I feel horrible about declawing my cat. What do you think?

Question

I recently got my cat declawed and I feel horible about it. She wouldn't stop destroying my new furniture. :(

I did try every other alternative I could think of before I did it. I tried the scratching post , making loud noises, even spraying her with a water gun. I didn't know what eles to do. The cat is less than two years old and I'm on my second couch.

Answer 1

at least you cat will now live a long and healthy life indoors. all 3 of my cats are declawed. the first one had already been when i got him. had to do the others when i adopted them to be keep the battle ground safe and fair. they all recovered very quickly. actually recovered faster from declawing then from being neutered and spayed. they act just like they did before they were declawed and now the furniture and my arms and legs are no longer torn up. if declawing is cruel, think about what spaying and neutering is doing to a cat emotionally. what about people who do physical alterations to dogs? they chop off tails and ears, just so they can look a specific way. boxers aren't born with slight stubs, nor are rotties. everyone has different opinions on everything, and there will always be someone who disagrees with your opinion and will tell you how horrible you are because you don't believe the same way they do. you need to live by what you feel is right, not based on popular or unpopular opinion. what is done is done. you love your little fuzzball, and your fuzzball still loves you and that is all that matters!!!!!!!

Answer 2

A lot of people think declawing is just a severe nail clipping, but it's not -IT'S AN AMPUTATION!!!.Declawing should be a last resort, with love and patience you can train almost ANY cat not to claw your furniture(clothes, rugs, etc) there are products you can buy at the pet store, or your vet just for this purpose. You should've had a scratching post, that alone could've solved your problem. If your vet recommended declawing, I would strongly suggest you find a different one (I go to one that specializes in cats) Now your cat won't be able to defend itself, and will need to be kept indoors.

Answer 3

We got a 4 year old female cat from the shelter, fully clawed, and she doesn't even use her claws. Well, she does on the carpet, which I don't mind. She knows, for some reason, not to claw the furniture.

I'm not gonna go on a diatribe here...you sound upset already. And lots of people declaw cats. My question is this: if you want a cat, and you know they come with claws, should you not be prepared for the result?

Your next cat, make sure the furniture is old, and work with her, instead of just yanking the claws out. Like I said, somebody trained our cat to a tee. She is a sweetheart, with claws!

Don't feel overly bad though, ok? Just try next time to hang tough with the claws. With love and attention, I'm sure your cat won't hold this against you in the least! Caution: your cat is now an indoor cat. She cannot defend herself without claws.

Answer 4

Do not listen to some of these people about declawed cats ending up in shelters. Guess what a declawed cat is easier to re-home than one with claws. As long as you make it an inside only cat you will be fine. After the initial surgery they usually don't even know they don't have them. But if later in life you have to find him a knew home he will be more adoptable to other people that care.

Answer 5

did you try double sided tape where she was scratching? did you get a sturdy scratching post and train the cat to use it instead of your couch? frankly you should feel horrible...i just hope you have not ruined the cat. are you aware that many, many declawed cats end up in shelters because the owner can not deal with the neurotic mess the cats often becomes? do you know many cats NEVER use a litter box again after having it's toes amputated?

Answer 6

Well, let me ask you this. How would you feel if someone knocked you out & cut off all of your finger & toes at the first joint, then made you walk around, jump off of furniture, etc. on them until they heal????
Declawing a cat is cruel. When I worked as a LVT I hated to have to see this proceedure performed. There are other ways of dealing. Besides, if your cat gets outside & it get into danger, you have taken away it's defense. It cannot fight back or climb a tree to get away.
PLEASE research alternatives to the declawing before having it done. Have your vet or the vet tech show you how to trim the cat's claws. Ask them about claw caps, get a scratching post, anything but declawing!!!!

Answer 7

Listen. tom me it is obvious that when you take in a cat you can be sure your furniture will be wrecked or at least damaged after a while. It is part of the choice! If you dont want that, maybe a cat isnt your kind of pet after all. I can imagine you feel sorry about doing this, but maybe you should have thought about this before you went to take in a cat, and also before you deicided to get it declawed.
Pets arent like furniture, you cant just take off parts you dont like, thats crazy!

Answer 8

Declawing is barbaric. The top joints of the toes are removed, it's not just like ripping off your fingernails, they cut the top off the bone as well.

Your cat may develop behavioural problems from it later on, so instead of scratching the couch (which could have been covered with a thick blanket to stop the scratching) she will pee on it instead.

Answer 9

I had only one of my cats declawed over the years and I swore I would never do it again. The poor thing was in so much pain from it. But now as you probably know your cat can't defend itself outdoors and will have to remain indoors. Give kitty a hug for me.

Answer 10

Hi there...the best solution now is to ensure your cats well-being by having her remain an indoor kitty since she no longer has claws to defend herself when needed. Fretting about this is a moot point as you now need to move forward rather than dwell on the past, which you have recognized. You did the best you could with the available resources at your disposal and you need to be kind to yourself.

For future reference...cats can be trained to not claw inappropriately using a rewards system rather than a punishment system, which many of us have learned from others. Unfortunately, cats associate scolding, pat on the rump with the act of punishment rather than associate with the act of wrong-doing. They cannot discriminate between the two. For instance, if we scold kitty for inappropriately soiling on the carpet, kitty will believe we are scolding them for the act of urinating rather than where kitty is doing this bad deed. They then will become fearful of relieving themselve believing they will be punished for what mother nature intended, which is why it's very important not to ever scold/punish an animal when they are doing something wrong. Rather they need to be rewarded for doing things correctly and redirectly kindly when they are doing things incorrectly. I hope this can help you with other training concerns in your future together.