I am considering declawing my cat

[Love_Our_Cat]

@DianaG

Hey guys. Been away a while. Crazy busy, long story, hope everyone is well. Figured I’d jump back in with a nice, uncontroversial topic.

I am considering declawing my cat.

I absolutely do not want to hear or argue about the physiology of declawing cats. I’m aware. It’s why I am, as a rule, against declawing cats.

But this cat is a problem. His claws have only ever been successfully cut while he was unconscious. Tonight, four people, one of whom has over forty years of experience at handling animals, utterly failed at containing this cat and cutting his claws.

Some background: we found him VERY young (four-fiveish weeks) and feral. He adores me, likes a few other people, and hides in the closet when anyone he isn’t very familiar with and fond of comes around. He’s often aggressive toward my other cats (neither of whom are aggressive toward him) and insanely food aggressive (and again, I’m familiar with cat training techniques, he’s immune).

His claws are overgrown, since he won’t let them be cut (and I’m not gonna lie or make excuses here, I can’t afford to take him to the vet every month or so to have his claws cut, even had they have ever succeeded while he was conscious, which they haven’t. Also, I’m not terribly comfortable with knocking a cat out to cut his claws, that has inherent risks of its own.).

He regularly gets stuck in things (furniture, clothes, blankets, window screens etc.) and he gets scared and when I try to release him he screeches and scratches and bites as though he’s never seen me before in his life. Ten seconds later, he wants snuggles and I have to clean up all my blood first.

That said, when he’s not terrified, he (as previously mentioned) adores me. Pretty much all this cat wants from life is food and to be near me. And he’s a toucher. Some of you know what I mean. He’s always got paws on me. He particularly loves to touch my face and my hair. When he approaches me, the first thing he does is headbutt me and the second is to reach for my face. In the morning he wakes me up by “stroking” my face. This would be adorable, except that his claws are all overgrown, and in trying to be affectionate he scratches the hell out of me.

That might be the single biggest issue. I can’t just lock him out, since I have three cats and all of them howl like they’re being killed when they’re locked out of my room. Also, I LIKE having them in there, and I can’t lock the other two in and him out. At this point, aside from all the other injuries and inconveniences, declawing him is probably the difference between waking up pissed off every day and the alterative. I’m tired of waking up pissed off every day.

I am absolutely confident that I can keep this cat indoors (I’m careful, and he’s frankly never shown any interest in going outdoors). If anyone has an alternative idea, I’m all ears. That said, skip the Softpaws suggestion. Tried it. Had to knock him out, and they lasted less than a week because he frantically chewed at them and clawed at everything in his path to get them off.

I’m at my wit’s end. What do y’all think? And thanks for listening, anyway.

We got our first kitten. Our hands and legs began to look like the torture by a thousand cuts. We went to message boards to see what removing the kitten’s claws would do. The majority was against it. We found a great vet here in Saint Peters, MO and he did a marvelous job removing the kitten’s claws. She is now about 8 months old and a pure joy to us. She still hunts and lurches at our feet. But now she does not get yelled at. She still does the things that the naysayers claimed she would not. She stretches her paws out as if flexing her toe muscles. She still acts like she is clawing a surface. We don’t let her outside. We would not let her outside even is she had claws. We were told the cat is healthier just basking in a window sill. She seems to be a happier kitten now because the humans don’t yell ouch at her. We are not experts but we know that this kitten is happier now and gets to play more than when she was inflicting pain on us in her attempts to play and be natural.

We have no intention to ever give her away but should the need arise, we would make sure it was a loving person who would not allow her outside. She is so precious to us.

[Broomstick]

@DianaG

I probably won’t have him declawed. I was frustrated last night, but I recognize that there’s a possibility that particular solution could just create a bunch of other problems, and frankly I’m inclined to take the devil I know. I’m going to talk to my vet about whether there’s something I can give him that’s safe but will make him more, um, pliable.

By all means, discuss this with your vet. I’m not a fan of declawing, but in extreme cases it can be justified.

[j666]

People clip cats’ claws?

They don’t just get an old leather foot stool or one of those carpet covered thingies? Huh.

I am absolutely not a cat person, but have you tried locking the cat in a room with industrial carpet on the door? My cat loves scratching carpets and doors; the two together would be Evil Feline heaven.

[LibrarySpy]

We have scratching posts and couches galore, but we still have to trim the cat’s claws every couple of weeks. Otherwise they’re like needles.

DianaG, if the claws are that overgrown, that’s a problem that needs a solution. Sounds like declawing would make you AND the cat happier.

[cochrane]

Just as a heads-up, DianaG started this thread in September, 2013, and hasn’t posted since then.

[chela]

Sisal scratching post, our cats love to use these, scritch scritch every time they come in the room they use it. Sprinkle a little homegrown catnip on it and they are scritching up a storm. Once they outgrew the kitten stage they stopped trying to climb the walls anyway. I have one indoor cat and one in/out cat both fully clawed. They take their nail clippings well, it is I who puts it off…until the cat sounds like she is walking in stillettoes

[j666]

@cochrane

Just as a heads-up, DianaG started this thread in September, 2013, and hasn’t posted since then.

Oh. Do you think maybe the cat …? No, no, I’m sure everything is fine.

And obviously there are plenty of other people who are interested in declawing cats.

Not me. Nope, I would never de-claw a cat. Never, not me.

[cochrane]

@j666

Oh. Do you think maybe the cat …? No, no, I’m sure everything is fine.

And obviously there are plenty of other people who are interested in declawing cats.

That’s fine. I understand that. It’s just that a couple of people replied to DianaG since the thread was revived and may not have noticed it was a zombie. I agree, other people may find the thread informative even if she doesn’t come back to reply.

[GusNSpot]

At this time we have 8 cats with full claws.
They are put up at night.
They are allowed in the house.
They scratch things.
We chose to have cats.
We spay & neuter for their quality of life.

We do not further damage them or really restrict them.

All amputees I have ever talked to have said that you get used to it but they never like it nor had it make their lives better.

Longevity does not always mean better quality. Declawing a cat just to save furniture just makes it easier than training them & makes the humans feel better. It is not for the cats IMO.

YMMV

[dublos]

If the choice is to put the cat down or give it up, or declaw, I recommend declawing.

Pretty much every other circumstance, I recommend trimming.

You sound like very good cat owner who’s tried every other option.

[j666]

@cochrane

That’s fine. I understand that. .

(It was just part of the joke implying the cat had made away with Diana …)

[cochrane]

@j666

(It was just part of the joke implying the cat had made away with Diana …)

Consider me whooshed.

[phall0106]

@saje

Please please people, when your cats are kittens, ‘torture’ them. Pick them up, hold them til they stop wriggling and then put them down. Play with their toes and claws, trim those claws. Stick your finger in their mouth, hold their heads, play with their lips. DO STUFF to your cats while they’re small and controllable - you’ll be so much happier when the cat is grown and gets sick or injured. (And so will your vet)

Truly, they lead luxurious lives. They can learn to put up with Stupid Human Tricks. My guys figure that if they don’t fuss, I get bored and go away quicker.

Both my boys (whom I got as kittens) tolerate it well, and my girl (whom I adopted when she was an adult) is hit or miss. They all know they get special kitty treats afterwards though. (That’s the ONLY time they get treats and I make a huge deal about how good they were to get their nail clipped.)

[Octarine]

I know this is a zombie, but I’ve heard great things about SoftPaws - they’re little caps you put on cat’s paws. Of course, I can’t imagine a cat liking having plastic stuck on their nails too much, but anything’s better than declawing.