# alternatives to declawing?

Category: Animal House

## Post 1 by mysticrain (Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature.) on Monday, 10-Apr-2006 12:29:41

Hi guys. Ok here's the situation. My father's fiance is moving in. We have three little dogs, one of which is a hyper chawawa. Her cat has never been around other animals before. I asked if the cat has been declawed, and she says no. I don't want any of our dogs to be scratched because I've seen it happen before, and I want to avoid it. She doesn't want to put her cat through that surgery. So my question is, is there an alternative to declawing a cat? I personally don't think it's too much to ask that the cat be declawed, but I'm trying to compromise and find a solution that'll make both of us happy.
Jen

## Post 2 by Selena Fan (Account disabled) on Tuesday, 11-Apr-2006 8:32:02

Dear Jen, yes I saw on Animal planet once that they have these things called soft claws! It doesn't hurt the cat! My Mom is thinking about having our new cat Garfield declawed by the way! He scratches us and the coutch!

## Post 3 by mysticrain (Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature.) on Tuesday, 11-Apr-2006 11:50:34

what are soft claws?

## Post 4 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Wednesday, 12-Apr-2006 8:49:08

Couldn't you train the dog and cat to slowly accept one another, it just takes time, and how will the cat defend itself outside if declawed.

## Post 5 by mysticrain (Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature.) on Wednesday, 12-Apr-2006 22:13:09

Well we are trying to slowly introduce them to one another. That, of course is the first option. And the cat is not an outdorr cat.

## Post 6 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Thursday, 13-Apr-2006 8:33:08

Ahh she may well begin to feel trapped with this hyper midget,could you give her a corner of a quiet room, where she can escape the attention of the dog.

## Post 7 by mysticrain (Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature.) on Thursday, 13-Apr-2006 9:37:57

well the hyper dog is my brother's dog, and some of the time, she'll be in my brother's room. The other 2 dogs, one is mine and one is the family dog, they run the house. But the family dog is 16 years old. My dog is 5 and my brother's dog is, well we don't exactly know, but guess at a years and a half.

## Post 8 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Thursday, 13-Apr-2006 9:47:07

Hmm ok is there anywhere the cat could get away from all these dogs,I don't think age is an issue, but the cat will start to be aggressive, if she's annoyed by the dogs and has nowhere to go to escape them

## Post 9 by mysticrain (Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature.) on Thursday, 13-Apr-2006 9:52:53

Well she can go in my father and his fiance's room. But if the door is open I don't see what'll be there to stop the dogs from going too, if none of us are home. There's the basement, the hyper dogs doesn't go down those steps. So that's an option for avoiding her.

## Post 10 by SensuallyNaturallyLiving4Today (LivingLifeAndLovingItToo) on Thursday, 13-Apr-2006 11:00:49

Cat tree. Cat tree. Cat tree. They are tall, between four and seven feet in height, not terribly expensive, and your cat will feel much less stressed. Cats need a place where they can feel safe, that is far out of the dog's reach, in control, that is, they cansee everything around them and monitor the situation, somewhere they can be either up high, visible, or hidden, and comfortable, as they so choose. Cat trees are covered in carpeting, and also often have sizal rope, both of which materials will encourage them to scratch, thus avoiding such behaviors on your furnature or rugs. The best cat trees are those that exceed at least four and a half feet in height, have at least one chamber, who's only enterance is a cat sized hole, where the cat can go to be out-of sight, and two or more platforms or perches, from which the cat can observe the entire room. The nicer ones have a fleese lined bed at the top, my cats love that. Declawing, is cruel, unneccessary, and can in fact alter the mood of your cat. Trimming the claws is a great option. Your vet can do it, or you can purchase cat nail clippers and do it your self. If you have properly socialized your cat then you will easily be able to lay them down, and quickly and painlessly clip just the sharp tipps from their claws. This should be donne one to two times a month for best results. You can also use spray bottle training to avoid furnature scratching. Squirt guns work equally well, and are often more easily aimed from a distance. If you are worried about the cat scratching the dogs don't be. If they push her too far then they will get scratched, and they will deserve it. But, unless they are abismilly stupid, they will learn from the experiance and will avoid further such encounters. A little cat swat won't do them any real damage. Even if your cat is not an out-of-doors cat, it could still get out, and if that happened you wouldn't want it to be with out protection. You can get little pads that fit over the tip of each claw, but they need to be applied at the vet's office, and can be rather expensive. They do fall off with in a month or so of application, also. If you choose to go the clipping at home route, I can give you some tips. I clip my Siamese nails every two weeks, and they are no trouble at all.

## Post 11 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Saturday, 15-Apr-2006 7:59:15

You could use the gates designed to keep small children from climbing stairs ect, the dogs would soon learn that they are not allowed past the gate, you just have to remember to close the damned things smile.

## Post 12 by motifated (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2006 6:00:37

Jen, another way is to take change and put it in a soda can. When the cat is engaging in unacceptable behavior, throw it in the direction of the cat. You don't want to hit the cat, just to startle it. Our cat Advent has one piece of furniture that he's made mincemeat of. (when he's not knitting on my braille magazines.) He ignores anything "cat" when it comes to toys. Also, he's actually good at tollerating claw trimming.

## Post 13 by OrangeDolphinSpirit (Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?) on Thursday, 27-Apr-2006 7:56:05

De-clawing is inhumane, so I can understand why she wouldn't agree to such a thing.

## Post 14 by softy5310 (Fuzzy's best angel) on Saturday, 29-Jul-2006 20:28:43

Declawing is not as simple of a matter as it looks. The claws are permantntly attached to the bone of the cat's paw. They go way in to the toe, so in order to declaw a cat, most of the toe is taken offas well. It's about the equivalent of trying to do something with most of each of your fingers chopped off. Normally when a cat scratches a dog, it feels threatened, so the dogs will deserve the scratching and learn to leave the cat alone. The cat won't seriously hurt the dogs though. My cat Matilda is friends with my brother's bull dog. They just need to learn to respect each other's boundaries. That will come in time. Don't expect everything to go smoothly right away.
Hope that helps.
Dawnielle
P.S. Cat trees are nice too, but it's pretty likely that unless a cat has had experience with one before, it won't automatically know what it's for. It will have to be taught where it's ok to scratch and where it's not. To do this, every time the cat scratches somewhere you don't want it too, say, "No," Get the cat and take it over to the cat tree and move it's paws up and down in a scratching motion on the tree, while you praise it. Eventually, this should work. Cat nip can work wonders with some cats too.
Good luck.

## Post 15 by The SHU interpreter (I just keep on posting!) on Friday, 07-Dec-2007 23:32:23

in petstors, there's spray bottles of citrus fruit you can get. oh and actually i was doing some internet searches, and i found this excelent product for cats who need to use the litter box. there's this litterbox called "cat genie" its a self cleaning litterbox that can easily be installed in the bathroom of the house. and you don't have to worry about the litter and the cleaning of nasty cat waste, good for those of you who ever become pregnant. women who are pregnant should not interact with any cat waste what soever because of a disease called toxoplasmosis which is very harmful for the baby because the brain is affected. sometimes, that disease can make you become steril if untreated.
google soft paws and then you can find thinformation on that.
also, go to Www.softpaws.org.
there is a lot of information and products for cats and dogs there.
go to wWW.catgenie.com.
please reply if any of this is helpful.

## Post 16 by Reyami (I've broken five thousand! any more awards going?) on Sunday, 09-Dec-2007 18:24:36

I count myself among those who do not believing in declawing cats.

## Post 17 by Dubstep1984 (I just keep on posting!) on Thursday, 28-Feb-2008 13:57:36

same here. declawing is extremely cruel.