I don't know whether to declaw my cat or not. He is always tearing at the carpet, the edge of my mattress, the couch, and the doors. He is an indoor cat so it's not like he needs his claws because he won't need them for self defense. I heard it's mean to do this to the animal but I don't want him to ruin my house and I also don't want to get rid of him.
2007-02-02 05:23:31 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
Please don't declaw your cat... Just clip its nails monthly. Declawing is cruel. We declawed my first cat over 15 years ago and I regret it. I have never and will never declaw another cat. It IS like tearing out your fingernails.... My best friend's cat actually died from being declawed. The cats will get used to getting their nails clipped. Just use normal nail clippers. Get them a scratching post. My cats LOVE their post. Good Luck
2007-02-02 05:37:08 · answer #1 · answered by April 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋
"All of you people that's jumping all over this person for asking your opinion on declawing a cat, exactly how many of you have a cat?"
I do, two of 'm, and we've had several other cats from housemates and roommates. None were declawed. Here in my country it's illegal, but also when I lived in the US for five years none of the cats where I lived were declawed. Nor did they scratch the furniture; we had scratching posts for that and a spray bottle in case they started on the couch. It always worked.
"If it's so inhumane why do vets do it then?"
If it's not inhumane, why is it illegal in many countries? I ask myself why a country like the US still doesn't have a law against it, truly can't understand...
"What they're not telling you is when a cat uses the bathroom and uses it's clawed paws to cover that over the claws hold bacteria if that cat scratches you with that bacteria filled claw you can end up with a serious infection."
I've never had an infection from cats even though when I was a teenager I allowed my cat to fight my arm and I was always scratched up, so it's not quite that bad. Also -while I personally have never had a problem with this either- I hear loads of times that cat bites are far more likely to get infected than scratches are. Guess what declawed kitties often start doing???
Also cats will often stop using the litterbox. The shelters may have some cats who've claws and scratched the furniture but much more common & harder to re-home are cats that aren't box trained... declawing is a major cause of that problem.
2007-02-02 16:22:21 · answer #2 · answered by Sheriam 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are so going to get flamed for this post! So many people are against declawing.
I will give you two points as I have gone through both.
My oldest cat, Precious, was basically feral when we adopted her as a very young kitten from a kill shelter. She was very violent, attacked for no reason, tore up everything, sent my husband for stitches a few times, etc. We tried everything with her, including Soft Paws nail caps. She simply took them off. We battled this for 4 long years with her. When I found out that I was pregnant, we knew something had to be done We looked into putting her up for adoption but every place we talked to said that she is not a candidate for it because of her aggression. We couldn't kill her, that would be far more cruel than declawing her. So we opted for declaw. She has laser declaw and you would never even know she had it done. She never acted in pain, was acting completely normal from the time she came home. Since then, believe it or not, she has made a complete turn around. She is a lovey lapcat that lets anyone and everyone pet her.
Then we got my youngest cat, Cody. Due to a traumatic birth which he was born breech, paw first. The paw was sticking out of his Mom for well over 40 minutes until I could pull him out (sister's cat had them), that paw became so swollen and distended that blood was literally coming out of the nails. Everyone thought he'd lose the leg, vet included. Luckily he did not but due to this, he had problems with the nails on all of his paws. Infections, growing weird, etc. Vet suggested decalwing all 4 paws to save him pain from constantly having to have the nails clipped, drained, etc. We did it and was told he'd have the same laser surgery Precious did, he did not. It was awful!! He came home with gaping wounds, bled everywhere, walked funny for 2 days, laid around most of the time. Broke my heart!! Today he's fine and acts no different but just goes to show the difference between the 2 surgeries. His one paw is still twice the size of the other paws but that will never change.
Point is, now you have personal experience with both types of declaw so you can make a more educated decision should you choose that route. Some cats just simply will not stop doing it no matter what unfortunately. You can try Soft Paws and see if he'll keep them on and there is another elective which is where they cut the ligament that attaches to the claw to allow to use the claws. Less invasive and this way the cat has the claws but can't use them. Either way it goes, it's your cat and your decision. You have to choose what is best for you and your situation. Not everyone will know every cat but you will get a bunch of replies going off about declaw.
2007-02-02 05:39:42 · answer #3 · answered by MasLoozinIt76 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are cheaper, more humane ways to keep your cat from scratching. Caps are one that work great. Just know that you will have to replace them often in the beginning for they will try to take them off until they get used to it.
Declawing is very painful and could change the personality of your cat. As well as cause bad behaviors. So why take the chance. Some do OK but most DO NOT!
People that declaw their cats are either in denial or blame their issues on other things. When in reality it is because they got them declawed.
Also they develop arthritis later on which keeps them in pain and you will have to treat them for the rest of their lives for it.
If you love your cat then don't make it suffer any more than necessary.
2007-02-02 16:41:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
All of you people that's jumping all over this person for asking your opinion on declawing a cat, exactly how many of you have a cat? I have a cat and she was declawed as a kitten. The first 2 weeks her paws were sore however she healed fine and hasn't had any problems from it. If it's so inhumane why do vets do it then? What they're not telling you is when a cat uses the bathroom and uses it's clawed paws to cover that over the claws hold bacteria if that cat scratches you with that bacteria filled claw you can end up with a serious infection. If you feel comfortable with getting the cat declawed by all means do so. I tried to train my cat to scratch a post, I was told to spray her when she scratched something she shouldn't be. I was told to pop her with rolled up newspaper. None of that worked. I looked into every option before deciding to have her declawed. To this dated my cat is fine. She was declawed as a kitten and she's now 13 years of age. She's lived a well and happy life. However please be advised at no time once you get your cat declawed should it be outside unattended because it will not be able to defend itself against other animals.
2007-02-02 06:14:11 · answer #5 · answered by Pisces Princess 6 · 2⤊ 5⤋
There are alternatives. you can buy soft claws and scracting posts,there are sprays to make something smell bad to the cat but not to humans. I don't like to declaw either. It is amputation of all ten toes to the first knuckle of the feet,ask your cats Vet about alternatives.If you must you must. I had to have a declawed cat where I live it is in my lease.My Cat came through fine. I love her with all of my heart but now I have nice furniture as well. We live in a high rise so She will never get outside to have to defend herself. She went through the surgery fine but if I had a choice I wouldn't have done it.
2007-02-02 05:37:06 · answer #6 · answered by Pamela V 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
You have no idea the can of worms you just opened up... I asked a question similar to this yesterday "how to help my cat recover" and actually had someone say they wanted to shoot people like me with an ak47 nice post you should go read it.
Anyway I picked my cat up fro the vet yesterday after having the declaw....he's uncomfortable but seems to be ok, he has bandages on both paws...I have to use shredded paper for litter for the next two weeks...he can get the bandages off Monday and should be walking fine by then according to vet...he does hate those bandages though.
Anyway..he too was tearing the furniture, carpet, door jams etc up...he's indoor cat and is scared to go out and wouldn't use a scratching post....declawing and keeping him in a home where he is loved and taken care of was better than the option of getting rid of him or throwing him outside.
Do what you think is best. Good Luck....
2007-02-02 05:38:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 4⤋
When I was younger I had a house cat my parents declawed its front paws only...
Now that I'm older I wondered what alternatives are out there.
I Found a goody.....
Soft Claws (cat claw caps).
Not only are they functional in saving your furniture and stuff but they are also painless for the cat and fashionable.. (they come in different colors).
I heard one of the presidents used them on his cat.
Here is the Address for info on them :-:>w/picture
2007-02-02 05:59:52 · answer #8 · answered by ASDZA’NI 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You are right about it being 'mean' De-clawing a cat is the equivalent of having your toes chopped off, not like just having your nails removed. Just buy a $3 cat nail cutter and trim the front claws once a month. Most cats don't mind the fuss and it is painless if you stay away from the pink part of the claw (the quick). I do my cat in about 30 seconds.
2007-02-02 05:30:37 · answer #9 · answered by Lorenzo Steed 7 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Why did you get a cat? That would be cruel! You should have read about cats before you got him, he is only doing what is natural. The best thing would be to let him out to do his clawing! If you want him as an indoor cat you should accept him as he is, doing what comes natural.
2007-02-02 05:49:55 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋