I have two declawed cats (Male and female litter mates) and my girlfriend has two clawed cats (Male and female litter mates) and we are planning on moving in together. My gut feeling is to have her cats declawed which she is amenable to do.
2007-01-25 06:34:48 · 13 answers · asked by Jason W 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
If her cats dont need to be declawed (like attacking your cats or you) I wouldnt make her do it. I have one declawed (all four feet) and one who has all of her claws. They do fine together. If you are worried about furniture then make sure you have plenty of scratching posts and pads around for the clawed cats to use. the best way to inroduce new animals is to allow the cats who live at the house raom freely while putting the new cats into a carrier so that way they can all smell each other but cant attack each other. Keep doing this for a while and trade them out every once and a while. Eventually they will get use to each other and hopefully wont fight with each other when combined. The only other thing I would recommend is if they all arent already fixed do that before bringing them into the home. The last thing you need is male cats fighting over females or unwanted litters. Hope this helps. good luck
2007-01-25 06:50:48 · answer #1 · answered by Ryne's proud mommy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have eight cats that I keep together half are declawed and half are not.
First of all, let me tell you that I am not an advocate of declawing. I think it's wrong and just won't do it and I urgently advise others not to. There are alternatives. Those cats I have that are, were done before coming to me.
Putting cats that are declawed together with ones that are not is not that difficult. Most cats "assume" that the other has claws. They don't know that they do or don't. I have one 9-yr old female declawed cat that totally surprised me the other day by taking care of a situation by coming unglued on a large dog I had let inside, that was trying to start a fight with another dog (I'd let the dogs in because it was so cold outside). The declawed cat put the dogs quite in their places!!! The dogs assumed she had claws too! It was truly amazing!
Agression is your main factor amongst clawed & declawed cats. You will just have to assess the personalities of each and who gets along with whom and who doesn't. It will take some time, but eventually, the cats will learn to tolerate each other. Once you maintain more than two cats in a household you automatically become a "commune". Cats in commune situations will sort amongst themselves those that are leaders and those that are followers. They have their hierarchy, believe me! Claws or no claws. It all depends on the one selected as the dominant cat. For the first few months together, however, I would maintain a sense of supervision around your cats. That way, no one gets hurt too badly. I guarantee you that if there are fights, most injuries are going to come more from bites than scratches.
Personally, I say *NO* to declawing. You can always use soft claws. For more info go to: http://www.softpaws.com/
Good luck with putting your kitties together.
2007-01-25 07:02:26 · answer #2 · answered by ruby_jazmin 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have 1 declawed cat and 1 clawed cat. It is quite cute actually they get along fine they just hissed at each other first no clawing, now they are best friends and still no clawing, but my declawed cat tries to scratch at the scratching post like my clawed cat and doesn't understand why she does it. I would give them a chance when you are both around and see how it goes, they might just hiss at each other, then go there own ways and find there own places to hang out. I would think 4 cats in 1 home is alot I hope its a big place!
2007-01-25 07:01:36 · answer #3 · answered by Tigerluvr 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your girlfriends cats are indoor animals and not outdoors declawing would be best. Cats and dogs both resemble the wild version that exists in the world of large jungle cats and wolves. There is a pecking order that animals have of alpha-male/-female and beta-male/-female. While yours and her cats decide whose what there will be some battle of wills between the cats and that could involve a little kitty violence, but your cats are vulnerable because they have no claws to protect themselves.
2007-01-25 07:10:03 · answer #4 · answered by espressoaddict22 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely! And they are fine. Cats are as different in purr-sonality as people... I had one declawed cat, when I got another, had her declawed as well to make it even: and I cried for days thinking how I had mutilated my beautiful cat, and vowed to never do it again. Since they, I have gotten two stray boys, and they were NOT declawed. Rarely, when they decide to scratch the furniture ( which is not often) I just carefully trim their nails every few weeks. Works great. Plus, remember, cats fight with their rear claws anyway, they used their fronts for balance,and climbing, etc. Please do not declaw. Trimming works just as well without unessecary surgery, cost, and pain. Plus, give your kitties ( nails or no nails) a nice scratching post, rub it with catnip, and all will be happy. That being said, the one in a blue moon cat that is a real issue, you might have just to trim their nails more often.
Thank you for reading and visit:http://www.declawhallofshame.com/wst_page3.php
to see declaw mishaps: unecessary pain, infection, deformity and suffering! and for what? an armchair...maybe? I love my pets WAYYYYY more than I care about my furniture: but the funny part is, they don't even claw my furniure!
2007-01-25 07:06:39 · answer #5 · answered by GRISCHAT 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bad idea on both counts. Declawed cats will get hurt by the clawed cats and declawing is cruel and very painful. Many vets wont even do it.
2007-01-25 06:53:42 · answer #6 · answered by KathyS 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes I have both and there isn't really much difference b/c since one doesn't have claws and the other 2 do she can still whoop some butt when she needs to. I will never de-claw a cat ever again. (the one we have now was a stray I picked up) but I did have 2 cats that were because they were inside cats. Well one of them got out one day and got into a fight with a animal and couldn't protect its self so needless to say he had to be put down b/c he got hurt so bad it caused a "fatty liver" it was awful!!! I will never ever de-claw one again....its really mean especially if u know how they do it!!! Its terrible!!!
2007-01-25 07:12:15 · answer #7 · answered by hey :o) 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have 2 declawed and two clawed cats and they are all of different ages there have never been any problems. Get them together and see how it goes.
2007-01-25 07:04:26 · answer #8 · answered by eilin_22 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Please do not declaw your cats. Please make sure your cats are all spayed and neutered. Cats are curious by nature and many times will find a way to sneak out of the house. With out their claws they are unable to survive. The cats will do fine in the house together. I have had up to 15 cats in my home at one time, each cat will find a corner until they are able to cope with the adjustments on their own. Cats do not intentionally seek out fights and generally only react when put in a situation where there is no other choice but to defend.
2007-01-25 07:00:01 · answer #9 · answered by InquiringMinds 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I lived in a mixed household. No one ever scratched each other. One of the cats actually bit my cat and she had to go to the vet because it was abcessed. That wasn't fun.
I don't think you can declaw a cat if it's over two, or at least I have always heard that you shouldn't.
2007-01-25 07:11:07 · answer #10 · answered by Monica T 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋