Declaw housecat?

[Caleb]

I know this is bit of a hot button topic and do not mean to start a fight, but my wife and I just got a 9 month old male cat and he's a pretty friendly cat it seems so far. Loves to play and such but for the sake of our furniture and getting a little too roudy during playtime, we are wonder if we should declaw our cat...

 

[Bennettjh]

If the cat goes or is going to go outside, I wouldn't. If he starts clawing furniture and what not, that might be a different story.

 

[MCgrease08]

Personally, I don't like the idea of declawing cats. If you give him a couple of scratching posts and keep him entertained through play, it's possible to keep him away from the furniture. But he needs a spot where he knows he can scratch without you getting mad.

Now if he's scratching people on the hands, or attacking them when they go by... that's a whole other behavioral issue you'll need to address.

 

[terrehautian]

I agree with the above post about going outside, if it just stays inside, I would. We got our cat from the previous owner already declawed on the front. Going to have to declaw (nail file) down my daughters nails soon, talk about razor sharp.

 

[17 squirrel]

I know what a barn cat is,... What's a house cat ?? If that's a cat that lives in the house, that answer would be, no cats in the house.
If a cat was slick enough to get into the house and claw the furniture, I would then ask, will a vet declaw a dead cat ?

 

[miguel]

No!

That cat has 2nd Amendment rights, too!

 

[hoosierdoc]

We always did front claws. I also heard people have boys circumcised. What a world...

 

[mbills2223]

Is it possible to decat the house cat??

 

[Caleb]

It's intended to be an indoor cat, and 17squirrel...it's indoor cat or hamster, I don't want another hamster...

 

[patience0830]

Cat

You should pull their teeth too. Just to be safe.

Or just de-cat the house.

We have three. And hair on everything.

 

[Alpo]

Declawing is the surgical removal of the first joint of every toe. Personally, it's not something I would do to any pet.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Could have it de-pawed

 

[olhorseman]

Save the declawing for his first birthday. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[MCgrease08]

Could have it de-pawed

Some states have laws that if a butcher shop sells racoon, they have to leave the feet on so people can verify that it's not actually a cat. At least that's what I've heard.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

Keep the claws, get rid of the rest of the cat.

 

[chezuki]

Nope.

 

[jd4320t]

Yes or put it outside.

 

[Cameramonkey]

It's intended to be an indoor cat, and 17squirrel...it's indoor cat or hamster, I don't want another hamster...

Can you compromise on a rat or Guinea Pig? We have two of the latter and they are MUCH better than hamsters for multiple reasons.

As to the cat, they have plastic caps that can be super glued onto their claws, making them much less annoying/destructive. Here is but one example...

SoftPaws.com - Nail Caps for Cats and Dogs

 

[atvdave]

I've had a few cats over the last 20 years. Our current cat has been with us for 13 years. We have never declawed any of them. They were all indoor/outdoor cats though. However our biggest problem now is not the claw's, but when cats get older they forget to do their business in the litter box.

 

[chezuki]