I don’t have a cat yet, but my husband and I will be moving out of our no-pets apartment in a couple of months. He’s nervous about getting a cat because of potential danger to our furniture.
He recently found this site, which sells little vinyl nail tips for cats. Does anyone know if they work? What other ways are there to prevent scratching?
I have had a number of cats, all I got when they were kittens, and never resorted to declawing them. It’s simply a matter of conditioning and training. (Besides, if the cat will be spending any time outdoors having claws will be an important defense for them).
While the cat is small you need to provide them things (like a scratching post or furry door mat) that they can use for scrathing. If they try even once to scratch on the carpet or the furniture you need to spray them lightly with water from a distance and clap your hands so they soon learn that clapping your hands is the same thing as being sprayed lightly with water. That should break the habit before it gets ingrained.
If you are going to be out all day then they should be outside while you are gone too.
Oh… I almost forgot. Buy the canned catnip spray and use it on the areas you WANT them to scratch… scratching post etc. Scratching is naturual so don’t think you are going to “cure” them of it. If you are vigilant and consistent you can control their behavior… remember to always reinforce them with goodies when they “do the right thing” and scratch someplace that you’ve setup for them.
The best advice I can give is to give the cat something good to scratch on, make it readily available, and praise them for using it. My cat used to scratch EVERYTHING, door jams, couches, you name it his claws were in it. Then we moved this little kitty stand (Cylinder covered with carpet with a little hiding spot in it, about a foot tall) from our computer room (Next to living room) to the other side of the wall about a three foot move, now he scratches nothing but this stand. He even sits on it, hangs his entire body in the air and stretches and scratches. So 3 things, something fun, easy to get to, and tell the cat that it is a good kitty (or whatever reinforcement you use) and it should go for the new object.
My cat is an indoor-only (we got him when we lived in a third floor apartment). We used dolphinboy’s training method with great success. He runs away at the sight of a squirtgun. Never got him declawed, and he only scratches his post. And boy, does he scratch it.
One tip: buy or make a scratching post with sisal rope (kinda like old hemp rope) instead of carpet. Having a carpeted scratching post may make training longer: he may have difficulty distinguishing between scratching carpet on post = good, scratching carpet on floor = bad. Dunno if that’s true or not, but it sounds reasonable to me.
Also, rope lasts much longer than carpet. My cat is an eighteen pound beast who shreds carpeted scratching posts in no time. I even made one out of super-strong commercial-grade carpet. It was disembowelled in a week. But he’s been working on the rope post for a year with no apparent damage.
And another thing: if you can manage it, MAKE a scratching post. I made one out of a four-foot length of 4x4 fence post, a two-foot square of half-inch plywood, some angle brackets and 250 feet of quarter-inch sisal rope. Total cost: about twenty bucks. I saw the same type of post at a pet store for $180. The bigger the post, the better. My cat loves to climb his like a tree.
Started using cardboard cat scratch boxes a couple years ago. They work amazingly well. They are basically a stack of corrugated cardboard pieces on edge with a lot of catnip cruft mixed in. Dirt cheap (PetSmart), all 3 cats love 'em.
Be careful with the catnip, and don’t use it indoors until you know how your cats will react to it. My family once catnipped the scratching post, just as described, with the result that our oldest tom (neutered) decided to spray it himself.
I agree with the training – I have two cats and they are not declawed. Squirting water at them didn’t help with mine. I shouted “NO!” and then picked them up, took them to the scratching post, took both paws in my hands, and scratched the post with my hands on their paws. In other words, show them, literally, how to do it. I must disagree with dolphinboy about leaving them outside if you’re gone all day. Too many dangers out there, from cars, dogs, and sick people who enjoy abusing animals. One of the nice things about cats is you CAN leave them inside all day – they don’t require a lot of room to exercise like dogs, and they don’t get bored easily. Cats sleep most of the time. I’d advise TWO cats – they play together and groom each other, and if I do have to leave them for a few days, I don’t feel so guilty knowing they have companionship. We take a lot of 3-4 day weekend trips, and can safely leave them as long as they have two litter pans, and plenty of food and water.
yeah, our cat scratches things, but then so did our dog. and she was a pyranean mountain dog, so it looked like lions had been at the furniture! we just repainted the scratches and put up a scratching post for the cat. its a good thing my mother is laid-back about the house!
i think the training is your best bet (it’s cheaper than declawing for a start) and anyway, how would you like to have your fingernails pulled out?
… is to go to the local animal shelter and get a cat that’s already declawed.
Now that right there is the best idea of the day. And if it’s not already spayed or neutered, get that done too.
I’ve thought of the going to the shelter to get one that’s already been declawed, but I feel like I’m supporting the whole idea of declawing that way.
I absolutely will spay or neuter any cat that I acquire.
Did anyone look at the link? Any opinions on whether it would work?
As an aside - please don’t let your cats run free outside. Not only is it dangerous for the cats, it’s dangerous to songbirds and every other small native species. Our neighborhood is full of these non-native predators, and all small reptiles - for one thing - are gone.
Jill
Besides the above mentioned tips about catnip and sisal (and yes, make sure your cat doesn’t freak out with the catnip first), we would demonstrate for the cats.
It sounds weird, but it worked for both our cats. When your cat scratches an inappropriate surface, try picking him up, put him at the scratching post, and then scratch the post yourself. It takes a few weeks, but eventually, they’ll learn to use it.
I’ve never used the Soft Paws (claw caps), but have heard that they work well. However, they are supposed to be a pain in the butt to put on, and to keep on, especially as some cats will chew and pull on them until they get them loose. Also, the caps prevent the claws from retracting (the natural relaxed state), so I wonder if they might not actually be very uncomfortable for the cat.
Another alternative to declawing is tendonectomy, in which the tendon that retracts each claw is severed, usually with a laser. Much less painful and harmful than a declaw, but I don’t know how effective it is in preventing furniture scratching, as the claws remain outside of the sheath and are still at least somewhat usable for climbing, etc. I guess that the lack of control lessens the urge and/or the amount of damage done. I’ve been told that the owner of a cat that has had this surgery must be diligent about keeping the claws properly trimmed, as the constant contact with the floor, etc. causes the tips of the claws to curl under and sometimes grow back into the pads.
I guess I can see where you might have moral qualms about adopting an already-declawed cat, but please take into account that you will be saving a life - declawed cats are just as dead as clawed ones once their time is up. I’m sure that the cat would prefer that you choose another way to make a moral statement! 
If your husband is concerned about damaged furniture, isn’t it better to avoid future problems by adopting a needy declawed cat? Then you can both relax and enjoy your new friend without worrying about training, damaged furniture, or having to face unpleasant alternatives further down the road.
I have a problem with the idea that declawing a cat constitutes cruelty to animals.
I’ve talked to my vet about this and her opinion is that declawing a kitten is not cruel. Declawing an older cat (older than a year) is cruel. (For the sake of argument I am assuming the cat is primarily an indoor cat and will not need its claws for defense).
That may not be PC or what the PETA people want to hear and I realize that myself and my vet are hardly final authorities on this issue. Nevertheless my two declawed cats get along just fine and seems as happy as can be.
Also remember that its not just furniture that gets damaged by claws. People get damaged! When my first cat was a kitten (and still had all her claws) she was lying on my shoulder when something spooked her. Every claw came out and while I didn’t need a hospital I was actually fairly seriously damaged (I counted eight separate puncture wounds…several of which moved into scratches which bled fairly freely). Now if that happens I only suffer three or four wounds ;).
According to people at the Oakland SPCA, declawing a cat often means removing the first bone of each toe along with the claw. As with any surgery, there is a risk of infection. Furthermore, if the cat is missing part of its toes it will have trouble with balance and movement. You can train cats to only scratch at a scratching post, you don’t need to declaw them. If you want, you can trim their claws with a nail clipper. Just be careful not to cut the pink flesh in the center of the claw, it should be easy to see.
And of course, we have a forum in which just such discussions are invited.
Please don’t flame me, but…
My cats are declawed. Just the fronts.
We had it done by laser. The vet just pops out the claw and lasers it off. I would NOT have done it the old way, which does involve cutting off part of their toe. The recuperation time is quicker and the infection risk is much lower with the laser surgery. It cost about $250 for each cat.
We went to visit them the next day and they didn’t even have any bandages and were walking just fine.
I had one cat who was just a very aggressive scratcher and one who just followed along with whatever she did. They ruined a couple pieces of furniture before I decided to do it. I had tried everything, the squirt gun, pennies in a soda can, masking tape backwards…tried them all and more. I think Salem actually LIKED clawing through the tape.
Anyway, you can declaw a cat humanely. And mine do not go out.
Salem (the aggressive clawer) still claws at everything. We say she’s sharpening her paws.
I’ve talked about this with my vet also, he offers both ways… the first being much less expensive, but much more traumatic. He said with the lazer tecnique that the cats are usually up and walking after anesthetic experiencing no discomfort.