I dont know if they work yet or not, but I’ll let you know. I just ordered some from that website. I had heard about them but I was under the assumtion that a vet had to place them on for some reason.
Coosa… according to the site they allow the cat to retract and extend its claws like normal. Again, I’ll let you know.
BTW… anyone want to volunteer to hold my cat as I glue things to its paws??? 
You want to see something funny? Look at this link for the instructions for the “Soft Paws” and notice the drawing of the smiling cat as he is getting his claws trimmed and glued. YEAH RIGHT!
Cool! Real live experiments to find out the truth! I’m anxious to hear what you find out.
In the testimonials, one woman said that she had had the vet do the initial placement, and that she replaces them when they fall off. That makes some sense to me, since it must be more traumatic doing all ten toes at once - better to have kitty P.O.'d at the vet than at me.
I’m a vet tech. I have five cats. Three are declawed, two are not. I don’t feel declawing is a terrible thing to do to cats, especially with the laser surgery. (Be sure to find a doc who has a lot of experience with this, I have seen some AWFUL hack jobs). I don’t care for tendonectomies. The first two vets I worked for would not do them, and many cat owners who have had this done to their cats report that the cat’s paws became overly sensitive. Nail trimming was a hassle because these cats HATED having their feet touched (more than normal). I have used the soft paws and found them unsatisfactory. The cats get used to them quick enough but depending on the activity level of the cat and the rate of nail growth, they have to be replaced frequently. I wouldn’t declaw an adult cat and I don’t like the idea of having all four feet done.
My cat would go NUTS if I tried gluing those things on him. I just wait until he’s in a really relaxed mood and trim his claws, as quickly as I can. I used to have a special claw-trimming thing I got from a pet store, but it vanished, so I just use nail clippers. I only take off the tips.
He’s such an uncooperative vet patient that I pointed out to her that he had allowed me to trim his claws the day before he got his last set of shots…his behavior in the office is NOT indicative of his true temperament.
I’m not a big fan of declawing, but under the right circumstances, I might consider it as a last resort. I don’t care if he claws my furniture, but I do wish he’d leave the wallpaper alone. Cats. sigh
UPDATE!! Got the Soft Paws today, quick shipping! My roommate held him and babied him like she always does. I trimmed is nails then gave him a break. Then the same and I glued the softpaws on. This he took REMARKABLY well. I was very surprised, but I know it was because he felt so safe in her arms. We let him go and for a little bit he didnt even notice. Then for about an hour he played with the dog, chased a bug, he reached up on the sliding glass door to grab a fly and when he dragged his paws down the door it made a screatching sound like rubbed clean glass, it was so funny. He also licked at them in that first hour and occasionally pulled at them with his teeth, but he in NO WAY seemed put off or really bothered by them. He can retract and extract them like normal, in fact if we got the clear ones (we got blue so we could tell if they fell off) you probably couldnt even see them when his paws were relaxed. We shall see how the following days go. As of late tonight however they are all attached and he is as normal as could be.
I took a picture of them on him right after I glued them while my roomie was holding him… I will post it later maybe.
You could have everything in your new place made out of italian marble and leave the kitty’s claws intact.
“Look! Not a scratch in sight!”
Whammo, that’s wonderful! Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I wonder if the product has been improved, or if the people (only two or three - not a large sample) I heard from (about not being able to retract claws) used the wrong size or maybe applied them incorrectly?
Anyway, I’m glad to know that they seem to be working well for you - I will feel more comfortable suggesting these as an alternative to my clients (kitten buyers).
I heard about the Soft Claws from a landlord when I considered moving. Spoke to a vet who said that they work but have to be reapplied every three weeks or so.
A declawed cat has great difficulty hunting or defending itself if the need ever arises. So I regard declawing as a last resort–and as a special commitment to protect the animal in question for the rest of its natural lifetime. Considering that cats often live 18 years or more, training is less burden for most owners.
Kittens usually learn to use a scratching post with the training methods mentioned above. However, they will make mistakes while they’re young. Kitty claw clippers protect the furniture, curtains, etc. in the meantime. Any vet or pet store sells them for under $10. Trim only the very tips and repeat every other week. You may need to wrap kitty in an old towel during the operation: cats hate having their claws clipped. On the other hand, a kitten that gets caught in the act of scratching a sofa and receives an immediate claw trimming also learns a strong lesson. Trimming is rarely necessary after a trained cat reaches adulthood.
Training consistency is more important to cats than it is with dogs. Wait until you’re settled and rested before you adopt or (as I’ve seen) you might lose a collection of handcrafted Italian furniture.