Hey, everyone. I am thinking that I am going to have to get my 12-year-old female cat declawed because she keeps attacking my 1-year-old son. I feel like I have no other choice. I am not sure what alternatives there are to declawing though and so I thought I would ask on here about what alternatives may exist. I am not a fan of declawing unless it is necessary but I feel like it is necessary in this case unless there is a good alternative. I would appreciate suggestions.
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Alternatives to Declawing
- Thread starter avemaria02
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Do you trim her nails? Have you tried claw caps that you glue on? Do you separate her from your son? Does he pull at her?
Declawing a 12 year old cat is not an option at all. It would be horrific, traumatic, and crippling for her. You should rehome if you can't figure out a solution in your home.
Declawing a 12 year old cat is not an option at all. It would be horrific, traumatic, and crippling for her. You should rehome if you can't figure out a solution in your home.
I agree that a cat that age would likely not recover well from the surgery, that shouldn't even be an option. Hopefully no vet would agree to do it. But besides the surgery being too traumatic, if her claws are removed she'll probably begin biting badly, and cat bites are much worse than cat scratches.
What happens before she attacks? Is he tugging on her or does she just attack randomly? Does she have a way to escape from the baby, a tall cat tree or a baby gate into a bedroom or something? If the attacks are caused by the baby's behavior, I think that could be fixed with extra supervision and a safe place for the cat. But if she's gotten to the point where she attacks unprovoked, she's going to need a new baby-free home
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What happens before she attacks? Is he tugging on her or does she just attack randomly? Does she have a way to escape from the baby, a tall cat tree or a baby gate into a bedroom or something? If the attacks are caused by the baby's behavior, I think that could be fixed with extra supervision and a safe place for the cat. But if she's gotten to the point where she attacks unprovoked, she's going to need a new baby-free home
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If your cat is scratching your baby, declawing will not help. Declawing does not help with aggression, they just exchange scratching for biting, which is worse.
Here is an article about alternatives to declawing, I hope you find what you're looking for here :
[article="29667"]Declawing And Alternatives [/article]
[article="29667"]Declawing And Alternatives [/article]
My kitty's claws are clipped. Seems to be a simple and more humane way to keep my kids and furniture safe 
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Just to make sure you fully understand declawing, since you call it humane.
I also thought it was only removing the nails, but permanently.
BUT it is NOT, it is like for a human cutting the top half of the finger.
It is definitly not humane, and like others say she will only make it worse when she bites your son.
I would go to the root cause of her aggression and try to work from there.
Sorry but your son is the only important point safe furniture is not a good reason, if you want safe furniture rehome your cat.
I also thought it was only removing the nails, but permanently.
BUT it is NOT, it is like for a human cutting the top half of the finger.
It is definitly not humane, and like others say she will only make it worse when she bites your son.
I would go to the root cause of her aggression and try to work from there.
Sorry but your son is the only important point safe furniture is not a good reason, if you want safe furniture rehome your cat.
I also didn't know how horrible it was. I had to declaw one of my kitties and she hurt everyday for three weeks. She was miserable. My heart broke. I didn't understand why it was so awful until I saw pics on the internet showing how it's done. Ill never do that again. I just clip the front paws now with clippers. No one hurts and my furniture and everything is saved. I thought about posting a pic of what it looks like to have the claws removed but it's pretty scary so I will post a link instead so you can go look and decide for yourself.
http://www.funnyjunk.com/Don+t+declaw/funny-pictures/5424396/
http://www.funnyjunk.com/Don+t+declaw/funny-pictures/5424396/
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I didn't mention furniture and I also didn't call declawing humane.
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How many rooms do you have?
Sometimes cats need an escape route.
Also make sure baby isn't grabbing onto cat.
How about health? Is she spayed? How many years have you owned her?
Have you moved recently?
Any changes to route=like someone working new hours or not as home as much?
I ask these questions to try to figure out a way to find a solution and figure out what is causing the stress.
Sometimes cats need an escape route.
Also make sure baby isn't grabbing onto cat.
How about health? Is she spayed? How many years have you owned her?
Have you moved recently?
Any changes to route=like someone working new hours or not as home as much?
I ask these questions to try to figure out a way to find a solution and figure out what is causing the stress.
I am going to put cat shelves on my office walls. If you could do that it would give your cat a safe place to go if she didn't want to be bothered.
Some of the nicer ones are expensive, but some people use cheaper IKEA shelves, and I am going to try to build some nice ones myself.
If you can't put shelves on the wall, maybe a cat tree that gives her access to a tall piece of furniture that your son can't get to.
Some of the nicer ones are expensive, but some people use cheaper IKEA shelves, and I am going to try to build some nice ones myself.
If you can't put shelves on the wall, maybe a cat tree that gives her access to a tall piece of furniture that your son can't get to.
