Hi all-
I'm surprised that a rescue organization leaves it up to the foster mom/dad as to whether their "charges" can be declawed once adopted. I went through 2 different rescue organizations to get my two gals and both organizations are adamantly against this and make adopters sign a contract that says the new owner agrees not to do it ever and if the new owner does it anyway and the rescue organization finds out, they can take your kitty away...so around here folks are working really hard to eliminate declawing.

I have had kitty cats all my life ...all with claws...some better than others at distinguishing scratching posts from furniture ;-) Since I had just purchased new furniture and carpeting I set out to adopt a cat who needed a home and was already declawed...I would never declaw a cat but figured there were probably declawed kitties in need of a home so I thought this was a good plan....but what was I thinking.....We don't pick them...they pick us!!!!...and the two that picked me came with their claws :-)

As it turned out one of my new gals turned out to be "Edward Scissorhands" in disguise ...which was a little upsetting at first because of the new furniture and carpeting in the house but declawing was NEVER an option...I did learn about a wonderful product through another rescue league called "Soft Paws" that I'd like to share here in case any of you end up with an extremely "scratchy" cat like I did. They are rubber tips applied to the claws that do not inhibit their scratching or interfere with their life. Cleo still scratches (usually the scratching post but not always)...the way she "needs" to (cuz this really is a need for cats i.e. instinctual...and not just "habit"). ALso, since she is so much rougher than the little one, I honestly believe this has prevented some injuries to Izzy (which is good 'cuz she's the little one who is taking longer to adjust and feel safe). In any event, my vet put them on and it took took about 15 minutes for Cleo to forget they were there...she plays and does all her kitty things just like before and she isn't wrecking all the new stuff. They last about 4-6 weeks and then "shed" with the outer sheath just like their nails regularly do and then you put on replacements. Also they come in fancy colors. Right now she's wearing hot pink...which has resulted in the nickname "Princess Cleopatra Glamour PUSS!" One day I'll figure out how you attach pictures to this stuff (I'm a techno idiot so I can show off her fancy self