kitty promblem??????????????????

Onychectomy (Declawing)

You should read these websites. To see what declawing really is. It’s not a simple surgery of removing the “claw”. It’s an amputation of 10 digits.

Please do not get your cat declawed. Most of the problems with declawing has nothing to do with the actual surgery. Declawing is the worst thing you could ever do for your cat-other than not getting I fixed. Most cats that do have problems are not visible. Most of it has to do with their back muscles. Cats need their claws in order to stretch properly. That would be like a human not being able to stretch when they wake up in the morning. Imagine how stiff you would be. That results in back problems their whole life. And because cats are VERY good at hiding pain/sickness you can't really tell.

Also you should know that when a veterinarian declaws a cat without trying everything else possible they are breaking the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) guidelines: Declawing of domestic cats should be considered only after attempts have been made to prevent the cat from using its claws destructively or when its clawing presents a zoonotic risk for its owner(s).

There are tons alternatives to declawing.

Here is a list of items you can use to stop a cat from scratching:

A bottle/can with something noisy in it

Air (I use a balloon pump)

Aluminum foil

Anything citrus smelling (spray/rub in on whatever they’re starching)

Double sided tape

Dumb Cat Anti-Marking & Cat Spray Remover (Spray-Petco-This one is for urine)

Four Paws Cat and Kitten Repellent (Spray-Petco)

Four Paws Keep Off Indoor and Outdoor Dog and Cat Repellent (Spray-Petco)

Fresh Kitty Furniture Protectors

Gingerroot

Packaging tape

Pet Botanics Bitter End Training Aid (Spray-Petco)

Pet Organics No Scratch! for Cats (Spray-Petco)

Pet Organics No-Mark for Cats (Spray-Petco-This one is for urine)

Pet Organics No-Stay Furniture Spray for Cats (Spray-Petsmart)

Scratching post

Simple Solution Indoor/Outdoor Repellent for Dogs and Cats (Spray-Petco)

Softpaws

Spray that stops them (there all different kinds)

Spray that stops them (there all different kinds-just go to petco.com type in “scratch spray”)

Trim their nails back once a week

Water bottle spray

Also if you have a scratching post & your cat is not using it you can get some catnip & rub it on there or they sell catnip spray. Also it might not be big enough. A scratching post needs to be as tall as that cat (about 32”).

Also people think it’s better if they get it done laser. NOT TRUE. Watch this video. It’s long, but worth it. The part about laser is 10:44 into the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaEx-qe2wBw

All of the stuff below is from research & the websites listed below. Not written by me.

A few quick facts:

The Cat’s Claws:

Unlike most mammals who walk on the soles of the paws or feet, cats are digitigrade, which means they walk on their toes. Their back, shoulder, paw & leg joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments & nerves are naturally designed to support & distribute the cat's weight across its toes as it walks, runs & climbs. The claws are used for balance, exercising & stretching the muscles in their legs, back, shoulders & paws. They stretch these muscles by digging their claws into a surface & pulling back against their own clawhold-similar to isometric exercising for humans. This is the only way a cat can exercise, stretch & tone the muscles of its back & shoulders. The toes help the foot meet the ground at a precise angle to keep the leg, shoulder & back muscles & joints in proper alignment. Removal of the last digits of the toes drastically alters the conformation of their feet & causes the feet to meet the ground at an unnatural angle that can cause back pain similar to that in humans caused by wearing improper shoes.

The cat's claw is not a nail as is a human fingernail, it is part of the last bone in the cat's toe.

Declawing is not a “simple”, single surgery but 10 separate, painful amputations of the third phalanx up to the last joint of each toe.

"Declawing is actually an amputation of the last joint of your cat's "toes". - Christianne Schelling, DVM.

“Fifty percent of the cats had one or more complications immediately after surgery.... 19.8% developed complications after release.”

Many vets deliberately misinform & mislead clients into believing that declawing removes only the claws.

Many cats also suffer a loss of balance because they can no longer achieve a secure foothold on their amputated stumps.

"Among 218 cats relinquished to a shelter, more (52.4%) declawed cats than non-declawed cats (29.1%) were reported by owners to have inappropriate elimination problems."

Psychological & Behavioral Complications:

Cats who were lively & friendly become withdrawn & introverted after being declawed.

In some cases, when declawed cats use the litterbox after surgery, their feet are so tender they associate their new pain with the box...permanently, resulting in a life-long adversion to using the litter box.

Other declawed cats that can no longer mark with their claws, they mark with urine.

Others, deprived of their primary means of defense, become nervous, fearful, and/or aggressive, often resorting to their only remaining means of defense, their teeth.

Many declawed cats become so traumatized by this painful mutilation that they end up spending their maladjusted lives perched on top of doors & refrigerators, out of reach of real & imaginary predators against whom they no longer have any adequate defense.

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.

A declawed cat frequently resorts to biting when confronted with even minor threats. Balance is affected by the inability to grasp with their claws.

Removing the claws makes a cat feel defenseless. The constant state of stress caused by a feeling of defenselessness may make some declawed cats more prone to disease. Stress leads to a myriad of physical & psychological disorders including supression of the immune system, cystitis & irritable bowel syndrome

Some veterinarians are now promoting laser declawing as a "guilt-free" procedure. While laser declawing can reduce the bleeding & perhaps diminish, to some extent, the agonizing pain, the procedure is the no different, only the means of amputation.

A cat relies on its claws as its primary means of defense. Removing the claws makes a cat feel defenseless. The constant state of stress caused by a feeling of defenselessness may make some declawed cats more prone to disease. Stress leads to a myriad of physical and psychological disorders including supression of the immune system, cystitis and irritable bowel syndrome.

I agree that declawing is not the answer, I consider declawing as cruel unusual punishment. Some things that you can do to prevent clawing are to put scratching posts next to the most clawed areas. The cats should choose the posts instead. There are some cheap cardboard scratching boxes that you can add catnip to. My cats go crazy for these. There are plastic claw covers that are called soft claws, or soft paws that help to prevent damaging clawing. Trimming the cats claws can also help to prevent damaged furniture. It won't prevent the clawing but will prevent some damage.

You can also discourage clawing behavior by using a spritzer bottle of water on them when they scratch the wrong places. Or you can spray the areas with a citrus scented spray (cats dislike citrus smells). You can also use double sided tape or aluminum foil in the areas (both things that cats hate and will avoid.)

Good luck

He probably got scared. Kids can be rough without meaning to be. Leave the kitten alone for a few days. Leave your door open at night so the kitty knows it can come and sleep with you and that might bring the affection back. You could also try feeding the kitty some treats by hand or give it a quick few pats when its eating so it knows your the gentle one. You could also trying setting up a safe spot in the house to when the kids come over again the interaction is limited. Good luck.

It is. If you Google this you will see a lot of people say it is animal cruelty. That's what stopped me from declawing my cats. I went out and bought this product called "soft claws" and they are pretty cool actually. You glue rubber tips over there nails and they come in different colors. This way they don't destroy everything you own!! Hope this helps and good luck!!

Hello, nobodys home.

In regards to your question about declawing cats: Yes, it is true what your daughter says. Here is a diagram of the paw/claws of a cat: ( http://maxshouse.com/Declaw%20Pix/Claw-sur-dia-col... ). A cat's claw, as you can see, is a direct part of the bone. They are not like human fingernails; you cannot simply dig deep enough into the flesh to "remove" them. If you only cut off the claw at the base, it will grow back, a process which would be extremely painful for your cat. In addition, the claw would probably grow back deformed; this has happened countless times with my dogs if they happen to break a claw off at the base in their romping around our backyard. In order to prevent the claw from growing back, veterinarians must remove the entire first knuckle of the paw; then there is no chance of the claw growing back and causing complications. As you can imagine, someone cutting off your fingers at the first knuckle would cause you intense pain. In addition, cats use their claws for many things, including grabbing, as well as a form of stress relief. Cats using their claws to pull on something - anything, really, as I'm sure your poor carpet knows - soothes them. Removing a cats claws puts your cat at risk of developing psychological problems such as anxiety, possible OCD, and other behavioral disorders. So, what's a cat owner to do?

Well, for one thing, an owner can provide a cat with an acceptable outlet for their scratchy ways. To further entice them to use it, you might (a) keep the cat in an area that has few other "scratchable" items and wait until the cat begins to use your post, (b) rub the cats' toys, if they have any, over the post in the hopes that you will scent the post as their own, and (c) spray the post with the irresistible force of catnip, an herb that for unknown reasons sends cats into bouts of euphoria. A cat will simply keep to its old habits if the scratching post seems unfamiliar; also, since you have multiple cats, there might be territory issues, so it's a good idea to have more than one post (probably one for each cat).

Secondly, you will want to TRY to break the cats of their already-formed habits (scratching YOUR things). Cats are much craftier and more independent than dogs; they do not inherently want to please you, and they will do what they wish if they know they can get away with it. If a cat knows that the negative response it receives from a behavior comes from YOU, the cat is intelligent enough to know that it can still get away with the behavior when you are not around. Because of this, owners must be "sneaky" in their discipline and discouragement. The water bottle tactic works IF the cat does not see you spray it. Even then, it is a gamble. Some possible other suggestions are to coat your furniture and carpet with things your cat does not like. Some examples are foil (cats hate the feel of tinfoil beneath their paws), double sided tape (cats dislike things that stick to their fur). Also, if you are very determined, you can try scents such as bitter apple sprays or even fresh orange peels, all of which act as deterrents for cats.

Finally, there is the possibility of claw MAINTENANCE. The cats can keep their claws and can still use them to relieve stress, but they will destroy nothing in the process. There are hundreds of products available to "cap" the ends of claws. You can also clip the cats' nails. In both cases, however, if you have an unruly cat that hates to have its paws touched, you either must take them to the vet or face a good old-fashioned clawing for your efforts.

There are other options you can pursue to get your cats to stop clawing. Here are three of the thousands of sites I found: I hope they fill any gaps I might have left.

http://www.allourpets.com/feline/stop-scratching.s...

http://www.catscratching.com/

http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-a-Cat-from-Clawing-Fur...

I hope this answered your question!

~The Tigress

you can have the claws trimmed but it is usually best to have a trained professional do this as you can cut through the blood filled 'quick'.

Check this site for how to do it properly and advice on what to do if you cut through the quick.

http://www.catscratching.com/htmls/article.htm

Try also giving your cat an alternative to scratch at-a scratching post or an old bit of rough doormat usually does the trick-encourage them to use it by adding a little catnip powder.

I don't think cutting the claws will bother the cats too much but bear in mind that they use them for grip as well as scratching.

yes it is. i would say declaw if you absolutely have to but if you can fix the place up and try some training techniques with them first go with that. declawing takes away their playfulness and they also have litter box troubles soon after. We have tried this clear double sided sticky tape that you put on whatever you don't want them scratching and that works great. also, make sure you have scratch pads and scratch poles for them.

Buy Scratching posts for them and fill a spray bottle with water and spray the cats (lightly) when they try scratching stuff you don't want them to. they will know not to do it.

Also DO NOT get them declaw, thats just wrong.

you can buy nail clipper that are made just for cats. but make sure you only cut the tip do no cut pass the pink spot in their nail because that is where it hurts them. i would suggest you buy scratching post and spray some catnip on it.

but do not DECLAW them its true what your daughther says.

?