Declawing cats?

I would never consider declawing, obviously you are not keen on the idea either so why not take the route of trimming her claws regularly. A good groomer could show you how to do it yourself. And once your cat is used to it there should be no problems.

As for people getting scratched - perhaps they shouldn't be messing around with your cat.

Hi, I got three cats with claws and one that was declawed when I adopted him. I am a volunteer for a rescue group. Before you make decision to declaw your cat, read about this procedure and possible behavior changes afterwards. Some cats, that are playful now, become aggressive and very fearful when they are defenseless. They may start biting and hissing. I have also read that some cats can have a "phantom" pain all their lives when they are declawed!

My advice is to clip the claws (weekly) and don't use hands to play with the kitten. I also have 6 months old kitten and each time she is playing rough I do make louder noise to let her know that it hurts. Since she is so playful sometime small scratch can't be avoided.

The cat will grow out of these playfulness in about 6 months, and another 20 years or so will be much more settled. Remember that declawing can't be reversed. Teach you kitten to use scratching post or cardboard (I got both).

Week ago I have offered to help with fostering female cat. The cat is 4 paws declawed, and very fearful, can't be touched with hands. The cat likes little brushing. One lady fostered that cat for 6 months and had constant 'wars' with the cat or between other cats. She probably will never be adopted to a new home since most people would not want to deal with her moods and fear, that results in hissing and biting.

If you have a happy kitten, keep it that way for life!

You are right, declawing is also a very painful process for cats. I have a friend who's cat almost lost a let due to a problem during declawing. You have already seen the danger should they get outside. Use a small nail clipper and clip her claws, make sure not to go to far back, just take the sharp tips off, and give her a scratching post to keep her from sharpening them on the furniture or woodwork.

Hmm...well I think you should wait a while if you want to declaw her because she is still a baby. But, be very cautious in delcawing your cat. I have had 2 cats, one was never declawed and another was. The one that was was never the same after being declawed. She just acted different. She was way less playful and very afraid of our dog because she didn't have claws.

For now, I would consider taking her to a groomer to get the claws trimmed so they are less sharp. Go to a pet store to find things that are supposed to stop your cats from clawing the furniture. There are also sprays you can buy at pet stores that make the furniture smell bad to your cat so they won't scratch them (these work on some cats but did not work on mine.)

If you have tried everything and she just won't stop, you may want to consider getting her declawed, but try to wait as long as possible and try EVERYTHING you can find to get her to stop before you resort to getting her declawed.

I have had multiple cats for the last 17 years. Declawing is illegal where I come from and I was horrified when I first heard about it a few years ago. I am personally against using surgery to address a behaviour problem which in 99% can be fixed with simple training.

Your kitten is still young and needs to learn to control her strength. Play with her gently and as soon as she gets too rough, give a high pitched yelp, carefully pull away and ignore her - this way she should learn that being rough = no play. This method has worked for all my cats.

To get her to use the scratching post, try to make it more interesting. Scratch on it yourself while she's watching, have her climb the post to chase a toy, spray the post with valerian. If she scratches anywhere she's not allowed to, interrupt her with a loud "ah-ah" or "no!", if she does react to that you can clap your hands to enforce the sound or give her a quick squirt with a water spray bottle.

Contrary to common belief, cats are very trainable, be consequent with your training, and hopefully you should start seeing results soon. Good luck with her.

Declawing cats is cruel and is in fact illegal in the UK for that very reason.

Because declaw surgery causes significant pain and involves many risks the decision to declaw should never be made for owner convenience. The loss of part of the cat's toes and his claws can be physically traumatic and psychologically demoralizing for your cherished family pet. Declawing a cat for owner convenience is never ethically justifiable.

Please remember that removing the claws by any means will deprive your cat of many anatomically necessary uses and behaviours for his claws, and perhaps even more importantly, he will forever lose his first line of defense! A declawed cat must forever be an indoor cat.

Declawing Does Nothing to Benefit the Cat

You will sometimes hear the disclaimer, "It's better than putting him to sleep." This is a fallacious argument, and usually offered only to soothe the owner's conscience. Only the cat's owner can make the decision to kill her cat because of scratching problems. He or she can also make the decision to let him keep his toes. Unlike neutering, which does benefit the cat, both healthwise and behavioralwise, declawing simply does nothing positive for the cat.

Declawing Robs a Cat of His Chief Weapon of Defense

A typical counter-argument is, "My cat is indoors-only." Even indoor cats sometimes manage to escape. A declawed cat does not stand a chance against a large dog, a bigger cat, or a predator. Although he still has teeth, by the time he gets in close enough to bite, it may be too late.

Declawing is Painful Surgery

Think of it as 10 amputations (if only the front feet are declawed). Pain meds may help initially, but phantom pain may last for weeks or months, as nerve endings heal. Dr. Nicholas Dodman describes the pain following surgery: "Unlike routine recoveries, including recovery from neutering surgeries, which are fairly peaceful, declawing surgery results in cats bouncing off the walls of the recovery cage because of excruciating pain."

Declawing May Lead to Litter Box Problems

Declawed cats often associate the pain when digging in litter with the litter box itself, and will avoid it, choosing softer carpeting instead.

Declawing Sometimes Leads to Biting Problems

When cats lose their ability to give a quick warning scratch, they will often resort to their second line of defense: a good, hard bite. The cat's owner may sometimes find himself the victim, just when he thinks his cat is enjoying a petting session.

Cats Need the Exercise Their Claws and Toes Provide

Watch a cat stretch, whether horizontally on a carpet or vertically with a tall scratching post. He will grab the carpet or sisal with his claws, using the resistance to pull and stretch his muscles. Cats' claws actually play a large and positive role in their amazing muscle tone and agility.

Altered Gait May Lead to Later Joint Problems

Domestic cats are digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes. Walking with an altered gait because of the lack of the first digit of the toes can affect all the joints of the leg, resulting later in arthritis of the hip and other joints. Jean Hofve, DVM describes this joint deterioration more fully, in her article, "A Rational Look at Declawing."

Cats Need to Be Cats for Their Entire "Nine Lives"

Honestly, if a cat could speak human language, do you really think, given a choice, he'd say, "Sure thing. Cut off part of my toes?" His claws and toes are an integral part of making a cat a cat. Would you honestly want him to be anything less, especially since there are humane alternatives? It's your decision, but please take your cat's needs into serious consideration before making such a drastic and permanent choice.

PlEASE DON'T DECLAW IT. The same thing happened to my sidters boyfriends cat . They were gone and the dogs killed it in the house there was blood all over the walls every where. What a horrible way to die poor thing. I've "ALWAYS"

have had indoor cats I've never had any reason to declaw.

Of course it's going to be scratching it's a kittem that's what kittens do, you didn't know that ? Get it some toys to play with they really like fuzzy things with cat nip in it. I think declawing should be against the law. If people don't like the behavior of cats then don't have one. How much more simple can that be? I wonder how people would feel if they had their nails pulled out? Human infants scratch their faces up should we pull their nails out ? How stupid and cruel

Your cat has for sure been very spooked via something and being particular desires he remains very traumatised a fortnight later. Did everybody come into your domicile who might harm or frighten him ? Or did something ensue exterior, like a noisy bang ? supply him time to calm down returned.Declawing him may well be very merciless,have faith me you will finally end up with lots worse issues. ok a scratch isn't superb yet as somebody else already mentioned, a chew is a lot worse ! i might propose a examine up on the vets however the form might freak him out much extra. i think of i might supply him time, do no longer p.c.. him up or enable the toddlers play with him, supply him some area and notice how he is going. I do agree that whether it would be undesirable to take him returned to the safeguard, extra appropriate that than declawing him as a minimum of with claws he has danger of yet another domicile.

I know how you feel. Keeping the claws allowed the cats to tear and claw up furniture and more. I had one vet suggest to only declaw the front paws. This has worked great and have done it for years on many cats. My current cat climbed a tree to over 75 feet in height and got down just as easy. It also allows them to have some type of defense.

I have a kitty I adopted from the local shelter who was neutered and declawed when I got him. He's large and likes to go outside at night, but I worry about him and always bring him in - especially if he's in the front yard. In the back, he's fine because he's fenced in with our dog and our other kitty who still has her claws.

I don't think I'd make the decision to declaw. Get a scratching post for her to use instead of your furniture and start trimming the claws now, so she gets used to it.