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Well, it might be too late but, you can train a cat to never put claws on people. My cats were trained, I started as soon as I got them at 5 months.
Now even if they are playing hard, they retract their claws if I’m near their feet. It’s hard to explain. The only thing is dangly toys. They still use claws on those and I’ve gotten scratched over them. (That and Romeo gets really excited over treats and will “give 5” with his claws extended.
It all started with Danny. He wouldn’t let me near his belly. If I tried he would attack with both claws and teeth. It took many, many months of training to get him over it. Somehow, I ended up teaching them both not to touch me or someone else with teeth or claws.
Other than training. I don’t know. I’ve never used Soft Claws. My one vet thought they were expensive trash. (I never did like that vet though, so I wouldn’t take what he says at face value.) The other vet I worked for did recomend them in some circumstances. These days when you book for spaying or neutering they expect you to get the claws done as well. And are quite unprepaired if you ask for a quote for just the spaying.
Honestly, it was the only operation that made me sick. I could never get through the whole thing without finding something to do out somewhere else. I never could get over the “snap”.
Perhaps when you try the nail covers, you could cover the outside with something the cat will hate the taste of. Maybe something like tabasco, pickle juice or apple cider. If it tastes bad to him, he might not be so likely to chew on it.
Since part of the problem is the litter box, and the cat’s claws carry the bacteria from the litter box, perhaps you could use an alternate litter system. There are litter boxes that clean themselves or maybe different types of litter material hold less bacteria. And there’s always the method of teaching you cat to use the toilet. 🙂 This works better if you have a second bathroom to set up the training room.
Also, if your cat doesn’t mind his feet being handled, perhaps you could keep some sort of organic disinfectant handy that you (and your husband) could use to wipe his paws and nails before the cat interacts with your husband. And if your husband keeps interaction with cat to only petting and watching tv together, then there would be less chance of being scratched.
Eons ago, when I was young and un-informed, I inherited a couple of kittens and I had them declawed. They had no problems with it, but they were very young when it was done and the vet did a good job. After that I’ve never bothered to declaw my cats. There are too many other ways to deter and redirect scratching.
Ravnheart wrote:One option is clipping your cats nails so they are not as sharp. I do mine about once a month, this does not hurt them and makes sure indoor cats nails don’t get to long and start to curl under.
The only thing is if you cat is very active, it might be a challenge 😛
Also make sure you don’t cut to short or it will hurt them and then they will resist next time.They resist EVERY time trust me!! It seems you can get 2 1/2 to 3 paws done then they have to squirm. I have 4 and it’s NOT fun to do it I made an agreement with my cats that if they did not destroy anything in the house they could keep their claws and so far they all 4 have claws
It’s definitely a two person job in our house. Unfortunately, the cats don’t like my hunny much so I have to grab them quick, then hang them over real quick to him, then try and trim without cutting them while they’re squirming like crazy. Of course, this little set up makes them like my hunny even less.
Thats why I love Ragdolls, hehe
They are very good about sitting pretty still, though Grace hides her head under my arm or chin when I do it 🙂Soft paws are a decent alternative, but to be quite frank, don’t beat yourself up if you have to declaw your kitty. Try Soft Paws first and see how they work out, you may be surprised
I have to admit that I have seen worse things done to cats than declawing, so I’m not in agreement with everyone else on being ‘totally against’ declawing. In some cases declawing means having a good home vs. premature euthanasia. It’s a good thing to avoid if you can help it, but when given the choice between losing a joint off your finger or death, I can do without my fingernails and finger tips.
If it comes down to you having to declaw, just take a deep breath and don’t call yourself horrible. Quiz your vet about pain management protocols pre and post surgery, they can make a world of difference sometimes!
When I adopted my kitty, I had him declawed in the front. I didn’t know about Soft Paws, or I would have tried them. Brago used to shred our carpet, and changing to other floors was not an option. He’d do it when we weren’t home, so I couldn’t try to stop him. I never really put much thought into the mechanics of declawing… (once I found out that my jaw was dislocated for an adnoid/tonsilectomy, I stopped asking for details). But he wasn’t outwardly bothered by losing his nails, even at a year of age. After the few days of pain meds & a few more of awkward jumps, everything was back to normal (and carpet stayed intact). The only time we get scratched now is when holding him & he gets startled, or if he jumps on us & miscalculates. And only cardboard has to fear the Wrath of Brago.
Try the Soft Paws, definitely. If they don’t work, then only you know what decision you’ll be emotionally able to make & still keep hubby safe. Good luck, pd.
purpledoggy wrote:mimitrek wrote:Is it possible to make sure that your husband and the cat are separated at all times (i.e., make sure that the cat never comes into your husband’s room or put a screen around your husband if he’s in a common area)?
No the cat loves him to death. I think he would die of a heart attack if he knew my husband was just beyond the door. As it is now he has a fit every time I come home and hubby isn’t with me. I put my husband on speaker phone so the cat can hear him.
😆 So much for that idea…
Just in case you do decide to declaw your kitty, just know that they will fare just fine without them, once they get used to the situation. I don’t personally believe in declawing cats, but when I was young my parents adopted a year-old cat who happened to already be declawed. It never slowed her down. She climbed trees, caught small critters (when I wasn’t fast enough to stop her) and had a fully and happy life with us. I still don’t quite understand how she did all those climbing tricks without claws…but I guess cats just find a way 😆
purpledoggy wrote:Does anyone have any experience with soft paws (caps for over your cats claws)? I think I may try these this week and see how it goes. I have a feeling he will chew them right off but I’m going to give it a try anyway.
I would do this versus declawing. As a former vet assistant, I have strong feeling about declawing. I am pretty vehemently against it. But I won’t go into the details.
The soft paws is a good alternative, come in colors and most cats accept them readily. Since he’s a young cat, he may not mind them much. They do tend to come off over time, so expect to have them reapplied about once every 3 weeks or so.
Didn’t know hubby couldn’t do the litter box, so what the heck are you doing then, since being pregnant, neither can you?
If no one can clean it, I’d get a self cleaning model, so that it at least makes the amount of waste handling low.
Kyrin
Jasmine wrote:(no vet in the world would take both front and back)
Actually when I was little (like 5/6ish) we had several cats and they all were completely declawed, front and back. We still have one cat who is missing her front claws, but she’s about ten years old, so that was a looong time ago. None of them ever had any problems without their claws. We don’t declaw any more (we have seven cats now). But yeah, there are vets that will do both front and back (at least where we used to live). I really have no problem with it, seeing as my cats were never bothered by it. They got around just fine, even right after surgery. They didn’t seem to be in any pain either. We just had to use shredded newspaper instead of litter for a couple weeks, but that was it.
Anyways, I hope everything works out for you. <3
to be honest, i dont agree with declawing a cat..its like chopping the tips of your fingers off O_O and taking away their natural defence ..and it is extremely stressful on the animal..defently try soft paws before you have to declaw him
I dont think its as traumatic as chopping off fingers or docking a tail/ears, but I do think you should give the alternative a try. If it does not work, then I say do what you feel you need to. I think Rusti said that there is alot worse that can happen than declawing a cat (Abandoning it, mistreating it, not vaccinating it, killing it…etc etc). Just make sure kitty is forever inside if you do it. Claws are pretty much their best defense and if you take that away, you need to make sure kitty is kept safe. If I was in your situation, I would either find kitty a new home if he was young, or I would declaw him.
Personally I don’t think a properly done declaw is horrible especially if you are doing it to protect your husband’s health. Since he is going to be on immunosuppressant drugs even a mild scratch could go septic on him. You can try the soft paws (but I would discuss this with his doctors) but a lot of cats don’t like them and I’ve known cats that chew them off right after they are applied. You might want to ask your vet what his/her pain management for a declaw is – these days they should get a pre-anesthetic shot, general anesthesia and some form of local analgesic and should be sent home with something for pain. Some places use laser which can work well. My experience is that done well with pain management most cats are fine and playing withing a day or two.
If you end up declawing him it doesn’t make you a horrible person. If he doesn’t like the soft paws he will be stressed every 4 to 6 weeks when you have to apply them. The declaw is an one time stress. And he will still be active and play – as someone mentioned cats that are declawed can still climb trees (although keeping him strictly indoors is much better).
Your other option might be to talk to other people who had an organ transplant and who have cats and find out what they did. But infected cat scratches can be dangerous.
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