Best Method for Declawing a Cat?

on Thu, 18 Jan 2007 20:44:58 GMT, eDog wrote:

Divorces are messy things.

I would like to avoid getting to that "Me or the cats"! moment.

And I would really like to avoid getting to it AFTER declawing the cats.

That would be the worst of all possible worlds.

I would divorce someone who put the 'welfare' of a piece of furniture ahead
of the welfare of a living, breathing, LOVING creature that I had commited
to taking care of for its lifetime... but I digress. Take the option of
declawing OFF the table. Seriously.

--
Lynne

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 19:31:43 GMT, eDog wrote:


I already trained the cats to use a scratching post. They don't scratch the
leather sofa on purpose.

I ordered SoftPaws and am expecting them to show up today. I am a little
wary of them for a couple reasons. Plastic can do a pretty good job of
scratching leather too for one thing.

Not to shift blame, but my spouse is far less understanding about cat
damage than I am.

A ruined sofa is going to do a lot to stress my marriage.

It's really very simple. Get rid of the expensive furniture, the cat,
or your spouse.

In reality, quit being so ****ing anal about the furniture and understand that
it is going to take some wear and tear from their being animals (you and your
wife included) in the house.

In all honesty - front declawing the cats will not affect the
furniture. The leather will be scratched from their back claws every
time they leap. I posted on your other topic too, but wanted to stress
that front declawing will not do the job that you want done - I've been
there, done that with shelter kitties.

eDog wrote:
Divorces are messy things.

I would like to avoid getting to that "Me or the cats"! moment.

And I would really like to avoid getting to it AFTER declawing the cats.

That would be the worst of all possible worlds.



"Matthew" wrote in
:

Wife's can be replaced for if it was the cats or her she would find
her self out the door specially if is was something materialistic




--
Looking for a clue.

I also tend to just keep my furniture covered unless I am having company over.
Keep in mind, that declawing cats was actually made illegal in California
just to show you what a terrible and mutilating procedure that it is. Please
rethink declawing your cat. I know when I was really little, and this sounds
terrible, I used to actually chew on my parents wood furniture. Should my
parents of had my teeth pulled to prevent me from doing this?

Edna Pearl wrote:
There is no humane way to de-claw a cat. Learn to trim your cat's claws,
provide adequate scratchposts and scratchpads, and train the cat.

ep

Although I am against it, a new and rather expensive leather sofa has
raised the possibility of declawing my 3 cats.
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
If I keep my cats nails trimmed short will they still be able to
(unintentionally) damage my leather sofa?

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200701/1

"eDog" wrote in message
. ..
Although I am against it, a new and rather expensive leather sofa has
raised the possibility of declawing my 3 cats.

If I have to get them declawed what is the best way to do it?

What kinds of questions should I ask the vet? What kind of equipment
should
he have/use?

Simply declawing their front paws may not accomplish much with regard to
protecting the furniture.


Also, I am going to ask in a separate thread:

If I keep my cats nails trimmed short will they still be able to
(unintentionally) damage my leather sofa?

--
Looking for a clue.

There is *no* "better way" to declaw a cat. Any method of declawing results
in the same situation -- that is, you have just performed amputation, a
cruel and unnecessary procedure. Worst of all would be to declaw all four
paws (which you are considering). That compounds problems such as lack of
muscle control and possible early onset of arthritis. Ironically, you may
also cause an even worse problem *for yourself* than scratches on furniture.
That is, approximately 1/3 of declawed cats begin to urinate outside the
litterbox. How will you feel if you begin to find fresh urine in your bed
or on your carpets?

Your selection of the leather sofa was probably a poor choice, but it is
done now. From your description, it does not sound as if your cats are
using the sofa as a scratching post. Instead, it appears that their claws
leave marks because they need some traction. You can help to reduce this
problem if you look for an attractive (but sturdy) cover that you can wrap
around the cushions.

Whatever you do, please *do not* let your husband talk you into declawing
the cats. Think of it this way. If you had small children who damaged your
furniture, would you consider cutting off their fingers to the first
knuckle? Well, of course not! The very suggestion is outrageous. But that
is what you would actually doing to these helpless kitties. They are part
of your family, and they rely on you to love them and provide *good* care.

I would like to include a short quotation from a message that Lauren posted
some time ago: "Cats can develop declaw related problems years later, like
developing arthritis, muscle atrophy and nerve pain. A declawed cat is much
like someone who is clubfooted. Since a cat is digitigrade, meaning walking
on tip toes, the cat can't walk normally with his weight back on the rear of
his pads. His posture is changed and his gait is now off. Cats use their
claws as a means of communication, much like we use our voices. A declawed
cat is much like a person without a larynx...."

Here are some web sites that look at the issue of declawing. Please share
some of this information with your husband:
http://www.stopdeclaw.com
http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/declaw.html
http://www.cara-adopt.org/declaw.html
http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/declawvettch.html
http://www.maxshouse.com/facts_about_declawing.htm
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...=show&item=002

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

MoMo via CatKB.com wrote:
I know when I was really little, and this sounds
terrible, I used to actually chew on my parents wood furniture. Should my
parents of had my teeth pulled to prevent me from doing this?

Hmmm, maybe that would have worked - ha! Did your parents ever consider
taking you to the vet? I'll bet Feliway would have helped.

Rhonda

eDog wrote:
Although I am against it, a new and rather expensive leather sofa has
raised the possibility of declawing my 3 cats.

If I have to get them declawed what is the best way to do it?

What kinds of questions should I ask the vet? What kind of equipment should
he have/use?

Simply declawing their front paws may not accomplish much with regard to
protecting the furniture.


Also, I am going to ask in a separate thread:

If I keep my cats nails trimmed short will they still be able to
(unintentionally) damage my leather sofa?

--
DO NOT HAVE YOUR CATS DECLAWED, I REPEAT, DO NOT HAVE YOUR CATS
DECLAWED.

for most people the fact thatit is cruel, nasty and barbaric woudl be
enuogh to put them off the idea but you seem tobe someone who cares
rathjer more about his furniture than the welfare of a living creature
who loves you and has put their trust in you to protect them and care
for them and to keep them safe from harm and not put them through
unnecessary and painful mutilation (poor misguided creatures eh?), so i
will use another argument.

Declawed cats will show some rather unpleasant behaviours after the op
due to not being able to mark their territory, inability to communicate
their presence to other cats, and possibly also ongoing pain after the
amputations. These behaviours will include urinating around the house
(to replace normal marking of their home), and also defaecating too in
inappropriate places, they may also start to bite you as they are
incapable of defending themselves with their now non-existent claws.
since you don't want your kitties leavign marks on your obviously far
more beloved furniture how will you feel about the same kitties coming
back form the vets and peeing and pooing everywhere instead and
possibly also becoming vicious little biters because their main line of
defence (their claws) has been taken away from them? Will this argument
convince you it is very bad idea indeed?

btw I have leather sofas, dark burgundy leather, and had 2 cats (just 1
now) and the one who passed away summer 2005 had been in a car accident
we think and could not retract his back claws at all but he never
seemed to scratch the sofas at all, not sure how he managed that but he
did. Jessie is always on them, either perched on top looking out the
back window into the garden or climbing on them or (most fun) trying to
catch a pingpong ball or scrunchy ball on one (usually failing as with
the slippery leather surface they just go flying as does she), and i
can't see a mark on them.

christ if you are that bothered about your f*cking sofas then why do
you not try to get your cats rehomed with someone who does put the
priorities and needs of a living creature above that of an inanimate
object. better they go to a new home than get mutilated for the sake of
a sofa.

bookie

ps i live in a rented house, part furnished, the sofas are mine so i
dont care what happens to them, the bed in my room came with the house
though and therefore if it is damaged in anyway then I/we may well lose
our deposit on the house if/when we move out. both jasper and jessie
have ripped the covering on the side of the bed base (boxspring you
call it in the states? not sure) to shreds, not much left to rip now,
so unless I go out and purchase a new bed base for when we all move out
and the place is inspected we will definitely lose the deposit. I
reckon i will just be going out and buying a new double bed for the
house when we go, simple as that, but to be honest i couldn't care
less, it is no big deal, nobody has died have they? it is only a bloody
bed.

I am sure some anal yank would probably have whipped both J and J off
to be declawed ages ago to prevent further damage but to me life is
just too ****ing short to get stressed out about furniture etc and as i
said it is only a bloody bed. I would rather have happy cats able to do
whatever comes naturally to them and a shredded bed base than miserable
mutilated cats and pristine furniture anyday.

pps yes they have both had scratching posts, jasper ignored his, jessie
loves hers, both go outside and scratch trees inthe garden, but they
also liek a good scratch onthe side of the bed as it seems to get me
out of bed inthe mornign and downstairs to serve breakfast quicker than
normal methods

I would like to add this - about 50% of the cats that I have had in my
60-year lifetime have been declawed - shelter, etc. I have NEVER
noticed the strange behaviors that everyone on this forum list. Just
wanted to state that fact. I currently have a front declawed Maine
Coon from the shelter - declawed before I got him at age 3 - who is the
sweetest kitty I have ever had.

But I will restate that front declawing will not save the leather
couch!


bookie wrote:
eDog wrote:
Although I am against it, a new and rather expensive leather sofa has
raised the possibility of declawing my 3 cats.

If I have to get them declawed what is the best way to do it?

What kinds of questions should I ask the vet? What kind of equipment should
he have/use?

Simply declawing their front paws may not accomplish much with regard to
protecting the furniture.


Also, I am going to ask in a separate thread:

If I keep my cats nails trimmed short will they still be able to
(unintentionally) damage my leather sofa?

--
DO NOT HAVE YOUR CATS DECLAWED, I REPEAT, DO NOT HAVE YOUR CATS
DECLAWED.

for most people the fact thatit is cruel, nasty and barbaric woudl be
enuogh to put them off the idea but you seem tobe someone who cares
rathjer more about his furniture than the welfare of a living creature
who loves you and has put their trust in you to protect them and care
for them and to keep them safe from harm and not put them through
unnecessary and painful mutilation (poor misguided creatures eh?), so i
will use another argument.

Declawed cats will show some rather unpleasant behaviours after the op
due to not being able to mark their territory, inability to communicate
their presence to other cats, and possibly also ongoing pain after the
amputations. These behaviours will include urinating around the house
(to replace normal marking of their home), and also defaecating too in
inappropriate places, they may also start to bite you as they are
incapable of defending themselves with their now non-existent claws.
since you don't want your kitties leavign marks on your obviously far
more beloved furniture how will you feel about the same kitties coming
back form the vets and peeing and pooing everywhere instead and
possibly also becoming vicious little biters because their main line of
defence (their claws) has been taken away from them? Will this argument
convince you it is very bad idea indeed?

btw I have leather sofas, dark burgundy leather, and had 2 cats (just 1
now) and the one who passed away summer 2005 had been in a car accident
we think and could not retract his back claws at all but he never
seemed to scratch the sofas at all, not sure how he managed that but he
did. Jessie is always on them, either perched on top looking out the
back window into the garden or climbing on them or (most fun) trying to
catch a pingpong ball or scrunchy ball on one (usually failing as with
the slippery leather surface they just go flying as does she), and i
can't see a mark on them.

christ if you are that bothered about your f*cking sofas then why do
you not try to get your cats rehomed with someone who does put the
priorities and needs of a living creature above that of an inanimate
object. better they go to a new home than get mutilated for the sake of
a sofa.

bookie

ps i live in a rented house, part furnished, the sofas are mine so i
dont care what happens to them, the bed in my room came with the house
though and therefore if it is damaged in anyway then I/we may well lose
our deposit on the house if/when we move out. both jasper and jessie
have ripped the covering on the side of the bed base (boxspring you
call it in the states? not sure) to shreds, not much left to rip now,
so unless I go out and purchase a new bed base for when we all move out
and the place is inspected we will definitely lose the deposit. I
reckon i will just be going out and buying a new double bed for the
house when we go, simple as that, but to be honest i couldn't care
less, it is no big deal, nobody has died have they? it is only a bloody
bed.

I am sure some anal yank would probably have whipped both J and J off
to be declawed ages ago to prevent further damage but to me life is
just too ****ing short to get stressed out about furniture etc and as i
said it is only a bloody bed. I would rather have happy cats able to do
whatever comes naturally to them and a shredded bed base than miserable
mutilated cats and pristine furniture anyday.

pps yes they have both had scratching posts, jasper ignored his, jessie
loves hers, both go outside and scratch trees inthe garden, but they
also liek a good scratch onthe side of the bed as it seems to get me
out of bed inthe mornign and downstairs to serve breakfast quicker than
normal methods

eDog,
I saw your other posting before I saw this one. What in Sam Houston possesed
you guys in obtaining new leather furniture when you already had 3 cats? Now
you want to declaw the critters. No sympathy here Dog, ya'll appear to be a
self centered and a tad dim. From my perspective you have 4 choices (in no
particular order):
Cover the furniture with quilts for everyday use, stowing them and the
critters when company comes.
Ditch the cats.
Ditch the sofa.
Ditch the wife.


"eDog" wrote in message
. ..
Although I am against it, a new and rather expensive leather sofa has
raised the possibility of declawing my 3 cats.

If I have to get them declawed what is the best way to do it?

What kinds of questions should I ask the vet? What kind of equipment
should
he have/use?

Simply declawing their front paws may not accomplish much with regard to
protecting the furniture.


Also, I am going to ask in a separate thread:

If I keep my cats nails trimmed short will they still be able to
(unintentionally) damage my leather sofa?

--
Looking for a clue.

I'm the husband.

The cats are my buddies.

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in
:

Whatever you do, please *do not* let your husband talk you into
declawing the cats.



--
Looking for a clue.