Help, my mom is set on declawing my cat

cheadle said:

Yes, she said she won't do it, and I promised to manage his scratching. When I first posted this thread I was scared that she would make a decision behind my back but I know she won't do that now.

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OMG that's awesome!!!

I'm glad you were able to do that for your cat!

You should be proud

And kuddos to your mom, it's great when people can communicate and exchange with each other

Ok, I am entering this discussion.

Years ago, when I was living at home, My parents allowed me to get a cat. I was working full time at my first job. I could not move out. I thought the solution to their concerns about scratching and clawing furniture would be to declaw. I am also allergic to cat scratches,...so I felt that would solve the solution. 

I was so wrong.

I will Never, Ever, Declaw---again.. that was the first and last time I did so.. never!!

We went to my mom's old family Vet. When he heard about what we were planning on doing, he tried his best to persuade us against it. 

When I got Pumpkin, home after the procedure---I was appalled!! I really was.. I felt horrible..i never realized what it really entailed.. Pumpkin turned from a kitten to a cat whom you could not handle. She automatically started biting!! and I mean biting.. and kick scratching with her back claws.. I will never forget it. 

For the rest of her life, you could never touch what was left of her paws.. I mean that...

I never realized what the procedure was, until I looked it up, and understood exactly what they do...

In case you do are not aware of what the procedure is, I will tell you. 

During a declawing, they AMPUTATE  the bones !!!!!!!   TORTURE!!!  

Think of an x-ray of a hand, or a skeleton hand..the last part of the fingers are cut off, never to re-grow.. Cats as well as human amputees get phantom pain as a direct result of amputation.. They can also have problems with litter box avoidance. Anything touching the paws will cause them great pain...

Think how it would feel if the last digits on both your hands were cut off!!!!  How would that feel????

It is really a form of torture...

They do not just pull off the claw. Anatomy: The claw is part of the bone. They have to cut the entire bone off!! 

I saw how it effected Pumpkin,  first hand. 

I know you have had declawed cats in the past, but honestly, there are better options.. Declared cats become more violent and vicious in their actions. That is a given. They bite more, because they cannot defend themselves. 

If you had different experiences, I find it hard to believe. 

Your options are:

1) Get the soft paws glue on covers for the claws.  You can take your cat to a groomer for it.. should cost around $20...You do have to reapply periodically because they do fall off as the nails grow. 

2) Learn how to trim your cats nails. Now is the time to learn how to do it. 

3) teach you cat to use a scratching post.. Rub some catnip on the scratching post. Try several different kinds and place them around the house in different spots.

4) place some double sided tape ( get the kind from the pet store), in order to train you cat not to scratch the furniture.

5) Get some bitter apple spray for the furniture. Cats do not care for that.. petstore or chewy.com

6) they do have other sprays to keep you cat off furniture, but they smell bad..you can try them..

7) and most important of all  ********** Get yourself a NEW VET!!!!**************

I do not know of, nor have I heard of any reputable Vet resorting to doing declawing surgeries!!! To me this means that this VET is Not up to date with current Veterinary practices...

Even low cost Vets do not declaw....I question how good your Vet really is, and how old he is.. He sounds ancient and one I would never go to....

Ok---I said my piece...

I want you to have a loving cat.. I really do.. I do not want to see your little kitty suffer, unnecessarily.. I mean it with all my heart...

After experiencing this first hand, I understand the thought process completely... I will never, ever do it again...

I trim my guys claws, and he is a wiggle worm.. I sit him in a upholstered chair, put him in the corner, kind of trapping him in, and calmly, get through it. Some days are more difficult to do, but I manage to do it in shifts, on different days. 

Also, If you are going to clip his claws, do not cut too short. That area has a vein in there which you can cut very easily. You can see the vein. So stay away from too short....also get some septic powder, to have on hand, just in case...

It takes patience and practice. I had never done it before I adopted Artie. I was taking him to a groomer at first, and then realized he was getting too nervous in his carrier; so I just started doing it.. a few at a time.. I prefer the scissor type clippers.. these are not expensive at all....

I know that there are a lot of people out there who don't think anything is wrong with declawing a cat, but my  family has always been against it--and we had no idea what it entailed until I signed up with this website a couple years ago. Another argument you can use is this; claws are a cat's primary defensive weapon and evasive tools. Here's what I mean by that; cats use their claws to defend themselves against predators and (sadly, in some cases) cruel humans. Cats also use their claws to evade  predators by climbing--trees, wooden fences, crepe myrtles (you'd be amazed the amount of abuse a crepe myrtle can take and live through). Now let me tell you a couple of stories.

When I was a kid my best friend had a very animal cruel brother. (Seriously; the kid hated small animals of all kinds and tormented them on a daily basis.) One day they got a kitten, and it was the sweetest thing. The kitten and the cruel brother met and the kitten opened the cruel brother up ankle to knee (and a few scratches on the face). CHBF's parents' reaction to this? It was to declaw the kitten so it couldn't happen again. (They couldn't believe the cruel brother would ever do anything to a helpless animal--which is part of the reason the attrition rate of their pets was so darn high.)

One of my uncles was married (briefly) to a woman who saw animals as "things", and worth less than her living room set. When she caught the cat clawing on her furniture (she wouldn't allow Uncle to get a scratching post--she said it "ruined the look of the room") she took it to a vet and had it declawed without even discussing it with him. (I won't claim to have gotten along with the cat--up until we got Rose cats and I had a long, bad history together, but I have always  respected them as living creatures.) Naturally, my uncle was horrified. (Though part of it was that he'd gotten the cat to help keep out rodents, and now it couldn't hunt.) The cat was in the habit of going outside to, well, go, and a neighborhood dog cornered and killed it.

When I was in highschool one of my BF's (I had two) told me about her cat. She said that when her family had gotten the cat it had been the sweetest thing, but after they got it declawed it turned into a snarling monster prone to attacking random passersby. (That one lived until a ripe old age. Their cat was actually declawed because the vet--which they stopped using, by the way--recommended it because two of the cat's claws turned the wrong way and were scratching the cat's paws every time they extended. I'm not sure why the vet recommended that the cat be declawed, but he did and they thought he knew best. They actually tried to sue him, but the lawyer told them they had no legal grounds.)

Aside from the last story you might notice a pattern to what happens to declawed cats. I know I sure did. 

KAT021 has said it eloquently, so I won't repeat. But I will just say that we have cat furniture and cat scratching posts and pads throughout the house for our beloved cats, who do NOT scratch any furniture, ever.  

A lot of appallingly bad things that people used to do used to be "normal" and accepted -- until they weren't.  Just because something is a tradition does not make it right.  When it involves the infliction of suffering and/or neglect on anyone, of any species, it is wrong and we need to speak out against it and advocate for stopping it.  It's what separates a compassionate person/society from one that is not

Poor pumpkin!

leen and alice said:

Poor pumpkin!

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oh--Pumpkin was loved, and lived until the age of 16...  she was spoiled.. canned shrimp and cold cuts for her!!

When we got her, she was so sick.. We had to bottle feed her. She had a FUO, and would not eat. She would have diarrhea and vomit a lot. So my mom and I fed her with eye droppers and a bottle. In those days, Pet stores were not readily available, and there were not as many Vets as there are now. I sound ancient, but it was during the 1970's. 

She had more of a fever and inappetence.. We really had to hand feed her;  and with a bib also.. I remember putting it on her and clipping it with clothes pins. We always had to wipe her down after a feeding.. and my mom and I fed her every 3-4 hours. Or as soon as the dishes from her dried; it was time again.

I thought of the idea of a baby doll's bottle. I went down to the local Toys R Us and bought one. I ended up making a hole in the nipple, and that is how we fed her. 

Little did we know that cows milk was bad for her... But we tried giving her an eggnog.. and thinned out baby food in the eye droppers. My dad had to buy those at the pharmacy. 

That cat was so spoiled. She even had to play a game with treats, in order for her to eat.. She was a big girl also.. an orange tabby female...

Im sure she was in the best of hands[emoji]128515[/emoji] a fatty spoiled pumpkin (lol) is that her in your profile picture[emoji]128525[/emoji] adorable..anyways I was talking about the declawing thing Im sure you never declawed another cat in your life[emoji]128522[/emoji] you were realy patient and loving! I know people who will throw her away if she starts misbehaving ![emoji]128557[/emoji] Good job for winning the battle!!

Seventhheaven said:

 

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I agree!  I cut my cat's nails and it makes a big difference!

I'm at work and haven't read thru all the responses but cats are attracted to different scratching surfaces, you just have to find the right one that your kitty likes.  Some are horizontal scratchers, and some are vertical.  Some like cardboard, some like sisal ropes and some like carpet.  I get all of these types at TJ maxx or home goods, they have a huge selection at great prices.  I have had a ton of cats over the years and not 1 has ever scratched up my furniture.  You always take them over and gently move their arms in the scratching motion.  If you see them scratching on something they shouldn't, just pick them up and gently say no, and take them to the appropriate scratching surface.  I also trim my kitty's nails weekly without fail.  You need to get them into a routine and then it's just known that on x day it's manicure/pedicure day.  Give a treat after clipping and when they scratch on the right place, say good scratch and reinforce the good behavior.

Hello I am so glad to hear that your mother agreed to let your kitty keep its claws!
My sister declawed both her cats and both of them suffered from it, the last one she had declwed had a horrible job don, the poor guy had glue all over his paws to the point that he had a big scar like bald spot for many years after the surgery and we found out they didn't clip one of the toes all the way so his claw grows back but it's all messed up and curls into his foot causing him alot of discomfort.
Anyway the main reason I'm posting here is because I had wondered onto this video of Jackson Galaxy (a special cat trainer from The tv series my cat from hell) he talks about what you can do to help with cats scratching things.
Hope this is helpful!

My mom was the exact same way, but I talked her out of getting Beatrix declawed!

I told her that I would do monthly trimming of her nails, and buy a large cat-tree for her. She doesn't scratch ANY of our furniture- only her cat tree and scratch post.

It is way less cheaper and more rewarding (obviously) to buy a cat tree and/or trim her nails than to just amputate her.

Good luck!

I agree with the post that suggested you re-home your cat.  When you get a cat, you need to put scratching posts everywhere.  So many choices for every type of cat.  My cat has a scratch couch and scratch pads throughout the house, but the couch is his favorite.  He claws it to death, sleeps, and plays on it as well.

Anyone who adopts or buys a cat, needs to prepare themselves for the cat clawing their furniture.  It comes with the fur. 

Please Please do not do that.  If you think that is a choice, it is not.  I hope they will put out laws against this and make it a crime and have the cat re-homed.

Joyce

I watch Jackson Galaxy all the time - He is the reason I adopted my rescue cat.

Joyce

Hi there Cheadle, when I read your post, my heart went out to you and your kitty, I kept reading and was glad to hear that your Mum saw the light and agreed not to de-claw your kitty.  Did you see the post and video about training your kitty featuring Digda the cat (and her FurDaddy)? I think the fellow/trainer can be found under youtube and Facebook as CatManToo -( I'm pretty sure) he has some awesome and amusing videos on training cats and cats having fun and swinging along to Justin Timberlake's 'Can't Stop the Feeling' song, I encourage you to have a look, he is a clever cat loving fellow.  I helped my FurBaby Poppy (and previous FurBabies) learn to use her scratching post gently using a hand over paw technique and giving lots of praise, I trim her nails a little using a human nail trimmer and sometimes just use my sand papery emery board (the same kind I use to file my nails) for some reason she likes the noise/sensation of it on her nails.  I have also read a lot of good things about the claw caps mentioned in some of the posts on this site.  I had previously never heard of them before, but they look fantastic and everyone that uses them thinks they are fantastic, they also come in lots of funky colours which I think is CatFabulous.  My Poppy is now eight years old, we have a sort of play routine, where we play with her every night at about 8.30pm (as well as through the day) for as long as she is interested, this play time keeps her busy and happy and, I believe, young (it is also very amusing for us, we think she is hilarious and can always count on her for a laugh). Everyone that manages to get a glimpse of Poppy (she is very, very shy) thinks she is still quite young.  Lots of play time will keep your FurBaby happy, occupied and off the furniture, when kitty gets a bit older he/she will probably not run all over the furniture so much but still remain playful.  Poppy loves the wand toys, balls and plastic shopping bags.

I hope everything goes well for you, your FurBaby and your ma.  I'd be looking for a new, more modern thinking vet though,?

Cheers

Angie

Please, please, PLEASE do not declaw your poor cat!  It is extremely cruel.  Google it and show your mother the pictures.  How you can truly claim to like animals and do that to one of them is very contradictory.

I have 6 cats and they CAN be taught not to do things they aren't supposed to do.  You can trim their nails for one thing, which should help and also, find the scratcher she likes.  I have this one from amazon....     and all of my cats use it pretty much every day.  I also have the kong cardboard wedge and the flat one that lies on the floor that they also like.  Their cat tree has the carpet and sisal rope that they also use.  I'm not saying they NEVER try to scratch anything else, cause they have tried scratching the speakers of my 2002 big screen tv (don't judge) but when they start, I tell them 'No!' and make them stop.  Sometimes I clap when they are being stubborn as I tell them 'No!.'

Cats are not stupid and can actually learn.  Three of my cats have learned to ring the dog's potty training bell attached to the front door to be let out instead of walking their little behinds down the hall and going out their own 24/7/365 open cat door.  As a matter of fact, they learned BEFORE the silly dog did, how the contraption works.....  Ring bell, human opens door for me, I get to go outside.  One cat has even used the bell on two occasions to wake me up early a time or two to just let me know he wanted food.  He rang it like a dinner bell too, not a light little ring a ding.  He knew what he was doing.  All of these cats also come when called and usually mind better than my five dogs.  They are different ages, different personalities, came by different means and are different sexes, so it's not like I just lucked out and got a smart family of cats.  I just spend a lot of time with them and teach them the rules while giving them lots of love.

There has been some very good advice given in this thread, both on reasons for not declawing and ways to manage potential destructive behavior. However, it's always a good idea to read an entire thread, especially on such an emotional issue, before jumping in with a post. For those who keep begging the OP not to declaw, C cheadle has already said her mother agreed not to declaw her cat. See post #19 on page 1 of this thread. If you have a different method, different scratching post, etc. to contribute you're welcome to post it here, but there's no need to keep telling her not to declaw her cat.