Is declawing a good option for a cat that scratches furniture and how is it done?

Answer 1

In general, younger and smaller cats respond better to declawing than larger and heavier cats. They tend to recover more quickly, whereas larger or heavier cats may limp or have trouble bearing weight for as much as 6 months after declawing. During declawing surgery, the claw or third bone in the toe is removed and skin is closed over the incision so that the claw will not grow back. There are other options to declawing, such as retraining the cat to use a scratching post or having your veterinarian apply Soft Paws, plastic covers which are glued onto the nails and usually last for 4 to 6 weeks. -

Answer 2

In general, younger and smaller cats respond better to declawing than larger and heavier cats. They tend to recover more quickly, whereas larger or heavier cats may limp or have trouble bearing weight for as much as 6 months after declawing. During declawing surgery, the claw or third bone in the toe is removed and skin is closed over the incision so that the claw will not grow back. There are other options to declawing, such as retraining the cat to use a scratching post or having your veterinarian apply Soft Paws, plastic covers which are glued onto the nails and usually last for 4 to 6 weeks.

Answer 3

no it is not a good option.. it is considered mutilation in some countries like England.. because the kitty's claws are actually attached to bone.. and this is a serious surgery for a cat.. alot of people don't realize this.. and kitties don't get put on bed rest after surgery.. they still have to walk, and scratch in a litter box.. after declawing that would be really painful to a cat.. i have 3 cats, and they don't scratch our furniture, you can buy it a good stable cat scratching post, good ones are a little pricey but declawing wouldn't be cheap either, there is a good one on this website, www.purrfectpost.com it's 60 dollars, but worth saving your furniture, and keeping the kitty from enduring pain, or a cheaper solution is www.softpaws.com they are cheaper, but alot more time consuming..

Answer 4

Declawing a cat also tends to make them aggressive. We had a cat that had been declawed before we got him. He bit several family members bad, and used his paws to hit really hard. If you clip their claws regularly, and get a scratching post, then the cat shouldn't claw up the furniture.

Answer 5

I understand the whole "cruelty" line of reasoning but also understand these things

1. Cats will do as they please, they arent dogs. They dont respond well to any type of re-enforcement. In other words, if a cat is scratching up your furniture, they are not neccessarily going to scratch on a post you get them. If they want to scratch the furniture, they will. I have posts all over my house, even a tower that goes up to the ceiling, and my cats dont even go near them. They really like a rug I have, and the carpet though......

2. Even if cats do use the post, they can scratch up your furniture by accident. Cats arent always going to just lay around. If your cat is active, or you have more then one, they can scratch up your things simply by running around and having fun. Many cats run with their claws stuck out, and they can, and will spring on to things and hang there. Curtains are a primary target of this.


3. Cats are curious in nature, especially in their younger years, and they will try to get on things, even if its difficult to get on them. If your cat jumps and misses.....guess what hes going to do? Out comes the claws in to whatever piece of furniture/curtains/clothing etc is nearby.


4. What they dont tell you about those "soft paw things" is

- They are very hard to get on
- Some are stuck on with adhesives
- They fall off and need to be replaced constantly, and are very expensive
- Many cats bite at their nails, and the cats can rip these off and choke on them


Dispite the cruelty aspect, I WOULD recommend declawing of your cat, assuming the cat is a full time indoor cat. Cats that spend any amount of time outdoors should not be declawed under any circumstance.

As explained earlier, the procedure is basically the removal of the top part of the cats "fingers" if you will, which are connected to the claw.

As far as the procedure is done, its usually an overnight thing, and you can take them home in the morning. They will be bandaged on the foot for about 2 weeks or so, depending on the healing process. The injuries will be stitched up, most vets use the invisible stitches initially (a type of glue), and only go for the manual ones if the cat has problems ripping his hands open (the sores irratate all cats, but some much more then others). You will usually be given some antibiotics to help prevent any infection. It usually will be also recommended that you soak your cats feet in antibacterial solution for a couple weeks following the bandage removal.


The reason I recommend declawing is that the cost in destroyed furniture/and or "soft claws" and other random things that arent proven to work, far outweighs by many times the cost of declawing. There isnt much downside. There is nothing being removed that is going to limit or handicap the cat, as far as their day to day operation. It should be said though, In a very very very low number of cases, and its almost always in the case of unskilled and unexperienced veternarians doing the procedure, a cat can experience lifelong pain in its feet, and other related problems to not properly completing, or incorrectly completing the procedure. I have never seen this happen in dozens of cats that Ive known to be declawed. Ask your veternarian if hes ever seen a cat suffer life long pain from a declawal procedure, and chances are he probably hasnt. I would recommend using a vet who has done hundreds of the surgeries, and is reputable for his success rate.

Another downside, unrelated to the cat itself, is the fact that some veternarians refuse to do the procedure, so it may require some searching for one who does.

Answer 6

Personally I would never put my cat through such unnecessary pain. He used to claw at stuff but I found that telling him 'no' firmly and giving him an angry look helped. He knew from that that he was doing something wrong.
My vet told me that declawing is the equivalent of a human having their fingers amputated from the last knuckle down.

Answer 7

NO ! Declawing a cat is very painful , Its like cutting off the ends of you fingers .

Answer 8

It is a great investment to get a couple of scratching posts, you introduce them to your cat by gently taking your cat and showing them how to use it by running their paws down it. cats scratch to mark and if they have a scratching post they will use that instead. If you catch ur cat stratching furniture instead of the posts get them with a water pistol when they dont suspect you.

Dont declaw the cat just clip them so that they do less damage. Get a vet to clip your cat's claws so you can see how they do it, there are special clippers you get and its usually easier to get one person to hold the cat while you clip.

Answer 9

If you want to have the first digit of every one of your cats toes cut off. That is what the vet does, and sometimes the cat will always be in pain because of it. Get it a scratching post.

Answer 10

when declawing a cat the tip of the cats "finger" is removed. look at you hand. the first knuckle past your nail, imagine that cut off. that is the equivelent to a cat