Whoops, sorry Mods, for some reason I thought this was the Pit.
I’ll keep the language clean until this ends up there.
I got this info from this link
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/declaw.html
Quote deleted - familiarise yourself with the term “fair use”, please. Coldfire
I wish I could have had my cats declawed, but Dorothy developed a heart condition when she was very young and can’t have any unecessary surgery—otherwise, I’d do it in a heartbeat. They have turned my furniture into sad piles of fluff, also my bedspread; and they get themselves caught on the windowscreen and I come home to Crucified Kitties.
Yes, I trim their claws. Does no good. Yes, I tried “softclaws.” They chewed 'em right off.* Yes*, I put bubblewrap and aluminum foil on the furniture. They pulled it off.
Have the cat declawed,** Lady Venom**, it will be perfectly alright and happy. My Mom’s cats are declawed and are the happiest, most loving and well-adjusted cats you’ll ever meet.
You need to decide what is best for your family (this obviously inc. kitty 
).
I have the same problem with my cat. We bought a scratching post; she never went near it. We put it up against the couch where she clawed; she pushed it aside. We’ve decided since to just let her have the couch. For some reason it’s only that couch so we keep it in the tv room where it’s mostly just family who see’s it. I don’t think you should feel guilty for doing what is right for you and yours. If you are unhappy and angry at the cat no one wins. If the cat undergoing discomfort for a small amount of time will change this then by all means you should do it.
again, I will post this
Train the cat to not scratch your furniture. You must put forth effort to work with your cat, taking the time and patience to make sure he understands the purpose of the post. Do not resort to shouting or swatting your cat. Your efforts will fail and furthermore, verbal and/or physical abuse is totally unacceptable as a responsible pet owner. Give the offending cat a “shot” from a water pistol. This usually works, unless you have a cat who likes water as does my Lucky. For him and his sister, Tigger, I mimic an exasperated mother cat. When her overactive kittens annoy her, she stops them from doing their “bad act” with a low growl. And it works - all of my cats, both older and younger, immediately stop any bad behavior actions when I growl at them. When scratching furnishings in the home, imitating a queen’s growl may be more effective than any other deterrent. See Feline Scratching for additional information.
Honestly, what other alternative do I have? None, except let her destroy the BRAND NEW furniture.
Aries was a stray before we adopted her. I don’t know what her life was like before she came home with us. I don’t know if she had ever been trained to NOT scratch.
I have read and read and read all the info I can about this.
I would rather have her declawed than give her up, or let her rip up the furniture, curtains etc and end up being mad at her or regret ever getting her because of this.
Rock&Fluff’smom and Arcana, lay off. Would you rather she took the cat to the shelter? Really, get some perspective here. I’m a pet owner who has not declawed, (never needed to, since I was able to train mine not to scratach), but I’d never give someone the level of venom and guilt you are dumping on her. She obviously loves her cat.
Get a grip, people. This is a LASER procedure. No bandages, vyer little bleeding, almost no pain. [url=“http://www.accuvet.com/site/content/av10_laserpet.asp”]Read up.
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Assuming this is an indoor cat, and assuming Venom is only having the front claws removed, the cat can still scratch itself, and believe you me, can still climb, hunt and defend.
I can’t believe that anyone would seriously argue that this cat is now worse off than before it was adopted by a loving owner. This is a cat that had already been abandoned and, if not adopted, would have been destroyed. She will now have a happy, loving and fulfilled life with Lady Venom, just without front claws. And by the same token, Lady venom gets a cat that she can fully enjoy having around without sacrificing her furniture.
I had a fabric couch and later a leather one, and the amount of damage even accidental clawing can do is extreme; deliberate clawing completely wrecks stuff. Venom has clearly tried all the training methods she can and they haven’t worked. She’s made the best decision she can. You problems with it should be taken to the Pit, not thrown in here.
Rock&Fluff’smom, you’re new here, so you probably don’t know—do not post lengthy, copyrighted material. It’s against the rules and will be deleted.
Oh, and I strongly disagree with your lengthy, copyrighted material, too. Utter balderdash, piffle and flapdoodle.
Woops. Fixed link.
Just a little note to Rock&Fluff’smom and Arcana - your guys are new here and probably don’t know this, but:
This is MPSIMS. If you want to debate cat declawing go to Great Debates. If you want to rant about cat declawing go to the Pit.
However, the MPSIMS mods have gotten really, really cranky in the past when people (such as yourselves) hijack Cat Declawing Threads (and yes, there have been many) in MPSIMS to spew their political opinions about the procedure.
Just so you know.
That being said:
** Lady Venom ** - I’m sure your kitty will be just fine after the procedure - both my bunnies forgave me for having their balls cut off - I’m sure your cat will forgive you her claws. Please give her some catnip after recovery from me.
Rock&Fluff’smom - I am able to read the first time you posted what you did. Did you read my original post? We HAVE tried EVERYTHING suggested. I have no less than 9 scratching posts of different heights, weights, textures, and materials. We tried the water pistol…she loves just trying to catch the streams. We tried putting pennies in a can and giving them a shake every time she clawed. She stops, looks at whomever is doing it, and goes right back at it.
I HAVE made an informed decision about this. We have no alternative. I am an animal lover. We rehabilitate reptiles for a local rescuer. We treat all of our animals with respect and love. I am not doing this to hurt her, I am doing this so that she can have a good life, without destroying stuff. She will NOT be allowed outside, so defending herself is not an issue.
as you know, I did provide a link where I got this information so I did not copyright it…I just disagree and I am strongly against it…Cats need their claws for so many reasons, and I will do anything to try to keep anyone from removing precious claws…
Damn straight I’m cranky.
Rock&Fluff’smom and Arcana, read the above advice. This thread is not the place for your opinions, especially not in the way the both of you chose to phrase them. Great Debates for debating, the Pit for ranting, and this thread for, well, sympathy I guess.
World Eater, the apology is appreciated.
Lady, I know exactly what you are going through. I had my kitty declawed- front claws only- 14 years ago. I can’t remeber what method my vet used, but it was very cutting-edge at the time (no pun intended), and involved trimming them back so far that they never grow back. Phoebe was not put under to do it, there were no stictches, and she didn’t even seem to notice that they were gone. She is now a little over 18 years old, and is very very healthy, and she still “scratches” the furniture.
My best friend had her kitty declawed by the same vet, and one of her cat's claws actually grew back after a few years.
This is one of those things that people will never agree on. We all have to do things- or have things done- to our pets that they don't like and that may even be painful, but they are necessary and for their own good. I'm sure Auggie, The Cutest Dog on the Planet (TM), didn't appreciate my having his testicles removed. He hates having his claws trimmed and being bathed. But they get over, and I firmly believe that they know how much we love them.
Phoebe says to stop feeling bad.Again, familiarise yourself with the term “fair use”, please.
I have never had to have a cat declawed either. Luckily my babies were very trainable. Not all cats are the same. I am sure that you have done everything you can Lady. If I had to choose between laser declawing and my furniture I would pick laser declawing.
Your cat will be fine and in a week won’t even remember what happened. Cats don’t have long memories for things like that.
Moderator’s Notes:
Hang with me here, I have a bit of ground to cover.
First, and most importantly Rock&Fluff’smom, you posted a lengthy paste job from another website and noted “I got this info from this link.” Something else you should have noted at that link.
What this means is that republication of the content there, is illegal. Do not do this again. I have (or will have shortly) removed the bulk of that pasted material. You are permitted to provide links to other sites and short excerpts used to illustrate your point only. Wholesale copying of protected works is very much frowned upon here. The owner and operator of this message board, The Chicago Reader, being a publisher, relies very heavily in U.S. copyright protections. This being the case, we enforce those protections on this board by excising, with prejudice, all violations when we spot them.
You will please me greatly if you never do this again. Thank you.
Second, many of you are making remarks that are unsuitable to this forum. For that reason, I’m moving this thread to the Pit. And I believe I had to move the last thread about cat declawing to the Pit, too. This is obviously a heated subject for some of you, but I would like to post a reminder that no matter the topic, you are all required to be civil to each other in this forum.
Thank you.
Damn you, Coldfire!
OK…well, I apoligize for not posting the entire thing…I figured since I gave you the link, it wouldn’t make a difference…
I will not post lengthy stuff like this anymore…
I know I sound harsh, but when she posted this, she should have expected this coming from others since so many people are against declawing…
Do what you wish, but I sure feel sorry for that poor kitty…