Declawing Is Bad, But Is It Worse Then Shelter? Also Any Studies Showing Long Term Effects On Cats?

[Mamanyt1953]

Just so you guys know, once again I don't plan to ever get my cats declawed, I was just curious on figuring out the facts, and trying to persuade others not to get their cats declawed.

Thank you for reiterating that. Some forget it.

If the choice is declaw or euthanize then it is a clear choice to me.

IF those were the only two choices, perhaps, just perhaps, it would be worth considering. However, cats can easily be trained NOT to claw furniture, and the double-sided sticky tape that does the trick EVERY TIME is far, FAR cheaper than surgery, just from the human's standpoint. And there are easily applied caps for claws that are not expensive at all. Heck, even I could afford them if necessary. AND regular trimming takes care of most damage if you're too cheap to buy the dratted tape or caps. No, the choice is NOT an "either/or" proposition at all.

Edited to add: Oh, about that sticky tape? It does not harm furniture, and I've never seen a cat who didn't get the idea within days. The longest I've heard of was about a week. They HATE how that stuff feels on their paws!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Thank you for reiterating that. Some forget it.



IF those were the only two choices, perhaps, just perhaps, it would be worth considering. However, cats can easily be trained NOT to claw furniture, and the double-sided sticky tape that does the trick EVERY TIME is far, FAR cheaper than surgery, just from the human's standpoint. And there are easily applied caps for claws that are not expensive at all. Heck, even I could afford them if necessary. AND regular trimming takes care of most damage if you're too cheap to buy the dratted tape or caps. No, the choice is NOT an "either/or" proposition at all.

Edited to add: Oh, about that sticky tape? It does not harm furniture, and I've never seen a cat who didn't get the idea within days. The longest I've heard of was about a week. They HATE how that stuff feels on their paws!

Our cats were getting a little naughty about clawing things in the house they shouldn't, but with no added training or whatever we installed a small catio (which is in the planning stages of expansion--yeah!!) and the indoors clawing habit dropped. They prefer scratching wood and logs and branches and "natural" substances.
It would be interesting to me to see how many problem claw-ers improved once granted safe, cat-secure access to the outdoors because ours can't possibly be the only ones..?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Or even a "natural wood" post inside!

 

[ailish]

I’m going to have to disagree. I don’t think a person who is requesting a declawed cat should have a cat at all.

No, I disagree. I wouldn’t adopt a declawed cat due to potential problems and tbere’s Probably other people out there who wouldn’t either. Let the person who wants the declawed cat take the declawed cat. It might save another cat from being declawed. My grandmother had a declawed cat and it bit like a snake. And I don’t Might rough play bites.

 

[laura mae]

I had adopted an older cat that had been declawed. She walked always as if her feet hurt. She couldn't do normal cat things like leap easily up onto the couch. She seemed like she was cat depressed mostly. She also had absolutely terrible litter box habits. I had to use puppy training pads an awful lot. She clearly associated any and all types of litter with pain as well. She really couldn't groom well because she couldn't firmly place her feet when reaching. I had to wipe her bottom every day and keep her butt shaved (long hair cat). She had shorter legs and the combo was a terrible thing for her. Whoever declawed her took away her cat confidence and she slept a lot and ate a lot.