How do you get around the whole apartments requiring a cat to be declawed issue?

As a tenant you have certain legal rights. Each area has its own set of rules and bylaws for tenants and landlords, but don’t just assume that your landlord is following these rules. Make sure you know what your rights are regarding your tenancy and pets before you are forced into doing something as cruel and unnecessary as declawing your kitten. If local laws will not protect you and your kitten, then the next step is not to give up and give in, but to negotiate and educate your landlord.

This article was written especially to help pet owners deal with unreasonable demands from landlords and has lots of advice on ways in which you can negotiate with him about not having your kitten declawed.

http://abnormalloveofcats.com/responsible-ownershi...

Print off infomation about declawing and show this to your landlord. Maybe he thinks it's just a minor operation to remove the claws, and doesn't understand that in order to remove the section of bone from which the claws grow, that they have to amputate the end of the cat's toes!

http://www.pawproject.com/html/

Or show him a graphic video of a cat being declawed;

http://clawsforever.ning.com/video/cat-declaw-surg...

Find local vets in your area who do not declaw. Explain your situation to them and they may be willing to write you a letter pointing out not only the negative effects on the cat itself, but the problems associated with declawed cats such as litter box avoidance. You might want to inform your landlord that urine runs a lot deeper than scratches, and will therefore cause more costly damage to property. This link also has further information and legal advice to help convince your landlord that it is not a good idea to demand that tenants have their cats and kittens declawed. Perhaps the photos of urine damage caused by declawed cats will help change his mind.

http://www.pawsneedclaws.com/Landlords_Declaw.php

Do you have a residents or tenants association for your building? If so, it's worth speaking with other pet owners and raising the matter at a meeting to see if you can get other tenants to support you.

Let your landlord know that not only is declawing already illegal in 38 countries on the grounds of animal cruelty because it's classed as a "mutilation", but that the following cities have also decided to ban it for the same reason;

West Hollywood

Santa Monica

San Francisco

Beverly Hills

Los Angeles

Berkeley

Culver City

Hope this helps and that your kitten can be spared from this unnecessary cruelty.

Please don't get a kitten and declaw it. Declawing is cruel and often you end up with even worse problems than inappropriate clawing. Declawed cats commonly resort to biting as a means of defense and refuse to use the litterbox. They can develop crippling arthritis due to having to learn to walk in an unnatural gait to accommodate their mutilated paws. Yes, vets declaw cats but that doesn't make it humane. It just means that vet is looking to earn extra money. You won't have problems any different with an adopted adult declawed cat than you would a kitten whom you have declawed yourself. If you must have a cat, please adopt an already declawed one from a shelter and don't mutilate a kitten. Better yet, find a new apartment that doesn't require declawing. Other than that, you can offer to pay an extra deposit for a clawed kitten or see if the landlord will let you try using Soft Paws.

The "lecture" was to stress the fact that just because you have the declawing done yourself, to a kitten, instead of getting a cat who's already been done won't make a significant difference in the long term effects. You can mutilate another kitten or you can save the life of a cat whose already been done. Either way, the chances of bad behaviors are the same, so why put a new kitten through it? The negative effects of declawing are mostly physical so the environment in which the cat is raised won't make a huge difference in the chances he/she will develop bad habits. If the only way I could have a cat was to declaw it, I wouldn't have one.

The first thing I would do if I were in your situation is to try to negotiate with your apartment management. Explain to them exactly what the procedure entails and how devastating it is for a cat to have to be declawed. Let them know that declawed cats often resort to peeing outside the box which is far more destructive to property. Do some education, and explain to them that you are very concerned about the health of your cat and that declawing is really not an option to ensure its robust health.

Most people don't have a clue about how this surgery is performed. Most folks think it is a simple removal of the claws and they have no idea how invasive and cruel it is to have them declawed. Let them know that kittens can be easily trained to use scratching posts and other scratching resources which will prevent damage to property. Also inform them that even the American Veterinary Association frowns on the procedure and cautions that cats should only be declawed as a last resort, when all alternatives have failed. In 8 cities in California right now the surgery has been banned legally, with heavy fines imposed on practitioners who disobey the ban.

Suggest that you will trim your kitten's nails, which is easy to do with young kittens, and as they mature they are used to the "manicure" and are very cooperative. A treat when you finish the trim is always a great idea to reinforce their good behavior. Our cats enjoy their trims, actually.

Suggest that you will use soft paws (plastic caps that cover the nails) if your cat shows any proclivity to scratch their property as further negotiation.

Of course, after reading this article that contains information about how some folks handled landlords or management to insist on declawing, you may want to try some of their methods, which includes not having your cat declawed but not sharing that information with management.

http://forum.richarddawkins.net/viewtopic.php?f=1&...

I wish you all the best of luck with this nasty situation with the management. It is totally unfair as cats do very well with scratching posts and other alternatives outlined above.

Troublesniffer

Owned by cats for over 40 years

You could try to talk to the landlord about the issue. I had the problem a few years ago in my apartment complex and the landlord and I agreed that the cats did not need to be declawed. If the apartment is furnished though, it might be harder to do.

Good Luck!

This is an article by Dr Jean Hovfe:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=libra...

Tenants need to stand firm about not having their cats mutilated, and many are doing just that.

You can't be forced to have a cat declawed nowadays.Declawing is a very cruel operation which cause cats many problems and Rescue Shelters have you sign ageements not to declaw,for that reason.Too many cats are suffering right now.Please help us get it stopped.

Do not declaw - just tell them the cat is done IF they ask. Use the SoftPaws nail caps and be sure to trim nails weekly. If you do this, your cat will not do damage.

Personally, I'd be looking for another apartment. The "declaw" cannot really be enforced in the first place - check with a lawyer on this.

I agree with Ocimom - I don't think landlords can require that you mutilate a cat but do you really want to piss off management by getting lawyers involved?

Please DO NOT declaw. It's a horrible, barbaric thing to do to cats - so much so it's actually illegal in many countries. Just find a new place - and MOVE.

Wow where do you live that would require this horrible surgery for a cat. I doubt that the management will go around and check cats to see if they have nails. But be aware that any damage your cat makes with their claws could cause you to lose your deposit. I would keep a cat without having it's claws removed and pay the consequences if it comes to that.

If you keep a cat's nails trimmed they will not make a lot of damage to the apartment.

I really don't believe in declawing, but I adopted my cats through petsmart and I dont remember them having me sign anything regaurding no-declaw. My Petsmart adopts out cats and dogs through foster home adoption programs, not shelters, so maybe the rules are different

Well you could probably train him for w while but its not easy. But you could get him a fuzzy old chair that you guys don't want and give that to him/her for his own and it usually keep him/her occupied and then they will stay away from the other furniture and what not. I really hope it helps and good luck to you:D