their amputated claw joints off the floor!  It was so sad.  Some declaw cats turn to biting as a way to defend themselves!  

Answer 5

Nooo!!!

It hurts them lots, like someone else said, the claws on a cat are actually extentions of their bones. They have veins that run through them and it's not just like cutting your nails. It's like cutting off your fingertips!!

It's very very painful for them. I would absolutely never get my cats declawed. It's pretty much considered inhumane by LOTS of people. In fact, most shelters when you adopt cats make you sign an agreement that you will not EVER declaw the cat.

Start clipping his nails now, so he'll get used to it. He'll squirm at first, but have your vet show you how to do it. Also, they have that thing called the Peticure. I've never used it, but it seems like a good idea, it just files the nails down so they don't have sharp ends, and believe me it makes a difference. Even when they want to show loveys they will claw at you, and it hurts even though they mean well.

Get them a scratching post/board that has catnip in it. He'll love it, and it'll steer him away from scratching furniture. They also sell sprays you can spray on or around the furniture that won't damage it but will deter the cat from coming near it.

Then there are the old fashioned go-to's. Aluminum Foil and spritzing the cat with water. You can wrap foil around the legs of furniture to train the cat to stay away, or spritz him with a bit of water if he begins to scratch.  

Answer 6

He is a cat, cats are meant to scratch things, get him a good quality scratching post, spend some time showing him that he should scratch it and not the furniture.

De-clawing is a form of mutilation. It is similar to us losing our finger at the first knuckle. Look it up on-line and see how they do it. Look at some pictures of it being done. It is not a pretty sight.

I have had cats de-clawed, as well as I have de-clawed cats when I worked at a veterinary clinic, and after that I will never do it again, my kittens are not going to be de-clawed,. nor will any new kittens that I may get in the future.

If he gets out he has less of a chance to protect himself or to climb a tree if he is de-clawed.

Don't do it, its cruel and there is no need to have a cat de-clawed.

Answer 7

if you do decide to get him declawed make sure to take him to a good vet. i have always gotten my cats declawed but it depends on you and your mom. it sometimes can be hard to teach cats not to scratch stuff because they are sneaky and if your not always there to watch them they could ruin something.

Answer 8

It's either that or teach him to bite his nails.

Answer 9

get him a scratching post and trim/file his claws...don't get him declawed

Answer 10

Declawing is a terrible procedure. Read below.

Answer 11

well getting a cat declawed is a big issue.

if your cat will be strictly inside yes you should.

but if you cat will ever be outside even for a little bit no.

cats use their claws as a defense and to climb.

you cat will be defenceless and could not climb anything.

if the cat will be inside and out get him or her a stratching post and

get a squirt bottle.

if the cat claws anything besides the post give it a small squirt of water by its nose.

that should work!

=]

Answer 12

one word... NO

Answer 13

No. train him to scratch a post.

http://www.Meow-Kitty.com/alternatives-d...

http://www.Meow-Kitty.com/declawing-cats...

Answer 14

declawing is an extremely brutal process in which they actually remove not just the claw but the end of the toe bone...imagine someone cutting your finger off at the first knuckle...same thing...it takes a very long time to heal and some cats never heal from this process.  My suggestion is to have a procedure called a Tendonectomy ( ten-dun-ek-tomy) performed. All they do is cut the tendon that allows the cat to extract its claws.  you can have it done when you get your cat fixed...it is much cheaper and the cat heals from the procedure within a few days to a week.  You will, most likely, have to cut the cats claws every 2-3 weeks.  Keep a scratching post around as well since if he pushes hard enough he can still use those claws a little bit.  You shouldn't let your cat outdoors either since cats are being poisoned and hit by cars, eaten by dogs and catching diseases more and more often as they become ever more popular house pets. Hope this helps

Answer 15

Nope, get him a scratching post and a cat tree. Show him those. :) There are tons of ways to prevent scratching. They even have this plastic caps you can put on their claws so they cant.

Declawing is very cruel to do to a cat. Look at your hand and imagine if someone cut off the first knuckle of each finger. That's the equivilant of what declawing a cat does. It's amputation.

Softpaws are the plasitc caps I was talking about. I've never used them, Sso I'm not sure if they work. My cats have scraching posts, rugs, and a cat tree that they use.