In quite a pickle!!?

Question

Hello, i'm in quite the pickle here.
i recently purchased a bengal kitty and get her in june. I'm having a really hard time deciding whether to declaw her or not.
I know everyone says it's absolutely terrible for cats to be declawed and problems can occur.. I've had a few cats in my lifetime all declawed, and had no problems at all, in fact my first kitty i got is now 17 and still going strong. I've known a lot of cats that have been declawed and no problems.
I'm really not too sure what to do about her. My 1 1/2 year old that i have is declawed is an indoor kitty and she's happier then ever.. no problems. My bengal is also going to be an indoor, and i'm worried about the claws on my other kitty. The woman that runs the cattery clips their nails from weeks old so they're used to it, but they're still sharp and i'm worried about playing with my other.
any advice would be fantastic.. sorry for all the jumble!! thanks in advance!!

Answer 1

Read this first. Your cat is yours to PROTECT, don't maim them in return for it. You've given no reason for wanting to do it, and they are already used to hacving an alternative.
If you want a cat, it does come with claws wether you like them or not, and all it takes is training as most of the world already knows and you have the best of all worlds without having to just maim the poor thing.

http://www.catscratching.com
http://www.petstation.com/declaw.html
http://cats.about.com/od/declawing/tp/reasonsnot.htm
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_declawing_and_its_alternatives.html
http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/behavior/a/declawdilemma.htm
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/declaw.html
http://www.43things.com/things/view/266743
http://www.hsus.org/ace/11780
http://www.moggies.co.uk/stories/declaw.html
http://www.ciara.de/declawing.html
http://www.phsspca.org/training/declawing.htm
http://cats.about.com/od/declawing/Declawing.htm
http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/
http://www.wisegeek.com/should-i-declaw-my-cat.htm
http://www.declawing.com/htmls/declawing.htm
http://www.2ndchance.info/declaw.htm

It does not make them happier (would amputation make you happier?) you've just been very fortunate in so far not having some of the major irreperable consequences. SHould your kittys ever by accident get out and come accross a dog, kiss them goodbye since they simply cannot defend enough or get away fast enough.
There are easy alternatives for ANY problem caused by nails, but you can't get to undo the surgery, thankfully it's outlawed in most of the world.

Answer 2

Here are some links to check out before declawing.

http://www.declawing.com/

http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=137

http://www.pawproject.com/html/faqs.asp

These contain reasons for or against it. I personally hate declawing. I have volunteered with a rescue, and have seen the negative effects. Most of the time when people call saying they have a cat peeing all over the house or biting etc., the cat is declawed. I know some also do fine with it. I have seen both, but I would rather not take the chance to find out if my cat will be okay with it or not. Just make an informed decision is all.

Answer 3

Declawing is cruel. It is like cutting off up to your knuckle and severing the tenant if you were to do that to a human. And you may not have had problems with your cats but problems can occur such as not using the litter box and become viscous. If you are worried about her scratching your other cats they make cat socks which are basically little plastic caps that are glued to your cats nails to protect your furniture and other cats. You could also get a scratching post or one of the honeycomb circular toys(link below). They work well and even the declaws will love to play with them. I hope you decide not declaw and I hope I was helpful.

Answer 4

If your concern is primarily for your other cat rather then carpet and furniture I don't think you need to be worried. My first cat (25 years ago) was also declawed and although there were no medical complications from it I now regret it. The primary objection to it is the very nature of the surgery, essentially the removal of the first joint and the fact that it is not medically necessary but done for convenience.
I currently own three Sphynx (hairless breed) who have also been acustomed to having their nails clipped. It is also part of the purchase agreement that they are not declawed. When the nails are clipped regularly (weekly) I find that I am able to keep them quite short. My three wrestle constantly with only the occasional slight red mark (no blood) to show for it and this is without the protection of fur. Hope that helps. Congratulations on your new kitten

Answer 5

Look at it this way. You can leave the claws on but you can't re-attach them once they are off.

TRY letting her keep her claws for now. Keep them short and see how it goes. Many cats control the use of their claws and leave them retracted even when playing with another cat.

IF her claws turn out to be a problem, THEN you can look into declawing, but chances are very good that her claws will not be an issue.

Answer 6

hello,
Be sure to research declawing your cat before deciding. They do heal well and live fine without their claws, but so do people when they lose their fingers up to the knuckle. Cats have lots of fur to protect them so wen they fight they rarely get hurt. We clip our new kitties now. Try that before you declaw. They do feel sharp to our skin after you clip them but the cats can't feel it the same way we do. Also without claws they can't climb or fight well if by chance they do get outside.
good luck with the new kitty!

Answer 7

I'm against de-clawing cats just to prevent potential problems.

A declawed cat can live in peace with a cat with their nails. It won't effect anything.

Declawing should be a last resort, and ONLY if nothing else prevents destruction.

My cat is NOT declawed, and I would NEVER consider doing it to her. We live in an apartment, where our roommate has leather furniture. His furniture is untouched.

Answer 8

An alternative to declawing could be having a scratching post on hand to wear down her claws on, or you could always try those claw cover things.

Answer 9

I'm sorry, but I can't ever imagine ever doing any sort of unecssary procedure on an animal, this sounds an absolutely terrible thing to do to your cat. I've never heard of it before, it's barbaric. Is this an American tradition? You sound like you really love animals if you have so many cats, what real reason do you have to do this, it's not like your cat's going to be attacking you, and cats love to climb and to scratch (trees that is!) it's in their nature, don't take this away from her. My cats all have claws and they've never scratched my furniture because they have plenty of scratching posts and toys to play with.

Answer 10

Hello..I'm with you..de clawing is great for indoor cats, beats yelling at them, having your furniture & curtains tore up to the point you end up hating the cat , then most just dump them :(..especially beings your other cat or cats are declawed..it's best for this one as well...the front claws are for grabbing only, when a cat fights they use their hind legs so no worries there, they can & will defend themselves if need be when de clawed..sorry de clawing beats the alternatives..ending up with hating the cat...Take Care :)