Alternative to declawing or rehoming

Sheeba8

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I have had my cat for 4 years now. We have worked with her to teach her not to scratch or claw furniture using scratching posts, deterrent sprays, double sided tape and other measures that, overall, have worked quite well with a great deal of patience. I have always been against declawing so we have worked hard to redirect her behavior in a positive manner. However, she has now put a puncture wound in our dog's eye and he nearly lost his sight in that eye. There is a 90% chance that he will heal completely, only because he was lucky in that she got the best spot possible to avoid causing permanent blindness. I love both of my pets, but I cannot allow her to do this to him again. They have their moments when they fight, mostly play, but they really get along quite well and seem to miss each other when separated. I don't want to rehome her permanently as they are generally good for each other, however I know declawing is painful for cats. I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I'm looking for suggestions and opinions.
 

game misconduct

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monthly nail trimming could have prevented injury to your dog aside from that your dog probably got mouthy with your cat trying to play and pissed off your cat who then clawed at it causing injury etc
 
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Sheeba8

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Thanks for the reply! I don't mean to sound rude, but my cat is usually the instigator when they fight, usually not the other way around. Of course, there are occasional exceptions. She likes to sit on ledges and bat his face, often clawing his nose, if he walks by. She does get her nails trimmed at home, but perhaps not short enough as I'm always scared to cut them too deep.
 
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Sheeba8

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Thanks for the reply! Yes, we tried to use those when we were training her not to claw furniture. She chewed at her paws relentlessly until she got them off. The spray was the best thing when we trained her not to claw furniture.
 

game misconduct

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Thanks for the reply! I don't mean to sound rude, but my cat is usually the instigator when they fight, usually not the other way around. Of course, there are occasional exceptions. She likes to sit on ledges and bat his face, often clawing his nose, if he walks by. She does get her nails trimmed at home, but perhaps not short enough as I'm always scared to cut them too deep.
ahh i cant advise you on how far to trim the nails i take graycie to the vet each month to get her nails done just like i would do for a woman :lol:
 

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Have you tried the cardboard scratch boards? Mine spend all day digging into them and my furniture is left alone now, also the sisal wooden scratching boards are good, all in the name of blunting the claws. I might have missed this in your answer, does your cat go outside? I have to say, in answer to your original question, I think rehoming comes before declawing, it's a very nasty procedure and a forbidden practise these days.
 

corvidae

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I’m sure since you mentioned you’ve always been against declawing that you’ve heard about how it’s removing a section of the cats fingers/toes, and can lead to issues later in life with arthritis/inappropriate litter box habits. Beyond that, if a cat cannot use their claws they are more likely to bite in a serious way, so in that sense declawing your cat would not protect your dog from harm. Does your cat have a safe room where she can go but the dog cannot? Maybe installing a cat door in one of your existing doors or using a baby gate with a cat door in it could help her get a break from the dog. Failing those suggestions, in my opinion rehoming is vastly preferable to declawing, as heartbreaking as it would be to say goodbye to your cat.
I’m so sorry that you’ve been put in this stressful situation, and I’m glad to hear it sounds like your dog will make a full recovery.
 

Mr. Meow

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Declawing shouldn't even be the "last" option. It shouldn't be an option at all. I'm still working with multiple groups to get declawing banned/punishable by fines or worse, unless it's medically necessary.
If you've tried caps, sprays, tape, other scratching pads, water bottle sprayer, safe spaces etc, then as hard as it may be, rehoming may be your option.
IF you decide to re-home, I'd at least ask that you put significant effort into finding a home that she'll stay at, instead of being passed around from place to place.
 

LTS3

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TCS is an anti-declaw web site. There are articles on this web site that explains what declawing is:


There are also articles on preventing most scratching:


Here is a picture of how far to clip a cat's claw:



 

fionasmom

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Before declawing was banned in LA, there were a lot of surrenders to the city and county shelters because of behavior problems which arose AFTER the declawing. Once it was banned, those surrenders dropped significantly.

I would take the cat to the vet or to a groomer to have the nails cut, then try to rearrange things as was suggested to make sure that the cat and dog are not interacting in a way that upsets the cat.

If you do rehome, which I have to agree is a possible solution, make sure that the cat goes to a home where the problem cannot occur...probably no dogs or kids, maybe other cats...and look into tips on rehoming so that the cat does not end up being used as a bait animal or sold for research, or just plain old mistreated or thrown out with the clawing starts again.
 

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I mean, pets may cause injuries when playing or fighting with each other, this kind of sounds on the level of putting your toddler on psychiatric meds because they bit their sibling. If you had 2 dogs and one bit the other one, or if the dog bit the cat, causing a puncture wound, would you remove its teeth or rehome?

If they fight to the point where they can't live together at all, that's one thing, but if this was a one-off freak injury I don't think you need to do anything about it, although keeping her nails trimmed closer is a good idea in general.
 

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let me ask you ... if you had a toddler who took to scratching people, his sister and cause significant damage to your home ... would you consider amputating his finger tips ? And do you think that this would take care of the issue at hand ? Seriously ... please find your cat a new home IF you think you cannot live with the claws ...I agree with all of the above said and those corrugated cardboard scratchers are the best ... messy but work well ... they need to be around litter boxes and doorways and anywhere else the cat wants to either clean the paws or where she wants to mark. Injuries between animals happen ... between two dogs, two cats or a mixture of both ... Eye injuries are relatively rare and I am sorry about your dog ! An alternative to rehoming can can also be separation in different rooms and building an indoor catio to keep a cat out of trouble when not supervised . Separation is sometimes necessary as at least in my experience ... dogs can be trained not to bother cats but cats seem to be “ opportunistic offenders “ . My cats live in the upper level of my home and the dogs have the downstairs and they have interaction with each other under supervision ... Please no declawing ... like any amputation it is painful, can certainly lead to phantom pains just like in humans and severe behavioral changes . Cats instinctively scratch for many reasons, burry excrement, mark territory and clean their paws as well as stress relief ... taking this from them and replacing it with ... pain ... isn’t going to make for a better behaved kitty !
 

betsygee

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MOD NOTE: Reminder--please try to suggest ways to deal with the behavior, rather than restating the detriments of declawing, which have been mentioned several times already.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi S Sheeba8 ! It sounds like something is setting off your cat when in play with your dog. The methods used for deterring clawing at furniture/etc. obviously are not the same as what you would have to try to get your cat to stop 'playing' in a manner that causes her to extend her claws against your dog. You need to look at the interactions and see if there is something going on that causes this kind of reaction from your cat. A close eye on this issue should tell you what is happening between the two before it gets to this point. It might be a fear reaction by the cat from something the dog is doing. It could be play that the cat has decided should end and the dog doesn't quite understand play time is over.

Just curious, how long have the dog and cat been together? How big is the dog? I think you'd be better off trying to find a way to observe their behaviors in order to come up with some solutions. If you can't observe them all the time, maybe set up some cameras to see what is actually going on. I think that might give you a few clues to work with in resolving the behaviors.
 
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Sheeba8

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They have been together for 3 years. He is a medium sized dog. They get along great most of the time, he grooms her and they sleep together on occasion. They play a lot too, but sometimes they do get into it. Like you said, I'm sure there are cues that I miss, but it often seems they are getting along and all of a sudden she decides she's tired of him. I hate to keep them apart, but honestly, I'm quite scared to have them play together again. I truly love both my pets, they are my babies; and it was very hard to think my dog may lose his sight in one eye. I'm scared to have this happen again, but for her to actually cause him to lose sight this time. My poor dog is on several medications right now as well as eye drops and a cone. He's on a sedative and can't play for a few weeks. I don't want to put him through this again. I know this type of injury is relatively uncommon, but I don't think it's wise to take that risk again. I just have to find a solution that is safe for both of my pets.
 

Hellenww

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You've said they are friends but plays with claws out. Most cats learn from Mama and siblings how to play with soft paws maybe she was taken away too soon.

I adopted a very young kitten and my adult was toothless. Kitten didn't learn to bite gentle until we got another kitten that bit her back. My crazy idea is foster or adopt a young cat to teach her.
 

FeebysOwner

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Like you said, I'm sure there are cues that I miss, but it often seems they are getting along and all of a sudden she decides she's tired of him.
Therein lies your first clue. What is going on that she tires of him? If you can catch that, it is a great start to determining the next steps. If it turns out she is getting over stimulated, assess why - is your dog overdoing it, or she just can't handle anymore stimulation, etc.?? If you can't see where your dog is the 'cause', which would require you telling him NO and separating them, and she is the cause, then she needs to be hissed at, removed from the situation, and given a 1-2 minute time out while she is ignored. Then, resume as normal without further fanfare. The thing is whoever is the 'cause' a consistent treatment for resolving it is in order. By consistent, I mean every time it occurs - same reaction from you each and every time. No consistency, no result.
 
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Sheeba8

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We adopted her as a kitten, so I suppose this could be possible. This is the type of unique advice I was looking for. I will definitely be doing some research on this as a possible start to a solution.
 
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