Should I de-claw?

sheltra

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We have a siamese that claws everything. She has a scratch pad, scratch post, climbing tower and she still goes for all the furniture. We want a leather couch but we are afraid to buy it with her in the house. We just bought a new recliner and she is already going after it. Our cat is about 4 years old and we have heard it is cruel to de-claw an older cat. Do we have any alternitives. We care for her very much but we are at the end of our ropes on what the right thing to do is? We appreciate all your reply posts. Thanks
 

hell603

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You might want to check out a product called Softpaws. They are nail covers which are glued on. Please consider this alternative.
 
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sheltra

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Thank you for the reply posts. I had no idea of how cruel it was on cats. We would not want to ever hurt our baby. We will try alternitives. Does anyone know of any particular miracle product that we can buy and spray on our furniture that will keep our cat off?
 

sandie

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There really isnt a spray, but if you mean off the couch with the claws, you can use the sticky paws tape. You can also try aluminum foil. There are products on the market that when the cat gets within a certain limit of something a buzzer sounds to scare them off. The best thing though is some e tra training and the soft paws. Even while you are working with her, the soft paws will keep anything from getting damaged during a slip up.
 

catarina77777

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Dear Sheltra,
I just wanted to thank you for being a responsible and caring human being. It's so nice to see that you've taken the time to educate yourself about declawing and the affects it has on a cat. Your unselfishness and consideration will come back to you ten-fold.
God Bless You & Yours!!!!
Always,
 

dinkybear

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both of my cats have plenty of scratching toys and still go for the couch or loveseat. One of them even picks the carpet and rugs. I have tried the softpaws and they work great with the female....but I have to be honest when I tell you that if you cat is aggressive and playful like mine, they will bite them off. Dinky, my male cat, had 6 out of 10 off before I got home from the vet. Also, if you cat does not allow you to touch his/her paws, like dinky, you may find yourself going to the vet every other week to have them put on. I know this sounds funny but I ended up placing double sided tape on the places of the furniture when my cat scratches. He hated the tape and quit after a couple of weeks. Then I moved my new furniture in and so far so good. Good Luck!
 

rene

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I am glad you have decided not to declaw - I have written three newspaper columns on declawing - one is alternatives to declawing - please go to my website - http://www.listnow.com/helpingpaws and click onto newspaper columns - there are three columns there I would ask you to read/
 

pepto89

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I've been using softpaws for a couple years without problems, I have never seen either of my cats able to pull them off. Did the vet use enough adhesive? That stuff is like superglue!
 

dinkybear

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I'm not sure why, but my vet told me that if the cat is aggressive or is not tolorant of the softpaws then they will try to get them off, successfully doing so sometimes. I guess my cat REALLY did not like them. But like I said the female cat did not mind and they lasted for weeks.
 
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