Declawing and training

[kbenn]

Hi There,

As I look into choosing a cat for our family home, a friend told me that I should get him/her declawed as soon as possible. She claimed that once declawed a cat is easier to train. I never heard of this and to,d her that I do not get what one has to do with the other.

I told her I would post this question to see what other have to say.

Thanks

K

[Longblades]

Please do not declaw your cat. Claws are extensions of their toes and the last joint is removed. It can very easily go wrong, get infected, impair movement and some indications in some cats are that it causes lasting pain. Forever.

If you friend means training not to scratch your furniture, well yeah, maybe so, they have no means to scratch without claws.

However it's a pretty easy thing to provide scratching posts in a couple of places in your house and encourage your cat to use them by playing on them, rubbing catnip on them, rubbing her feet on them in a scratching motion.

Some cats like vertical scratching posts, some prefer horizontal. No loop carpet works (their little hooks can get caught in the loops and put them off) and the jute backing on carpet works. Mine have a couple of pieces of soft cedar from the ends of split rail fencing that they love the best. I do have a bit of maintenance with the cedar as the cats scratching leaves little piles of shredded cedar around the log, vacuum before people come to visit.

Other training might actually be impeded by declawing. If the cat's toes hurt she might be reluctant to scratch in her litter.

PLEASE don't declaw. A Vet who will consent to declaw for you should be viewed with much alarm, it's not in the cat's best interest.

[sugarcatmom]

How on earth would mutilating anything, especially a cat, make it easier to train? What a load of bs.

Declawing is cruel and unnecessary, and can cause a life-time of suffering for the kitty. It's a huge factor in the development of behaviour problems such as litter box avoidance and increased biting. Please don't take your friend's ridiculous advice. In fact it might be a good idea to show her some real info on the subject so that maybe she'll stop dispensing such nonsense.



Declawing: Why You Should Never Subject Your Cat to This Torturous Procedure

The Paw Project - FAQS about declawing

[Barkingdog]

Your friend is totally clueless about cats. My daughter was going to adopted a cat that was already declawed and I called a no kill cat shelter and I was told they have a hard time getting people to adopt declawed cats b/c they bite . If you take away a cat only 'weapon' to defend it he is going to use the only thing he has left and that it teeth. I would rather get
scratch by a cat than get bitten. If your cat got outside by mistake it's not going to have any way escape if he can't climb a tree or fence. I used a spray bottle filled with water and if my cat was even thinking of doing something wrong I just had to pick up the bottle and he would take off. It's very cruel to put your cat through unnecessary pain . This web site said a declawed cat may not use a littler box . Cats use their claws to help them land better , the claws help them keep their balance.

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals...declawing.html

[marko]

Hi there kbenn and thanks for posting your question here.

I'm In 100% agreement with the other members, big mistake. In addition to the explicit drawing BD posted, do take a look at the additional links posted in this thread.

I have two cats that are declawed because they were rescued declawed. It's not something I'd ever do. One of the cats is a little too mouthy (bites too easily) . And I've personally known 2 other declawed cats that are even more mouthy than my own cat. Like everyone else is saying, cats develop bad behaviours DUE to the declaw.

So for cat's sake please don't do it

[Lynne&Co.]

I also agree with everyone else's advice......PLEASE do not declaw your cat.
When your cat gets loose, he needs to be able to defend himself. No matter how good a pet parent you are (I think I'm one) there are unforeseen events that sometimes lead to their escape.
My cat regularly "wrestles" with my dog and smacks him around as they play. When the dog gets to be too much which has only happened a couple of times over the years, the smacks include a nice claw to tell doggie enough is enough.
I successfully trained my cat from a kitten to not to scratch the furniture or carpet. Either a water spray bottle or just a loud noise can be used to startle inappropriate scratching. In addition I recommend you clip your cats claw tips every other week to Keep them short so that any scratching that happens is less damaging. Good on you for researching before doing.

[kbenn]

thanks for the info. I showed this to my friend who is adamant that she is right. I myself will not declaw my cat.

K

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by kbenn

I myself will not declaw my cat.

Yay!!!! A true cat-lover.