Declawing - Page 3

[gingerstar]

Originally Posted by EFmom

I have always had declawed cats, although I haven't been the one to get them declawed. I've never met a cat that didn't want to destroy every piece of upholstered furniture in the house, and I've never met one that would actually use a scratching post or any other alternative.

I'm so sorry for your loss.
My claw-bearing cats did love to scratch, but by providing them with ok-to-scratch surfaces (they especially loved the cardboard scratch pads with catnip, I bought them at Target) and making our furniture less attractive (double-sided tape on the "scratching" areas, just long enough for them to learn it wasn't nice there) I was able to direct their behavior so we were all happy. It is actually not that hard to cope with, and yes, we have cloth and leather furniture.

[EFmom]

Originally Posted by gingerstar

I'm so sorry for your loss.
My claw-bearing cats did love to scratch, but by providing them with ok-to-scratch surfaces (they especially loved the cardboard scratch pads with catnip, I bought them at Target) and making our furniture less attractive (double-sided tape on the "scratching" areas, just long enough for them to learn it wasn't nice there) I was able to direct their behavior so we were all happy. It is actually not that hard to cope with, and yes, we have cloth and leather furniture.

Thanks. I miss my old girl so much!

My sister has had many clawed over the years cats and she's tried all the things you mentioned and then some. The cats have destroyed all of her furniture. So, maybe it works for some cats, but there are others who are born to shred the couch no matter what.

[kittywitty]

My cats are born to shred. But if I clip their nails and use catnip on their scratching posts they don't do it almost ever at all (unless I slack off about it). I have noticed that this crummy yoga mat I got ages ago they LOVE to scratch and it was cheaper than most scratch mats, so I let them use it instead.

[gingerstar]

Originally Posted by kittywitty

My cats are born to shred. But if I clip their nails and use catnip on their scratching posts they don't do it almost ever at all (unless I slack off about it). I have noticed that this crummy yoga mat I got ages ago they LOVE to scratch and it was cheaper than most scratch mats, so I let them use it instead.

Yes - one of my kitties all time favorite scratching places was a plastic baby bathtub, with the foam liner attached to cushion where baby lays - when we were done using it we had put it somewhere out of the way, like the laundry room, and they found it and went to town! Something about that foam was very satisfying to them....
But I agree, keep the claws trimmed nice and short, give them very attractive scratching things, and help them avoid places you don't want them.

[Krisis]

Someone upthread posted about how cats miss their claws forever or something like that.

My parents 3 cats were all declawed at 6 weeks of age. I also know another cat who was declawed at 6 weeks. 3 of these cats have no idea they are declawed. They've never had biting issues, litterbox issues, authority issues (hehe) or anything. They're normal somewhat evil cats.

One of the cats, though, is nearing 30 lbs. I have posted about her before. She is so heavy that her tiny paws can't support all her weight and it literally causes her pain to walk. She can't jump up on stuff because it hurts her. Was this caused by declawing? I have no idea. But I thought it would be good to relate the story anyway.

I absolutely considered getting my two demonic fluffybutts declawed when they were babies, but once they were over 8 weeks I said it was too late. I do have reactions when I am scratched but my babies are VERY good about not scratching, they just KNEAD like mofos and it drives me nuts (on my eyelid at 3 in the morning anyone? Argh!!!) They have destroyed one of my couches, but recently we bought them 2 differently textured scratching posts AND a special cardboard catnip scratch pad. I've seen a huge difference in the amount of couch shredding they do. Also, double sided tape only worked so long for us. Stinkin' cats.

On a side note, I lived with a front-paws-only declawed cat in college, it was my roommate's cat. One night my roommate had a night terror and woke up screaming and shot out of bed. The cat was sleeping next to my face and was rightly terrified by this sudden loud activity, so she used my chin as a launching pad to get out of the room. I bled for 3 hours and still have an awesome nasty scar all across my chin. So just because you have a cat declawed doesn't mean they can't still cause some damage.

(I forgave the cat. We have a love/hate relationship though... we love to hate each other )