Yes, there are other options. My cats are declawed, fronts only. I had it done by laser. It does not remove the first digit at the bone, it only removes the claw. It’s a little more expensive, but much more humane. My cats only stayed one night at the vet’s, and came home with no sutures or bandages. The vet pops out the claw (like when you trim it) and just lasers off the nail part.
They were fine when we picked them up - they ran around as usual. You might have to find another vet to do it if yours doesn’t have the equipment. It’s a newer procedure. If you get to this point (and only if he’s going to be an indoor-only cat), please do it by the laser method.
And I would also recommend getting a second cat. I’ve got two and they keep each other entertained.
They’re called SoftPaws. Your kitten is too young for them now, but he will be able to wear them in a few months if you go this route. They’re really pretty easy to apply and deal with - our cats have been wearing them since they were kittens. You do not need a vet to apply them, although it’s easier to do with two people (one to hold the cat and one to mess around with glue).
I second the suggestions for a second kitten - it will help not only with the rambunctiousness, but with the inappropriate scratching and climbing. Kittens are often destructive just because they are bored. Besides, two kittens are about 1000 times cuter than just one kitten. They don’t have to be littermates to bond closely, if they’re together when they’re young (and yours is very young).
Feliway can sometimes help with inappropriate scratching - look in your local pet supply store, and follow the directions on the package. Also, it’s important to have “allowed” scratching surfaces near all the places that your kitten likes to scratch where you don’t want him. Look for an “Alpine Scratcher” while you’re in the pet supply place - it’s an inexpensive carboard scratcher that’s on an incline, and a lot of cats seem to like it. For kittens, it also has the advantage that they can hide inside the hole in the base.
Giving a twelve-week-old kitten the run of the house may be a bit much. Shutting him in one room for the night is not a bad idea. Pooping outside the litter box may be because he can’t remember how to get back to it in time if he’s a long way away. We kept ours in one room until they were about 16 weeks, then in that room plus the hallway and bathroom for a couple more months, before they got the run of the house.
In addition to playing and trying to wear the kitten out at bedtime, you can try giving him a wet food meal just before you go to bed. Sometimes that will knock them out for a while while they digest. It won’t last all night, though.
Best thing we ever did. I got a video from the vet about the procedure…and it made me feel much more comfortable about it.
He was home from the vet the next afternoon and I think he was more freaked out by having to spend the night at the vets than by the procedure…he was chasing/being chased by our son within 2 minutes of getting home.
Reggie would swipe at our 1.5 year old (boy, not cat) when they would play and after he drew blood for the 2nd time…Mrs. Obvious had enough.
My only regret…this technology wasn’t available for widespread use when Reggie was a kitten.
But echoing the comments of others…YOU CANNOT LET THEM GO OUTSIDE after this procedure. They can’t properly defend themself without front claws.
Now with Reggie…he would rather have his tail stuck in a electrical plug than go outside…totally hates it.
As far as the 2:00am play times…we put Reggie in the office and shut the door at night for a few weeks when this happened. There was nothing but wood furniture, his food/water, litter box scratching post and a zillion cat toys and after about a month…he got the picture that it was either sleep when everybody else was sleeping or go in the office. I think it’s just an adjustment phase kittens go through.
He’s a kitten. That’s what kittens do. With all due respect, what did your wife think was going to happen? That a kitten - a KITTEN - was going to come in and act like a stuffed animal?
Please get a book on how to train a cat, which IS possible to some extent, and involve the whole family in the process. Getting rid of the kitten will show your children - and your wife - that animals are disaposable and easily gotten rid of when a natural and should-have-been expected situation arises. It has only been a week - not enough time to give up.
Catnip spray on the scratching post(s) was the way I got my cats to scratch the appropriate thing. Don’t know why it worked, but it did. It’s also funny to see stoned kitties hanging from the top
For going outside the litterbox, see what type of places the kitten goes, and experiment with substrates and amounts. Too much litter might be hard for a small kitten to dig in, or the texture of one type might not feel nice.
I had to disagree about the Softpaws (as I have in other threads). We had them for two of our cats, and we found they were very hard to put on, especially with a disagreeable cat. Putting them on the agreeable cat wasn’t much easier. I was disappointed.
My solution in keeping an animal away from my room/door while I’m sleeping: I plug up a vacuum to a surge protector by the bed, with an on/off switch. I leave the vacuum on, surge protector off. If one of the animals (we have four cats and a dog) scratches at my door, I flip it on, and they’re startled and run off. Occasionally we need some reinforcement, but it seems to work pretty well.
I was interested to read about the laser declawing. The one disagreeable cat’s been fairly aggressive to both the humans and the other animals, and I don’t want to risk an abcess or other infection from a scratch down the road. I’ll have to do some more research.
All the while, two of the cats are napping with me. See, if phoebestar just learned to enjoy cuddling with animals all night, like me, there’d be no problem.
And how disagreeable that cat is. I only wish that we could have her teeth filed down, and put on a permanent IV drip of powerful sedative. One of these days I’m going to have to pit her.
As for traditional declawing - there’s really not much good to be said about it; it’s painful, certainly, and a poor choice for an outdoor cat. But I’ve had two declawed cats in my life and I can’t consider either of them crippled. Before I moved away to college with Eleanor she was an outdoor cat simply because we couldn’t keep her inside, and she proved to be quite the huntress even without her claws. She still seems to think she has 'em, in fact, what with how often she claws at the scratching posts.
Just by chance, we brought in a piece of driftwood from the beach, and all our cats loved to scratch it, to the extent that they diverted most of their scratching efforts from the furniture to it.
My advice: keep the kitten, get rid of the wife. I’m only half joking. People who think animals are disposable when they become inconvenient are horrible creatures who should die miserable and alone, IMO. Of course kittens are inconvenient a lot of the time. So are dogs and children and husbands. It’s the nature of being in a relationship with another living being for things to be inconvenient sometimes.
I think a lot of her impatience stems from the fact that she just plain doesn’t like cats. One way to find out is to ask her, sometime when she’s not fuming over the cat, whether she would suggest getting rid of a 12-week puppy who had the occasional accident or chewed up her favorite shoes after one week in a totally strange environment. If she says yes, you just shouldn’t have any animals whatsoever, and I’d keep a close eye on the kids. If she says no, then she just hates cats and should never have agreed to get one.
That being said, the kitten will outgrow the litterbox issues, most likely, unless he’s mad at you for some reason. He might piss on your wife’s stuff as a long-term behavior, though, because animals can tell when someone dislikes them. If you’re going to declaw the little guy, you should do it now. This is the prime age to do it if you’re going to; his recovery will be quicker and easier than if you wait even a couple of months. (I don’t like declawing cats, but I certainly don’t consider it immoral or cruel. They bounce back just fine 99.5% of the time, and the few problems I’ve seen with declaws have been from owners not giving proper post-op care.)
minor hijack:
I’ve read your posts before, and I’m aware you’re a vet tech or the like. As such, can you give your opinion of laser declawing as compared to regular declawing? Pros/cons/etc?
Sorry if this has been posted already, but I wanted to get this in before I have to go, and I don’t have time to read everything. You can get little plastic caps that can be glued over his claws. Or, while he is still young, clip his nails, and also play with his paws and such so he gets used to this. Then, it will be a simple matter to clips his claws when they get to long when he is an adult.
Did you start as kittens, or when the cats were adults? I think it’s probably easier if you start when they’re kittens. It can be a little annoying getting the glue into them, but I don’t find it any more difficult or finicky than putting on eyeliner, say. If someone is holding the cat while you put them on, it’s pretty easy to extend the claw and slip it on, and the glue bonds quite quickly. They’re definitely worth trying, anyway.
And, Photog, you definitely should be getting the little guy used to having his paws handled, and clipping his claws regularly. Not only are you going to want to be able to clip his claws as an adult, but you need to get him used to the idea that you are allowed to hold him and do somewhat unpleasant stuff, and he just has to put up with it. Give him a special treat only after clipping, and he’ll eventually be more likely to be patient while it’s going on.
Actually, Rhodium has built-in eyeliner, and Cobalt’s not into that sissy stuff. I was just trying to give an idea of how much hand-eye coordination is required.
(Those are kitten pictures - they’re both a lot bigger now. You can see the SoftPaws in Cobalt’s picture, though).
Oooh, yes, I almost forgot that vital point. Trim the kitten’s nails, and regularly handle his little tootsies, front and back. Stick your finger (gently, very gently) into his little ears, and pry his little mouth open. This will make things go much, much more smoothly when you need to see if he has a problem of some sort or give him medication, and it can make a world of difference in how stressful vet visits are for everyone involved.
Besides, monthly tumor checks on your critters are never a bad idea. Under the tail, along the back, sides, and belly, down all four legs, in the ears, in the mouth. Doing these checks is a lot simpler and more effective if it doesn’t turn into a monthly battle royale.
Some laser surgery is simply the usual amputation, except using a laser as opposed to a knife (e.g., see here). This procedure does apparently only remove the claw.
I was going to post a diatribe against declawing, but I shall post some links instead:
Cobalt is PINK, though. Well, sort of a peachy pink. And his nose is definitely a soft baby pink. They’re both adorable. And yeah, Rhodium doesn’t need to apply eye makeup.
My parents get their cat’s claws clipped (trimmed) a couple of times a month at a groomer. They used to go to a vet but it turned out the professional groomers are much better at this. They don’t have a problem with scratched furniture.
Currently the only problem is with the curtain on an inclined glass roof/window. The cat likes to use the curtain as a hammock and breaks the fitting. The cat is no longer allowed in this room.
Actually,