Declawing: against or for?

[PayItForward]

Jennsen, what a great idea, if you don't mind...I'll add that to the scratching post training article I am writing at the moment.

[Cataholic]

That IS a great idea! It might be too late for my 'new' couch..he he he..but, I suppose I could cut down on some of the Gus damage. Kittens! UGH!

[lighthouse]

Bubble Wrap? Of course!!! I always liked popping it myself, never even thought to use it for the furniture. Got any extra, for the cat, of course

[Cataholic]

I can see it now, instead of that sticky heavy plastic our grandparents used on the 'good' furniture, and the carpet, we all will have a bubble wrap motif!

[Jennsen]

Yes! PayIt Forward, please use the bubble wrap idea in your scratching post training article! It's wonderful that your trying to help other's with this type of information! And I'm honored to help out in any way I can!

Thank you so much!

Jenn

[JenBKR]

Jennsen that is such a great idea! I will have to try that in the future...my cats don't bother much of the furniture, but they do LOVE the wicker furniture in the sunroom. It's kinda old anyway, so I figured I'd just get rid of it, no big deal to me. Although it's kinda cute how they go nuts on the stuff!

[Jennsen]

Hey Jen, my cats just love my wicker furniture too! I really get a laugh out of it when they race all over it, back and forth! My Oliver will get upside-down underneath it and race in circles. It sounds just terrible, but actually it's pretty durable stuff! They do break off peices of it though and I have to cut it off close to were it's been connected, leaving holes here and there, but like you said they have so much fun on it!

[G535]

I reckon wicker furniture was designed by someone who lived in a house with cats and it was made with them in mind.

[JenBKR]

LOL I so I know it's not just my two that love wicker! I am always picking up pieces of wicker off the floor. They must think that it's a big scratching post!

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by JenBKR
LOL I so I know it's not just my two that love wicker! I am always picking up pieces of wicker off the floor. They must think that it's a big scratching post!

Yes, our wicker laudary basket is lower on one side than the other as the feral kittens living in the bathroom at the time loved scratching it

[Bogey]

I am not against it...if the cat is safe: meaning: you plan to keep him/her for the rest of his/her life within your home, safe from predators.....
We have done it without any behavior problems at all.
Sadly, both of those cats have gone on to bridge.
We have recently adopted a kitten from the shelter who will keep his claws since we now have two dogs. We hope they get along, but - hey the little guy could need to keep them in check!
To each his own.

[grybai]

Ah wicker... my desk chair is made out of wicker, which I had purchased in my pre cat days. I initially attempted to keep them off of it, and they were pretty good when I had a scratching post right next to it, but I've since moved the post to a more convenient location and my chair has been torn to shreds (and is now very scratchy on bare legs or back... ).. Too bad I didn't think of bubble wrap sooner!

In any case, I'm 100% against declawing. Although I can understand the argument that declawing a cat to live in a safe home is better than putting it to sleep, I still think there are just too many other options. Soft paws seem like such a perfect solution and are sooo easy. I used them for a while on my cats when they were kittens and were destroying everything in sight. Although it was a little tricky at first, after doing a few nails I was fine. They were squirmy little things too- I had to wrap them in a towel like babies to give them medicine orally. And... soft paws are soo cute and attractive too.