Should I adopt a declawed cat?

[tillysmom]

Hi everyone,

If you look at my previous posts, you will see that I recently adopted an 8yr old grey girl. I was told she was calm and easy which is what I was looking for since I am single and work. Well, that was not exactly true. She is kitten-like in my opinion.

I am considering a friend for her, even though it will stretch my budget. I still do not want a younger cat so I'm looking at males around her age who still have al little spunk left ( just a little!!!)

I've seen one beautiful white boy who is the right age but declawed. I'm apprehensive about adopting a declawed cat since they can have behavioral and health issues due to declawing. I'm in an apartment so litterbox problems could cost me ALOT of money. Also, my girl, Tilly, can bite. We are working on that and lately, I think we're making progress, but I worry about a sibling not being able to defend itself while playing. Obviously, if they dislike each other to the point of fighting, I'd be returning the poor boy, but cats do sometimes play rough.

Any thoughts. Personally, I'd never declaw a cat but many at the shelters are already that way.

Thanks for any opinions,

Kelly, Tillys mom

"Momma....I'm bored!!!"

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• tillysmom
• Mar 30, 2014

 

[tillysmom]

P.S.

The possible boy

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/28873401/

 

[denice]

It really depends on whether they learn to get along.  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats  has a lot of tips for introductions, some cats same as some people never get along.  Most cats will at least get to the point of tolerating each other provided introductions are done properly and slowly.  I noticed the kitty that you are thinking about adopting is odd eyed with one blue eye.  Is he deaf?  Often an odd eyed cat will be deaf on the same side as the blue eye.  Deafness does require some extra consideration.

 

[catmomma627]

Let me say this about declawed cats: I won't do it to a cat.

However, ALL the cats I had in my childhood were declawed and I NEVER saw any behavioral issues with ANY of them. My mom still has 2 from my childhood, they're declawed and wonderful cats. None of our cats growing up ever got agressive after being declawed.

I decided as an adult when I did research I would not do that. When i went to the shelter and found Zoey, I fell in love with her immediately. She was purring and snuggling into my neck. It was after that I found out that she had been declawed by previous owners. Because I have seen several declawed cats in my life, and I was already in love, I did not think twice about adopting her.

Zoey is perfect (I know moms say that) But she does not bite, loves to cuddle and never has gone outside the litter box.

If you don't see behavioral issues with him in he shelter, he probably doesn't have any. It's a myth that all declawed cats have behavior issues. I'm sure some do, but definitely not all. I've had 7 declawed cats in my life, and not one was aggressive.

No, I don't think declawing in a good idea, there are better alternatives, but I would never be worried about adopting an already declawed cat.

 

[tillysmom]

Thanks Catmomma, that's kind of what I wanted to hear. I don't want to assume there will be issues...just never owned a declawed cat. I have two friends with declawed cats and one is a total terror. He attacks everything. Another one pees everywhere. These could just be their own issues, declawed or not. I was concerned about marking, biting and arthritis. Tilly bites anyway...but I know I am at my limit in dealing with her issues. I couldn't take a second attack cat. My older girl who I lost last summer had arthritis...that wasn't too difficult to deal with. She had steps everywhere.

Denise,
My question was more about the declawed issue. I think any new cat will have the "do they get along" factor. If they didn't get along he'd be sent back anyway. My place is way too small for cats that aren't friends. I had two girls that HATED each other in a two story house and they tolerated one another because each had a floor Not so, in a small, one bedroom apartment.

In this size place I won't be able to do a very gradual introduction. I think keeping Tilly out of the bedroom for even one night (she has slept with me from day one), would cause her to seriously dislike anyone new and my bathroom has less floorspace than an actual shelter cage. Maybe I can get creative and start very early on a Friday and spend two evenings sleeping on the sofa...that might work.

Thanks for mentioning the deafness. I will have to ask. My old girl was loosing her hearing so it would be ok with me, I learned how not to startle her and make her more comfortable. It would be an issue for the poor guy though, if he could not hear Tilly coming and she tormented him. That wouldn't be fair.

Thanks again for the opinions. This is a toughy. Guess I should just go meet him first!

 

[catmomma627]

Definitely meet him. I'm of the belief that "you'll just know". Could you keep the new one in the bathroom until they can be introduced? You don't want to make Tilly feel replaced by removing her from your room at night!

 

[segelkatt]

I adopted a 10 year old declawed silver Persian, the declawing was done before she was 1 year old, at about 1 1/2 she was abandoned when her so-called "parents" moved back to Japan and the neighbors finally caught her and kept her until their death 9 years later when she came to her forever home with me.

I  have 3 cats altogether. They get along but are not best buddies. They do manage to sleep within a foot of each other. Sometimes they hiss at each other, like if one tries to get at another's food bowl (as if they did not each have a bowl which is full of food and only 2 feet away lol!) or may even bop at each other, (they are all southpaws) but real "cat fights"? Never. The Persian does bite but only when I comb her and the comb gets stuck in the tangles, and she does not like for me to touch her feet. Otherwise she is the best behaved cat I have ever had, and she is very loving, follows me everywhere, sleeps with me cuddled up next to my legs and reaches out with her paws, pats me on the arm when she wants to be petted. She also "whispers", making meow noises that can barely be heard although she most certainly has a voice, I've heard her scream when the fuss at the food bowl gets to be too much. Then even Panthera (my avatar) who weighs twice as much and is twice as big slinks away. Hurray for tough little cats.

Do get the declawed cat.

 

[tillysmom]

Segelkatt,

Thanks for the opinions. Good to hear about another healthy, well-adjusted, declawed cat.
Just wanted to say...I so know that meow. My girl who passed away last year had the silent meow...almost a squeak. It was precious. I miss it.

She was also fond of the batting and hissing with her sister and when they would sleep in the same room with us in the evening, i felt so happy, like a personal victory for a peaceable kingdom! Occasionally one cat would be on my exes lap and the other would jump up on the chaise and sleep at his feet. He would look happily terrified. Happy that they were peacefully coexisting but knew when one woke up, there could be hell to pay! Too funny.

Thanks for bringing back great memories.

 

[cocheezie]

I currently have one clawed and one declawed cat. They met almost 3 years ago when I brought in the clawed cat. They are not friends. They tolerate each other as housemates. They don't mind being in the presence of each other, but they are not cosy. The clawed cat who doesn't understand why the declawed girl doesn't like him, gets the occasional hiss if he gets in her face. He is 3x her size. Paws were raised on occasion in the beginning, but it never progressed further. The only time there is a dispute now is when one is in the window that the other wants to be in.

Be sure to have the white cat checked THOROUGHLY inside and out for hearing and other ear trouble. A vet told me a horror story once about a two-coloured eye white cat who could hear, however the cat had no ear drum in one ear. When ear drops were put in, there was severe brain damage and the cat had to be put down. He's gorgeous, but it's best to know at the beginning what you are getting into.

 

[WittyKat]

My bf and I adopted a cat several years ago that his previous owners had declawed on all four paws. I have had pets most of my life but he had not and was very nervous about getting this cat. I will not declaw a cat so this was the compromise. George was regarded as un-adoptable and had some issues with biting, swatting & hissing which have almost completely subsided and my bf adores him.
While we don’t have other animals, I did adopt a stray female who was pregnant and had no front claws. She never had any issues with any of my other cats, but this is my only experience with this. I think it depends on the personalities of both cats and how territorial they are. Good luck!