Barclay and declawing

[Logan]

Dawn, although I haven't tried it, I know that some people have used Feliway with good results. My sister used it to keep her cats out of her potted, indoor plants and it did the trick.

I hope you can find a solution so that Barclay doesn't need to be declawed. I know that there are many, many cats who have been declawed and have done just fine, but it would have to be a last resort in my opinion, even after investigating rehoming to a better situation. I simply could not do it. Of course, both of my cats are indoor/outdoor cats and maybe that helps with some of the clawing issues that indoor only cats have. I see them "scratching" on trees and even the ground many times.

Good luck.

Logan

[Kfamr]

Dawn, I wish you lots of luck.

I know you're a good pet mommy and are doing your best for your babies so if it does come to the fact that you have to declaw him, I will understand and hopefully so will everyone else.

PM me if you need to.

[janelle]

My big Simon will use his sisel rope scratching board but not the carpeted one. He is good at not scratching the furniture but my little Chianti is a demo derby. She does not like scratching posts just the furniture. Oh, they both like the cardboard scratching box I got at Petsmart.

I think you are just going have to "cat proff" your furniture. I have throws over the arms of some couches and a towel over the back of my office chair. She likes to get on top of it and scratch away. My hubby even put clear packing tape on the back of one chair when she wouldn't leave it along. Looks kinda like Jeb Clampett's chair. LOL I've put a throw over the tape to hide it.

I have soft claws for her and she will let me glue them on and I also keep her claws short. I haven't put the soft paws on her in a long time. She seems to be getting better or we have just "cat proffed enough".

We have a suede love seat and both cats never bother it. I think I will go with suede for furniture in the future. Some fabric they so not like to scratch.

Also experment with clipping her claws. My Simon will fight me if I turn him on his back. He hates that. I've learned to let him sit on the counter when I clip his nails and then he is very good. I had one cat many years ago who only let me clip his nails when he was sound asleep. I tool the opportunity to clip them when he was out and it never bothered him. LOL You may have to do the same. See what works with him.

If you declaw he may just pee on your couch instead of claw. It does cause other problems and ones you do not want at all. You would rather have the clawing.

[finn's mom]

I hope that you don't have to declaw him, Dawn, but, if you do, I support your decision. I don't plan to ever declaw another cat again, but, I've not had a single problem with any of my declawed cats in the past. They've not had any behavioral problems or physical issues as a result of the declawing, either. Maybe I'm just lucky that they didn't have any problems. I'm certainly not recommending it, but, I'm not saying it's the worst thing that could happen to a cat, either. And, I know I'm one of the only ones that feels that way. Possibly even the only one, I don't know. My views on declawing have changed since joining Pet Talk, but, they're not so extreme that I can't see how it can sometimes be a valid, albeit risky, option for certain cats, people, and, circumstances. I hope that you're able to retrain Barclay and figure out another avenue to take. But, again, if you can't, I'm on your side.

And, just because I know my views on this subject will probably boil someone's blood...i just ask that any disagreements or arguments or snide remarks quoting what I've said here please, respect the purpose and mood of this thread, and, send me a private message instead of saying it publicly.

[sasvermont]

I have declawed cats in the past. I would never do it now.

I learned that if you supply them with alternatives to your furniture and woodwork, they will use the alternatives. Also, keeping their nails trimmed is another way of changing their need to use their paws on your fine furniture.

Here is how I did it.

I bought several posts. This in itself is expensive, but not as expensive as a new sofa! Each morning, after getting up from my sleep, I would walk around to ALL of the posts, cats following of course, and I would scratch on the posts with my fingers. The cats would do the same....one right after the other.....It was like a game. I had one post right near my front door, so that when I would come home, they would use the post then.........

Every now and then one will use a carpet or the side of the sofa and I will clap my hands and say NO....but for the most part, they much more enjoy the sisal posts to my furniture.

You have to encourage the good behavior and discourage the bad.

Every cat I have had in the last 15 years has learned to use the posts.

If you don't have posts around, what else are they supposed to scratch on?

So get yourself a good manicure, clip the cat's nails, buy a ton of posts and start scratching!

Good luck!

[PJ's Mom]

Pumpkin is declawed. I was ok about it in the past...before you all educated me as to how it was done and warned me of the possible complications.

I got some catnip, some cardboard and a new scratchy thingy with carpet and rope on it. His nails have been cut. I don't know what else to do today.

I wish i could catch him doing it more often. I do discipline him when I catch him, but it seems he does a lot of his damage at night.

We love our little "Bonky" but something's gotta happen to change his behavior quick!

Thanks so much for your help, everyone.

[ramanth]

I used double sided tape on the places I didn't want Zam and Logan scratching and it helped a lot!

Good luck!

[sasvermont]

You need to interest him in playing on the posts. And as I said, many posts seem to do the trick. I have never tried cardboard, but the sisal posts work the best for my cats. I don't like the carpet posts because I don't want my cats to enjoy scratching carpets!

If you are not going to committ to making it fun for the cat, then he won't give a hoot one way or the other.

It really does work, but you have to work at it too, not just buy stuff and expect him to "get it"...... you have to show him what they are for.....and you have to have more than one post ......

the end.

[catmandu]

I HOPE,THAT BARCLAY,DOES NOT HAVE,TO BE DECLAWED EITHER,AND THAT YOU CAN STOP HIM,FROM SCRATCHING.
I WISH,I COULD HELP,BUT I HAVE OLDER FURNITURE,AND THE FOUND CATS,CAN SCRATCH IT,TOTHIER HEARTS CONTENT.
WE ARE PRAYING,FOR BARCLAY.

[Abby&Buddy'sMom]

both of my cats are NOT declawed. I tried very hard to discourage Abby from scratching up things too. But she is very intelligent. I had bought the 2 sided sticky tape to apply to my computer chair corners (where she scratches it). She watched me put it on,then of course she tried to scratch on my chair and the tape was there. The look on her face was priceless She was like....HUH???? She then proceded to pull all the tape off with her teeth....that was the end of that Now unfortunatly she still is at it and my corners are all pulled out....Thank goodness it is just a cheap wal-mart chair and can easily be replaced..lol And since she is such a mama's girl I really dont mind much Buddy is completly scratch post trained...no problems with him as he loves his posts

[catlady1945]

Keep trying alternatives to de-clawing. Hope they work out. Can you close off the rooms with the expensive furniture? Just FYI, de-clawing does not lead to other behavioural problems.

[CalliesMom]

I hope all these tips works. I know firsthand about issues you may have with declawing your cats. Yes all of mine are declawed. Would I ever do it again knowing what I know now? NO!

My roommate was allergic at the time so my parents took in Shadow and Whisper (no Callie yet). She refused to take them unless they were declawed and I could find no one else to foster them for 8 months. They were over a year old. I have never noticed behavioral changes necessarily associated with the declaw but Whisper attacks Shadow at least daily (not to the severity he did in Alabama-now he just chases her and we yell at him). He never did any of that when he lived in his old home (pre-declaw).

Callie definitely changed after the declaw. In my own ignorance, I had her declawed at about six/seven months of age. A kitty who was originally my "love bug" turned into a "pet me only once a day" kitty. She was never quite the same behaviorally after the declaw. Doesn't like her front feet touched.

I will never know if it causes them pain to walk on their feet. We don't have the urinary issues you may encounter if you declaw; as some cats will start spraying. It is just a horrible, horrible procedure and if I was a vet, I would never do the surgery. It's just $$$ to them and then we, the owners, have to deal with the consequences.

Don't think I am chastizing you in anyway. I know you love Barclay and that is evident in your attempt to find alternatives. ((HUGS)) and I hope everything works out.

[PJ's Mom]

Don't think I am chastizing you in anyway.

I know you're not and I appreciate your honesty.

Hubby and I had another fight about it last night. He wants to buy new furniture but refuses until Barclay has been declawed.

I looked up some of the horror stories of declawing online and showed him . of course his answer was to blow it off saying those cases were isolated incidents.

For now, Barclay is behaving himself since I had his nails cut.

[Uabassoon]

I wish I could offer some advice but it seems like you've already been given plenty. I just wanted to offer a *hug* and let you know that I really hope everything works out.

[jenluckenbach]

Just FYI, de-clawing does not lead to other behavioural problems.

A more accurate way to say this would be:
" Behavioral problems do not always follow de-clawing."

The fact is that there is potential for behavioral changes.

And there is medical risk (just like there are risks any time there is sedation and surgery).



I refer to it as Russian Roulette. You could get lucky.....you could get unlucky. The unfortunate part is that if you ae unlucky, there is no way to reverse the damage.