Declawing

[kshnooks]

can you get another kitten to play with him? Sounds like he may need a buddy he could roughouse with instead of your poor old gal.

[Saelym]

I do not agree with declawing, but to each their own. If you would like a humane alternative, check out 'Soft Paws'. http://www.softpaws.com/ I know first hand these work, as Daisy has them on right now.. and they come in a wide variety of fun colours!

They are nail caps, you just glue them over the nail, and voila.. no more destroying furniture, scratching, or ripping the drapes! Please check these out before you consider declawing.. I am sure that your cat will thank you!

[Charlies'_Angel]

kshnooks,

I would get another if I could, but I already got into alot trouble when I brought this one home. He plays with my dog all the time, they wrestle, hide and seek, tag it's really cute. I thought of bringing home another kitten but I think that may just be asking for a death sentence. I'll take another look at those nail caps...

-Alicia

[BabyMay]

You do what you feel is right for you and your family. Half of my cats are declawed and half are not. The ones that are, are the older ones. They had no change of personality. They are still lovable. None of them bite. The 3 that still have their claws have ruined alot of stuff. But I know what the other 3 went through getting declawed and I am not sure if I want to do that to my babies. Hubby is getting sick of replacing curtains and has said no to new furniture because they would just claw it up. And yes they have their nails trimmed about every 2 weeks. But, you know what you are willing to put up with. And what you want the older cat to endure. He most likely will out grow the teasing of the older one. But do you want to wait til he does.

[aussieshep]

I work at an animal hospital, and we do a fair amount of declaws. Alot of people say " either the claws go, or the cat goes". How many more cats would be at a shelter because of cats tearing up furniture? We do talk to the owners beforehand, and recommend that they try the other options mentioned previously. The procedure is not as barbaric as it was many years ago. We do nerve block the paws, to help with pain management. We use the laser machine, which cauterizes the nerve endings and blood vessels, which makes the procedure less painful as well. We also send the owners home with oral pain medications for the cat to take for 7-10 days. Yes, the younger cats recover quicker, but we have done older cats as well. Please do try the other ideas mentioned, but don't feel too bad if declawing is the decision you make.

I too have 3 cats, 2 inside-declawed, and 1 outside-declawed too. He was booted out when he started urinating on the furniture (which nothing would stop). Though I would not recommend declawing an outside cat, he has done fine now for 3 years.

[OSUJillyBean]

The decision to declaw is entirely up to the owner of the cat.

However, if you /do/ decide to get it done I'd be VERY choosy about which vet you let perform the operation. Sometimes a vet can take off too much of the knuckle, making it painful for the animal to walk. The cat will appear suddenly clumsy after the operation (as in trying to jump and not making it) because of the pain in his paws.

I'd rather see a cat be (properly) declawed than an unhappy living situation.

And you may want to look into "Soft Paws". They're like $20, stick-on claw-covers. They're even non-toxic in case your kitty swallows them. Just a slightly cheaper, less invasive option. And if they don't work for you you can always have him declawed after that.


I do know that many vets around here will NOT do cats over one year of age. Some will go ahead, but that seems to be the general cut-off point.