All you people who think declawing a cat is "cruel" . . . .?

Question

What's your brilliant alternative?

Answer 1

Soft Paws. You can get them at any pet store. Of course, if the cat goes outside you don't want them because he will need to defend himself. But it saves the furniture inside.

Answer 2

Do I detect a note of sarcasm in your question?

In the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and most of Europe, declawing is illegal on the grounds that it is animal cruelty. UK legislation does actually refer to it as "mutilation". It's also widely accepted that scratching is perfectly natural cat behaviour and kittens are encouraged to use a scratch post or other preferred item, from an early age so that they aren't tempted to use the furniture instead.

Toys that dangle off the end of a wand stick should be used for interactive games so that the kitten learns not to view your hands as toys, thus reducing the risk of being scratched by accident during play time. Should a kitten become over excited and get a little too rough, then its best to stop the game and simply walk away. They very quickly learn that it is not acceptable behaviour and means that the fun stops.

Just as with children, some kittens learn quicker than others, but provided that owners are patient, then all cats will learn good manners with their claws. Keeping their claws trimmed on a regular basis will also help limit their potential for accidental damage.

If literally millions of people around the world are able to train their cats, I'm at a loss to understand why some people seem unable to do so. Based upon questions I have seen posted, some people don't even give their kitten chance to learn to use a scratching post, preferring instead to arrange declawing at the same time as neutering or spaying. I'm curious to know why people who claim that it was impossible to train their cat, didn't hire the services of an animal behaviourist to help them, rather than paying a vet for a surgical fix to the situation. I have no doubts that vets who are unethical enough to recommend declawing, see it as an additional cash income.

It's high time that people fully appraise themselves of an animal's natural behaviour before adopting one as a pet. If somebody wants a cat for a pet, then why on earth should the cat be expected to make all the sacrifices to suit the owners requirements? It's a privilege to have a pet - not a right.

Answer 3

Yes, as everyone says -- Training and a scratching post. Or a piece of carpet hung over the side of a chair, offering an alternative place for the scratching behavior. AND trimming the cats claws once every two weeks.

There are a ton of cats who have all their claws who are perfectly good around furniture. You work with the cat to get them to accept an ok place for them to scratch and they keep that training all their life.

At worst-- buy some of those Soft Paws to put over the claws.

Answer 4

I have 2 cats, 5 and 6 years old. I recently purchased a house with my new husband (3 years ago). My cats weren't declawed until we bought the microfiber couch and loveseat for a pretty penny of about $2,000. We had a scratching post when we moved in and they didn't use it. you cannot spray the furniture with liquid or it will stain and discolor the microfiber. I got my cats declawed when they decided to use the furniture instead of anything else we had. But I did leave the back claws in just in case they got out. Thankfully, all the cats around our neighborhood are not strays. One of my cats has gotten out, and she always returns home safely. I see no problem declwing cats. And before I had this done I thought it was the cruelest thing you could do. They don't mind one bit!

Answer 5

Cat claws, training (water bottle, put tape where they scratch,
scratch post) I have had ten cats through the year and none needed to be declawed after they were trained were they could scratch. Maybe the option would be, if you don't want to chance having your furniture ruined don't get a cat.

Answer 6

We adopted an older cat...who was declawed. She is VERY tame... very easy-going, and the sweetest thing ever.

We also just got a kitten... who is not declawed. Being a kitten of course she is clawing everything, and we are trying to teach her.

You learn that she messes up a BUNCH of stuff. My in-pretty-good-condition leather couches... she scratched those.

Since the kitten and the cat stay in my house, and rarely go outside... my only choice is to de-claw the kitten. I can't risk her hurting the older cat, or the dog.

We did get a scratching post for the kitten, and the older cat lays on it... therefor the kitten will have nothing to do with it.

Answer 7

It is incredibly in-humane to declaw a cat.
I have 3 cats all with claws and all my furniture, limbs, clothing shears etc. are in-tact.
As with any pet- an owners responsibility is to educate yourself. We don't THINK we KNOW it is cruel to declaw.
Scratching posts help. Squriting water at the offender at the time, and keeping their claws trimmed regularily also discourages this behaviour.

Answer 8

I don't think it's cruel. Maybe it's not ideal but, if you want to keep your cat indoors which is also safest for the cat then sometimes it's your only option if you've tried everything else.
I have 3 indoor cats, all declawed and all very happy!

Answer 9

I suppose I understand to a point--ONLY if you have small children in the house.

Most adults are capable of taking a cat-scratch here and there without anything horrible happening. If this is too much, and you don;t want to take the time to train your cat to use a scratching post, then don't have one.

I know that I for one would like to know that my cat can defend him/herself if she were to get out of the house and get into a fight. I have been a cat owner my whole life and I have never had a problem with claws.

Answer 10

One doesn't need a genius IQ to answer "NOT declawing."

Or "don't get a cat if you can't handle the results."

Or "train your cat not to claw hands or furniture by saying NO firmly and physically removing the cat if necessary, and by offering plenty of scratching pads and posts particularly in areas where the cat may seem to like to scratch."

That wasn't so hard, was it?