Is Your Cat Declawed?

My cat is mostly indoors and I'm considering having her declawed. She accidentally scratches me only occasionally, which I can handle but we have leather furniture and it's starting to get little scratches. What are the pros and cons of declawing your cat? Would an alternative be to just have her nails trimmed? Also, I see they have caps for claws, but do those work?

 

Both of mine are not. Its very very cruel and can be very hurtful to the cat. At first we had tonnes of accidental scratches, and accidental getting stuck in things. But now, the cats have learned and grown out of it. We did try the little claw caps for my girl cat, as she really had issues with getting stuck, they did work for a little while, but her claws were so sharp they started to poke through the claw caps.

 

Hi PLEASE do not get your cat declawed. I once had a house cat declawed as decided by a vet and was not given any alternatives ie; getting claws trimmed by myself or good vet. Once my cat had been declawed that was it no chance of ever getting outside and circustances change, your cat may not always be a house cat and whats more important, a beautiful cat or beautiful furniture. I have a leather suite and yes it is scratched and bruised but I can always put a throw over it to go with the decor if someone is coming to visit. Spray a little cat nip on a good scratch pole and toys for your cat to dull claws.
PLEASE DO NOT DE CLAW

 

This is great information, Scottyxx. Thank you. My cat is not even a year, so I'm hoping she'll settle down. I will try the claw caps, but it seems like her claws are pretty sharp too, so not sure how well that will work. Have you, or has anyone else, tried trimming them? I've seen videos on Youtube of folks clipping their cat's nails while the cat sits quietly. I can't even imagine my Shiny sitting still like that.

 

Thanks, Caroline. I definitely don't want to do anything cruel or painful, even for a second, so it's not gonna happen, I promise! I agree that my cat's more important than furniture. I hadn't tried the catnip idea. That's a great suggestion.

 

I have, I used a nail clipper for people and did them once. Honestly, I was terrified when I did it, I was so scared I would hurt the cats! So I stopped. I put a rough carpet on their scratching post to hopefully blunten the nails a little bit for them. If you cut them yourself, you need to be really really careful, you need to make sure you dont cut too far down, or splinter the nail.

I trained mine to use their cat pole by picking them up every time I saw them scratch, and placing them on the pole, they soon leaned to scratch there.

 

Ok, so that's out. lol I'm a little too squirmish for that.

Great tip about the rough carpeting and the scratching post. I've noticed her digging her nails into the carpeting on our stairs pretty frequently, so I'm guessing she'll like that. I sure wish she enjoyed sand paper.

 

I've really got to discourage you from doing it, too.

My cat *is* declawed and it was one of the most horrifying things I've gone through. My parents had it done when I was younger and I had no idea that it would effect her so badly. She laid around for weeks, just crying, and I would have to carry her to and from the litter box, her food dish, etc, and even had to help clean her. It was really so much worse than I thought it would be and I would never recommend it to anyone again.

 

Aw, how sad Jessi! My cats were never declawed and I just woulnt' want them to be helpless when they go outside. They need their claws for basic survival. If your couch is getting ruined then get a good polish or a protective slip to keep it covered. Just show off that leather when guests come around.

 

Oh definitely don't declaw one that would be going outside. They need those claws. If they're inside full-time, then I understand wanting to do it, but I just could never recommend it at this point.

 

I would never declaw my cats for all of the reasons people have already mentioned. All I can think of is how I'd feel if someone were to "declaw" me. It's just not natural and there are definitely better alternatives. Personally I just clip my cats' nails myself (thankfully they're pretty good natured about it) as well as give them access to a scratching post.

 

Please don't declaw your cat. My basic philosophy is that scratches come with the idea of keeping a cat. I am serious. People who cannot accept some scratches should not get a cat for a pet. Maybe get a goldfish instead.

Cats can actually be trained not to scratch everything in sight. First, understand that they have to scratch. It's more or less like ingrained behavior. Probably they have to do that to keep their claws trimmed. What needs to be done is to give them a scratching post.

 

We got the first inside cat I ever had declawed and it was a terrible decision. He laid around the house in pain for days when recovering, it was heartbreaking to witness. He did scratch a lot, so it saved my arms, but he loved going outside. It got to the point where we couldn't open the door without him running out after us! It terrified me because we lived in the middle of nowhere and he easily could have gotten into a scuffle with almost any animal.

My current two cats aren't declawed. They don't go outside at all, but I'm still happy with my choice. My arms may get scratched, but they didn't have to go through the pain.

 

I really hope that one day a law will be passed to make it illegal to de-claw cats. I think in some places ear-cropping and tail-docking for dogs have already been outlawed.

 

My cat is has not had his claws removed. I would never subject him to that. I am a strong anti-de-claw believer. I've read what they do to the cat in order to remove the claws and it just seems barbaric. I keep his claws trimmed and filed. He is an indoor cat. I see no reason to remove a portion of his body to prevent clawing when that is a behaviour issue that can be addressed as such.

 

Both of my cats are not declawed. I think it's a inhumane process. The closest thing that I've ever thought of doing was getting "Soft Claws/Paws," which are basically just soft, flexible acrylic covers for cat's claws, and the only way that I'd even do that would be if I moved into an apartment. Regardless, no cats that I ever own will be declawed.

 

All 3 of my cats are NOT declawed. Growing up, when we had an indoor cat we always got them declawed, which at the time it made sense to me. Now after having experience working in the vet field, I will never declaw again, and I would strongly argue against anyone wanting that for there pets. Let me put it this way, it is the same procedure as ripping every one of your finger nails off, but only deeper under the quick to make sure that they will never grow back. Also, more times then not, part of the toe get cut too, and has to be sutured back together, so not only do they have to heal from the initial nail removal, they have to heal with a toe cut in half. Just some food for thought.

Also, nail trimming isn't as big of a deal that people make it out to be. If you act nervous while trying to trim, of course they won't sit still, because they can sense your nervousness and will not trust you around their feet. What I recommend is to do a mock trial with the clippers, by putting their nail between the clippers, but not cutting until you are sure of yourself. I am positive that your local vet will be able to show you how to trim or just do it for you, if you absolutely can't manage. Just remember your options before you decide to declaw is all I'm asking.

 

Absolutely not. I've read that for a cat ,being declawed is equivalent to having the entire top joint of your finger chopped off down to the first knuckle. Hell no.
My cat occasionally scratches me, but I love her too much to subject her to the cruelty of declawing.

 

As Jessi said, Pepsi was declawed when she was young... which meant I was really young.
I don't remember it at all. There seems to be partial claw left. She'll "scratch" on the sofa and you hear it snag every once in a while.

Neko, however, was never declawed and never will be.

 

I used to be a big supporter of declawing because of the hassle it saves on our furniture and other belongings. However, that was until I did a little research and read what declawing really does to a cat, and it can be horrible. The claws of a cat are not like the nails of a human; they are actually fused to the bone. So declawing a cat is the equivalent of cutting off our fingers at the second knuckle; I just can't imagine hurting them like that. Furthermore, a lot of cats realize they can no longer protect themselves (whether they are inside pets or not), and try to overcompensate this lack of defense with an overly aggressive nature.