Furniture For A Four Paw Declawed Cat

[adoptdontshop]

My husband and I are adopting a cat that's been four paw declawed which saddens me to no end, but I digress.

This is the first declawed cat we've had, so I'm wondering about what furniture would be best suited for his needs? I assume a large cat tree is probably out of the question. Do any of you have experience with cats declawed x4? What has worked best for you? He's a very active, playful 18 month old, for reference.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS.
Congrats on the pending adoption of your new cat.

You'll have to post in our New Cats on the Block forum once you bring him home.

It's so sad that people still declaw cats. And since he's only 18 months old, apparently declawing didn't solve whatever issue they thought they had.
Luckily for him, he's being adopted by people who will love him.

Hopefully other members will reply with cat tree suggestions. Meanwhile, I'll post links to a couple prior threads on cat trees for declawed cats.

Cat tree for declawed munchkin?
Cat tree/furniture for fully declawed cat?

 

[Columbine]

Large cat trees are definitely still usable for declawed kitties. Just make sure the design is sensible, so kitty can jump from one level to the next. Trees with ramps or ladders between the levels can work well too. I've never had a declawed cat, but my girl always jumps from level to level, rather than climbing up the posts.

I can't offer specific suggestions as I'm in the UK, but these should give you some ideas:-
How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats)
Cat Trees: 12 Designs That Will Make You Go "wow!"
Cat tree/furniture for fully declawed cat?
Cat Furniture

This article explains a little more about declawing and long term possible complications:-
Declawing - Post-surgery Care And Complications

The biggest thing to be aware of is using the softest cat litter you can find, so that it doesn't hurt kitty's paws. Litters like sWheat Scoop are ideal.
Cat Litter - The Dust Settles

 

[KarenKat]

Our Trin is front declawed, and he jumps on all the cat furniture just fine. Also, even though you know it’s not doing anything, getting him a scratching post or cardboard is still useful. Poor Trin still loves to scratch on them based on instinct (you can probably go cheap on these).

Also, he may have some amount of litterbox aversion if it hurts his paws. I don’t know if there is a type of litter that might be softer than traditional clay, so it might be worth researching what works best for a declawed kitty.

Also Trin is quite adept at using his toes instead of claws to grab things, so all toys are still totally fine.

 

[adoptdontshop]

Thanks everyone! I'll look into soft litter. My current cat uses Yesterday's News, from recycled newspaper.

I think I will invest in some furniture that's at different heights so he can decide what's most comfortable for him. According to his rescue he's doing well and is healthy/free from pain, so that's good, but I want to give him as high a quality of life as possible.

Declawing needs to be BANNED.

 

[Daisy6]

Welcome to TCS. Concatulations on rescuing a kitty.

In my experience front paw declawing causes loss of jump height and thinking too long before jumping. I never needed to buy steps or ramps for declawed cats, but they would sit on the floor looking at me on the bed for what seemed like a whole minute before jumping up. I think declawing caused that.

Yes, it is sad that people think declawing is harmless. I can't imagine why vets are allowed to remove all 18 claws, which prevents them from scratching themselves.

 

[lalagimp]

Doctor's Foster Smith have an Amusement Park that isn't too high, has scratching surfaces *declawed cats usually still love to scratch* is great height for a window, and it's fun to either be in the tunnel or on top Those are two of my cats. My declawed cat plays on it on her own time.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

My mothers household is a mix of cats with and without claws. They all used the same cat trees without issue. Her tree does have perches and ramps but I cant say I've ever seen them use the ramps. Maybe if they had been kittens when she got it they would have.

It may be something that is more of an issue when he is an senior with lower mobility. Pet steps are helpful and pretty easy to find. I just use a small wooden kids chair for Mooch to get on our couch.

She had one declawed cat with litter box issues. She came to her that way as an adult so we don't know when it started. She did like softer litter but preferred to go outside. None of us wanted her outside especially being declawed; but she would pee right in front of you if you didn't let her out.

 

[jen]

Remember they scratch to leave their scent and mark their territory too so declawed doesn't really matter, they still need to go through that motion.