declaw or not

[Cherie762]

I have a lovely tabby , male, his name is Duffy..he seems to scratch only the carpet he messed up the corner near my door, I bought a scratch post covered it in catnip he has noting to do with it...I clip his nails weekly..Im leary of de clawing him.

does anyone have an opinion if I do it will be front claws only . what is the approximate cost of this?

[FurballsMom]

Yes, what nancyjac said about the Soft Paws is true.  I noticed this when the previous owner had Akira.  Although, the Soft Paws do eventually fall off, as that entire outer sheath will eventually come off with the Soft Paws attached.  This was what I noticed when the previous owner would wait so long to go back to the vet for new Soft Paws to be attached.  Usually, this also meant that Akira's nails had grown long again and needed to be trimmed.  So, she had plenty of time to scratch naturally between the applications of the Soft Paws.  Most definitely, cats need to scratch to help remove the outer sheath of their nails.  I've been fortunate in not really needing to use the Soft Paws on her, since she is pretty good about letting me trim her nails for her and she is pretty good about using her scratcher.  A couple of times she wanted to use my office chair, but she got caught when she did that.  As soon as I provided the cardboard scratcher, I haven't had any more "gotcha" moments with her wanting to use the office chair.  When we move, if I have enough space for it, I will also get her a perching tree/scratching post.  Her previous owner had one, but for some reason she peed on it.  I had to throw it away.

[nancyjac]

Cats need to scratch to remove the outer deal layer of their claws.  Similar to what we do with scrubs to remove our own dead skin.  So if you use the soft claws, your have to remove them periodically so they can scratch off the outer dead layer of their claws.

[margypops]

I have two  carpets around ,the kitchen area , they are made of hessian my tweety loves them,we let her claw on them,  on occasions she has tried to claw my good sofa but I quietly and firmly say 'No Tweety' No' and she stops , this is one clever cat she knows I mean it ...

[FurballsMom]

There is one other option for cats that scratch where you don't want them to.  There is a product called Soft Paws.  They are actually vinyl nail caps.  If you find you can't put them on yourself, you can have the vet do it.  I have no idea how much that would cost, but they do stay on several weeks--until the nail sheath naturally comes off as the nail is growing.  I have never had any problems getting Akira to let me trim her nails and she hasn't scratched where I don't want her to, so I haven't put any Soft Paws on her since I've had her.

The Soft Paws come in several colors, including clear.  My cat's previous owner used to have these put on the cat by her vet because the previous owner was blind and couldn't see to trim the nails.  It was also to prevent the cat from accidentally scratching her.  The pink and purple Soft Paws looked kind of cute against Akira's dark fur.  She looked like she had pink or purple nail polish on her little cat claws.

Soft Paws are a good alternative to declawing.  I've heard so many horror stories about cats that have been declawed.  It is really amputation.  I'm really glad that my cat's previous owner was against declawing the cat.  I agree about the cardboard scratchers, too.  Akira loves hers.  It has been a good alternative, since I have no place to place a cat tree in this dinky apartment.  We have a sliding glass door and a window that reaches down to the floor level, so Akira doesn't need to be up on a perch to see out the window or the sliding glass door either.  And, even when the blinds are closed, she has no problem if she really wants to watch the world, since the blinds are vertical blinds.  She just nudges the slats over so she can stare out the window all she wants to.

[Fluffysmom]

Cherie,

I volunteer at a shelter, and I must tell you that most of the declawed cats we have seen have issues with inappropriate urination and defecation; outside the box.

I heard it explained that the cats associate the pain of the declawing with using the litter box, since it's so natural for them to go in and dig.  They then avoid that source of increased pain.

I love a cat that is declawed, but I can't take her home because she's more likely to go potty on bedding or a soft rug than in the litter box.  We're working with her, providing three kinds of litter and pee-pads in a box in the room where she roams.  She's getting better there, but the stress of a new home and all sets her off; she's been adopted at least three times.

My Fluffy loved to scratch where he shouldn't.  I ended up with my bedroom door open, and various scratching goodies throughout the house.  He really loved the cardboard incline scratchers; places like PetSmart have various cardboard versions which are inexpensive.

At the shelter we have a variety of scratching toys; like one of the rings with the ball in it that cats can bat around with a round cardboard scratcher in the middle.

Good luck, and please don't declaw your wee king of the townhouse!

Please don't get him declawed!

[opus88]

hi Cherie heres a good article from dr. Mercola on the subject, maybe there will be some helpful tips there for you. please don't declaw!!

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/15/preventing-pet-cat-scratching.aspx

[Cherie762]

oh btw he was adopeted from shelter age is approx 9 mths - 1 year..if hes a year I think hes too small I think hes more like 9 mths has the kitty look still, hes not the runt caus I saw the litter

[Cherie762]

He is neutered, my post is carpet, he scratched carpet near my bedroom door cause I dared to shut it and the king of the house sleepsat the bottom of my bed, when hes not too busy sitting near my face looking at me purring , at least my cat loves me LOL

Im gonna look into other posts and Lindas page, I think I really dont want to declaw him, plus I live in townhomes everyone has cats should he get out Id like him to beable to defend self.

[LindaTX]

Margy, you can buy it in little packages to sprinkle on their scratching posts or put some in an old sock .  It makes them mellow out....all my cats love it.  It even comes in a spray form but doesn't have much of an effect I found.  Get you kitty a little catnip mouse to see if he's attracted to it. You might be able to sprinkle it on their food...I'm not sure,  Mine do eat it off their scratch pad.  I guess it makes them a little high but they don't do crazy things like go out and try to drive, lol.

[margypops]

whats with this catnip I keep hearing about? I have seen it in stores,do you put it on their food .

[LindaTX]

LOL...they do look cute lounging on it don't they, he-he!  They do love it and I sometimes sprinkle a little catnip on the scratching surface.  I think my husband said we got it at Petsmart but that was a couple of years ago...they may still carry them.

[Jade59]

Hi Cherie, what kind of post do you have?  Is it rope or carpet?  If rope, you might want to try an all carpet one.  OR, take a look at LindaTX's profile pic.  She has a very cool scratcher and her kitties use it and love it, right Linda?  They DO use it don't they?...not just lie in it looking all cute, LOL.

[margypops]

awwww no Cherie dont have him declawed its part of their nature it will make him unhappy, my Tweety tries to claw my sofa I say firmly No and she stops it, may I ask why you would want to ?

[nancyjac]

Is Duffy neutered?  It sounds like he has marked that corner of the carpet with his scent.  Cats have scent glands in their paws.  You need to clean that part of the carpet with an enzymatic cleaner.  He may like cat nip.  Some cats don't.  Remove the cat nip from the scratching post.  Or get a different one that is horizontal rather than a post.  Rake his claws over it so that he knows what it is for and it picks up his scent.  

I've never declawed a cat so I don't know what the cost is other than it is more than having him neutered would be.  We usually have a few cats at the shelter where I work that have been declawed by a previous owner.  At least half of the time they tend to have behavior issues and tend to be either agressive (biters) or very shy and defensive.