Declaw housecat?

[17 squirrel]

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

No compromise in my home, even the dog knows it's place. And that's with the kid in Maryland.
Nail Caps ?? That's so sweet.. How can a barn cat earn its keep with pretty little Nail Caps glued on ???

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.

If I did have a cat, mouse, rat, guinia pig or whatever living in my home, and I don't, and it took a wizz or left me a baby cigar or hairball on the hardwood or carpet. It would no longer be a living cat..

In the barn or outbuilding you just don't smell cat wizz or see cat puke along with little baby white cigars lying around.. The just seem to know better..

 

[BogWalker]

Hey, did you guys know 17 squirrel doesn't like having animals in his house?

Had one cat declawed. Felt kind of bad about it so didn't do it on any others.

 

[Cameramonkey]

No compromise in my home, even the dog knows it's place. And that's with the kid in Maryland.
Nail Caps ?? That's so sweet.. How can a barn cat earn its keep with pretty little Nail Caps glued on ???

Reading comprehension fail. We arent talking about a barn cat. OP asked about a HOUSE cat.

Or do you live in a barn? (Though that could explain a few things about you... )

 

[MrsGungho]

trim the nails just like you do with a dog. Bought a pair of nail clippers just for the cats. As young as the cat is, you should be able to get them to let you do it pretty easy.

 

[17 squirrel]

Hey, did you guys know 17 squirrel doesn't like having animals in his house?

Had one cat declawed. Felt kind of bad about it so didn't do it on any others.

Now that's not true, when the dog is here he is allowed in the house..
And he knows his place.. In the kids bed, not mine..
He's a sneak thou, its like a creeper trying to slither into the bed with you in the middle of the night.. Once in awhile he gets away with it.. Lol.

 

[Caleb]

Reading comprehension fail. We arent talking about a barn cat. OP asked about a HOUSE cat.

Or do you live in a barn? (Though that could explain a few things about you... )

Are trying to tell me that I stink?

 

[Cameramonkey]

[/U][/B]

Are trying to tell me that I stink?

No sir. I was referring to The Almighty Crotch Squirrel since he equated your housecat to his barn cat since he objected to capping a barn cat's claws. You were not asking about a barn cat, but a house cat.

But since you mentioned it...

 

[17 squirrel]

[/U][/B]

Are trying to tell me that I stink?

Yepper... That's what he's saying....

 

[gunworks321]

We have one house cat and a 6ft tall scratching post with multiple shelves. Clawing furniture has not been a problem. Most if the time she goes outside and there is a litter box in the basement which is rarely used except on the coldest wintry nights. If you de-claw and keep him inside he will eventually stop using the litter box. This is one of the fallacies of de-clawing as they do not like to scratch up the litter. Clip them weekly and provide the post. Neutering a must also or he will roam far and wide looking for that special someone (or worse, start spraying in the house).

 

[K_W]

Declawing is actually cruel as it is basically amputating the tips of their paws and sometime they have pain for life.

We have three cats, one female and two males. All are fully armed. We raised the boys since kittens and we have no issues with scratching or rough cat-human play.

It's still a kitten it will settle down. It's important to give them something they are allowed to scratch, like a scratching post.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

No no no no no. Somebody posted a diagram already; declawing a cat is like chopping all your fingers off at the first joint. Would you do that to your kids? The way a cat's claw grows is from the inside, and as it grows, the oldest layer wears and loses its sharpness. When they scratch, it's to break off the outer layer and expose the next new sharp one

Ptraci came from some scrotumneck that had her declawed and still let her out. She's still a little skittish. The rest are 4WD. I keep a squirt bottle to remind them where they don't scratch, and have a trimmer like they use at the vet. That pretty well keeps the damage down. If you're adopting a cat, there's a little maintenance, just the way it is.

There are scratching posts, the sisal rope kind is good. We have a tree with some of that and carpet, places to curl up, whatnot. Put some catnip in, watch them get stoned. Yours is still pretty young, and with some discipline and understanding, things will settle down in just a few months at that age. See if she chases lasers, most do and you can wear them out from a sitting position.

 

[jfed85]

I wouldn't, I think its sort of cruel. I always had cats growing up and they always had claws. We never had horrible issues with them clawing the furniture. My wife just got a kitten a few months ago, she has her claws. We bought her a scratching post and haven't had too many issues. Also, if you keep a spray bottle handy and spray them when they claw something they learn real fast not to scratch stuff.

 

[tbhausen]

No... Did it once and broke my heart until the day he died. Still hurts to think about it. Never again.

All-in with the cat or not... Part of the cat is a selfish option IMHO.

 

[oldpink]

Both our older tomcat (12) and our much younger female (1-1/2) have been declawed, and neither suffered ill effects, aside from occasionally sharpening their phantom claws.
Our cats are both strictly indoor, though, and I would have some real qualms about nearly totally disarming in such a manner them if they were indoor/outdoor or outdoor only.
As long as your vet is attentive, he'll make the procedure as humane as possible.
With our female, our vet used surgical glue for her paws and gave us a tube of topical painkiller to apply a drop of to to the inside of one ear twice daily, where it was absorbed into her bloodstream.
Now, my folks have a little longhaired diluted tortoiseshell calico indoor/outdoor cat -- and since of the same mind as I am about cats being able to defend themselves or climb trees -- they left her with her complete set of claws.
The way that they were able to prevent her from destroying their furniture was to put up a nice sturdy scratching post by the TV, plus she usually sharpens her claws on the trees outside.

 

[croy]

Had it done to a cat once and his paws were sore the rest of his life. I'd never do it again.

 

[CindyE]

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

We tried the nail caps on one of our cats years ago. It was such a treat getting the cat to hold still so we could glue them on! I tried wrapping her tightly in a towel while we did it, so we didn't get scratched as much. Usually they will start to come off within a couple of weeks, and need redone. We had one really destructive cat that we had de-clawed, figuring it would be fine since he was indoor only. Then he started peeing wherever he pleased, even in my husband's shoes. We're done with cats now, unless we ever get to move back out into the country, and then might have a barn cat...those seem to happen whether you want them or not!

 

[Cemetery-man]

Full-time house cat = declaw. Your furniture, kids, body, fellow pets, etc. will thank you.

 

[jbombelli]

No. If you want a cat, please don't surgically alter him for your convenience.

My wife did that to our first cst and she was never the same after that.

 

[Caleb]

Any recommendations for discouraging mock aggression with claws and teeth?

 

[eldirector]

I've had many indoor housecats over the years. All declawed in the front.