I have two wonderful, sweet pound kitties. When I first got them I tried Soft Paws and was very dissatisfied. They kept falling off and being chewed off. I choose to have my kitties front declawed and I can't see any difference in their behavior before or after surgery. My main concern is that they never get outside. I love my cats, but I also love my house, furniture, and carpet.
# Published 2/1/03 on CourierPostOnline.com, "Eighty percent of the cats that are surrendered that are declawed are euthanized because they have a behavioral problem…. Declawed cats frequently become biters and also stop using litter boxes… One or the other…,” said William Lombardi shelter director, Gloucester County, New Jersey.
# A study of 163 cats that underwent onychectomy (declawing), published in the Jul/Aug 1994 Journal of Veterinary Surgery, showed that 50% suffered from immediate postoperative complications such as pain, hemorrhage, and lameness; and long-term complications, including prolonged lameness, were found in nearly 20% of the 121 cats who were followed up on in the study.
# In a study published in the January, 2001 JAVMA, 33% of 39 cats that underwent onychectomy developed "at least" one behavior problem immediately after surgery, with the most common problems being litter box problems and biting.
# In a recent study published October, 2001, JAVMA by Dr. Gary J. Patronek, VMD, PhD., “…declawed cats were at an increased risk of relinquishment.”
# A recent national survey of shelters from the Caddo Parrish Forgotten Felines and Friends indicates that approximately 70% of cats turned in to shelters for behavioral problems are declawed.
# From the Summer 2002 issue of PETA’s Animal Times: “A survey by a Delaware animal shelter showed that more than 75% of the cats turned in for avoiding their litter boxes had been declawed.” [emphasis added]
# In my own three-year experience, 95% of calls about declawed cats related to litter box problems, while only 46% of clawed cats had such problems—and most of those were older cats with physical ailments. Of my calls, only declawed cats have cost their owners security deposits, leather sofas and floorboards. And it’s mostly declawed cats that have been prescribed pain killers, anti-depressants, tranquilizers and steroids. Two-thirds of my calls are about litter box problems. In 90% of those cases, the cat is declawed, sick or old. In 7 years, only 3 people have called about a “scratching-the-sofa problem” - yet countless of “healthy” declawed cats have peed on sofas.
If you must have a declawed cat, then I say adopt one who is already declawed.
You have to consider, though, with some (quite a few) of these stats, possibly, that the reason is because people with CLAWED cats put them out and allow them to go feral.
I don't think people with clawed cats necessarily let them go outside and just because they are outside doesn't mean they are feral. I have a kitty with feral tendencies and then another kitty that is no where near being feral. Both are clawed, 100% indoor cats.
I haven't had any scratching issues with my cats. They do scratch stuff a lot but its stuff they can scratch.
I'm talking just as far as those particular stats are concerned. People would be more apt to put a cat with "behavorial disorders" outside if it were clawed as opposed to declawed, I believe. Not necessarily allow it to become feral--unless they were moving, etc., but put it out permanantly.
I have two boys (cats). I had them declawed when they were kittens...the same time I had them fixed.
They have no issues with it. I only had their front paws done. They cannot do any damage with the back ones. Mine are inside cats but when they do go outside it is with my supervision so they don't get into anything their not supposed to.
They still mimic the scratching even through they don't have claws, but I just went to Petsmart and got double side tape and put where they would "scratch" and they stopped.
It hasn't negatively impacted them at all. My best recommendation would be to talk to you vet...ask them questions on how they do it...the pros and cons..the vet would know best.
I think saying the cat "has no issues with it, " is a bit like looking at a man with missing fingers and saying that by his behavior, because it doesn't seem to be any different than a man with all ten intact digits, that he has no issues with it. We don't know if the cat has issues with it.
Cats like humans will adjust to an injury or disability, even a severe one. People and animals often get along fine with one eye, but poking one out, isn't a great idea.
A human being without fingertips isn't going to act much differently than a person with all of their finger tips. They'll have much the same dexterity, and have as much pleasure out of life... so one could argue that they're not negatively impacted by the loss (but I wouldn't). At best I would say that while I've owned declawed cats, I don't know what the impact of the declawing has been, I can only guess.
Believe it or not, I'm not militant about cat declawing. I think that there are times when it may be the lesser of two evils, but I think that before a person has a cat declawed that they at least acknowledge that they are handicapping that cat for life. If other alternatives can be explored, it's at least worth considering. If it's possible that the cat could find a way out of the house, it would have no defense against other cats, birds of prey, racoons and other wildlife, and would be unable or severely handicapped in trying to feed itself. That needs to at least be considered (well I guess it doesn't need to be considered, but I would hope it would be).
And on the other hand, a cat can't express regret or trauma over neutering either, so I'm not saying it's never ok to make those decisions for your animal, but give it some serious thought as to the consequences to the animal.
A cat can't say "boy I sure do miss my claws," or "I'm traumatized because of early memories of declawing." At the very least an owner needs to know how dangerous it would be for a declawed cat to defend itself if it would find itself outside, and be willing to protect that cat for life.
My husband and I adopted our (consecutively owned) cats front declawed. We chose declawed cats because our apartment owner demanded it. Rather than being responsible for declawing, we chose to adopt an adult cat already declawed. I admit it's a cop-out, because we didn't have to make the difficult decision. Still, when we were looking at the cats available, there were so many cats that were reported as "strays" that had been declawed. Some of them half-starved by the time they were found, perhaps due to being unable to hunt because of the declawing. Some of them with ears bit off from altercations with other animals. It really hit home why declawing shouldn't be taken lightly.
Sadly, many apartment complexes won't accept cats that aren't declawed. My husband and I are moving, and in apartment hunting, argued with an apartment manager for 20 minutes over four foot declawing. He demanded that all cats be declawed on all four feet. We explained how damage to the property would be prevented by front-only declawing (which our shelter-adopted cats have always been), but he wouldn't budge. So we chose an apartment complex that doesn't have a four foot declaw policy.
I would agree that talking to your vet is the place to start. If you decide upon declawing make sure to ask about post-operative care (often they'll recommend an alternative, softer litter, like shredded paper for example, until healing is complete).
My opinion is that I would never have a cat declawed (I've watched the procedure), but if the issue comes down to keeping a cat in a home or relinquishing it to a shelter, then I say declaw the cat. Of course, a declawed cat must be inside, but I believe all cats should be kept inside to avoid disease, predators (human and animal), cars and killing birds.
Might be worth checking out - way less expensive and painful than declawing and kinda cute, too!
I have used these once and they are a B*T*H to get on!! we had to wrap our cat in a towel and then her nails didn't shed like normal. I suggest getting a lot of scratching posts-cardboard and carpet and getting cat nip to put on them or cat nip spray- they love it- my cat scratched everything until i got the scratch pads and the kitty tree... now he scratches that and the other two who were declawed before we got them like it too! I got my previous cat declawed and neutered and he died 6 weeks later! I was so heartbroken! I blamed the declawing! IDK if that's what happened but I'll never do it again. AND my 2 that are declawed do bite harder!! Very hard! Before you declaw try using double sided tape where they scratch and you want them to stop! They hate the sticky feeling of the tape and will learn not to scratch there! The cat nip works wonders- the spray bottle idea does too! Kitty scratches where he's not suppose to- spritz him and away he goes! this also works with biting and aggressive behavior-- that's how we got our one cat to stop attacking us while we slept!
GOOD LUCK-- please try every effort before declawing!
I have two cats. Both are around 14-15 years old. When they were younger, I got new furniture which they promptly shredded within a year or two. I found that putting on heavy denim slipcovers stopped them scratching the furniture. They took pretty well to a scratching post but also destroyed that eventually! Recently, I came across a thick, scratchy "welcome mat" and bought that for them to scratch on. They LOVE It, and gravitated to that instantly. It looks like braided rope on one side and very thick, short, coarse (almost brush-like) on the other side.
I really want to get new furniture but don't completely trust my old pals to not shred it again, even with the beloved new scratchy mat in the house. I don't have the heart to declaw them; I had it done to a different cat years ago, before I really understood what it was, and have always regretted it. I may just choose to live with slipcovers until these kitties are no longer with me!
I trim my cat's claws....and they will only try to scratch something when they get too long to sharpen or get their nails to shed. Learn where the quick is on their nails so you don't go to high and hit it...it will hurt the cat and not to mention bleed a lot (a little cornstarch to the area stops it though).
Declawing is really unnecessary for a responsible pet owner. It sounds harsh but I am very against it. There are so many ways you can fix the problem with effort on your part...Kudos for you kaplods for adopting yours! I get a lot of requests to foster cats (I rehab wildlife) and most are declawed strays.
Last edited by TJFitnessDiva; 07-22-2009 at 10:20 AM.
I adopted a kitten and my husband and I had her declawed at a very early age. With the assumption that she would never go outside. She does venture outside to the porch with supervision. While we had no problems with her surgery. WE did baby her quite a bit when she came home and strictly llowed the vet's suggestions as we have a friend whose feline friend lost feeling in one of his paws.
I got my cat a rope scratching post (as opposed to the all-carpet ones) and he just naturally likes it better than anything else. I also trim his claws, which many cats will not allow you to do. My parents have 3 cats, none of whom care for the scratching post at all. They've had some luck with putting double-sided tape on the couch, but if the tape is removed the cats go back to scratching. What has worked best for them was getting one of those corrugated cardboard scratching boxes with catnip. All of the cats love it!
My first cat we had declawed and we don't ever considerate now. He had kitten leukemia, so he was only a year old and passed away. We had him completely declawed and, yes, he relied on his teeth. My friend has an outdoor cat who is completely declawed and he also uses his teeth; though he is not a lap cat. He is quite...agressive and NEVER wants to be pet. We've never encountered a cat like this. I currently have 4 cats; 2 outdoor and 2 indoor. They do like to claw the couches. I suggest 1) get a squirt gun and keep it filled and close at all times, 2) double sided tap. Place it on any where he claws and ours just automatically stopped because they kept getting stuck. Ours stopped for a very long time, even after the tape came off. Now, our furniture isn't horrible, but we did have to use some iron on patches to one. Just catch them in the act either with the squirt gun, or grab them, tell them no, and cuddle. One of our cats just wants the attention and my other cat (as gutsy as he is) hates the squirt gun. But yes, definitely get a scratching post of some kind and clip they're nails regularly. Lastly, it depends on the cat and what he adapts to. But keep in mind, if your cat got outdoors and he was an indoor cat, How would he defend himself against another animal if he was declawed? A very unfair disadvantage. It'd be like having your fingernails removed! How would you open, say a can of soda, or grip anything?
Last edited by Miss Mallee; 07-30-2009 at 05:09 PM.
I had my cat declawed because when she was a kitten she would scratch the crap out of me constantly. She was a wild cat, her mom died and she was left alone in the woods behind my house so I caught her and gave her a home. She did not mean to scratch me but I was tired of walking around looking like that and I did not want to get rid of her.
She still had back claws but she was never allowed to run outside alone because I was afraid she could not defend herself as well. We had a chain link fence that she could get over so I use to put her in a dog body harness with along leash then attached it to a clothes line that went the length of the yard. She was able to run around the yard and play but could not jump the fence. People probably thought I was nuts but I loved my wildcat!
