If you have cats, please come in.

I have had cats all my life and not one has ever been declawed. As others have stated it is very inhumane and you would be hard pressed to find a vet that actually still does it. Plus, they are kittens, its what they do at this age. They eventually calm down with the scratching.

I would do as others suggested, get the cardboard boxes with the cat nip. My cats never liked the carpet posts, always the boxes with catnip.

If you have cats, please come in.

Just throw a piece of cardboard down, you don't even have to buy the fancy ones they sell at the petstore. My cat loves to just have a regular piece of cardboard and she'll go at the corners. I think she likes scratching with all paws on the ground, and not just the back 2 like the post requires.

Oh and BTW, don't believe the people that tell you that if you get it done with a laser it doesn't hurt them as much. Someone I know actually thought since some 'doctors' use lasers instead of knives that it wasn't as bad.

Sure, its not as bad. Come here and let me chop off your fingers with a laser instead of a knife.

Re: If you have cats, please come in.

Posted by klingklang77

Posted by NervousNell

I think what people don't realize is that when you want a pet it comes with a lot of sacrifice and give and take.
Your house will be messy.
There will be hair everywhere.
The pet will piss and shit where it shouldn't at times.
My cats tend to eat too fast and vomit a lot- I have stains on my rugs. (I found a great rug cleaner for that, thankfully)
They scratch things sometimes.
They jump on the counter sometimes.
They walk where they shouldn't after walking in their liter box.
If you want to live in an immaculate house at all times, then you can't have a pet. Because no matter what, something will happen.
You can declaw the cat, so great, no scratched furniture- but the cat will still have an accident outside the box if it's sick, or something sets it off
It still might puke on your couch
It still might shit on your bed to spite you for going on vacation.
Pets aren't 100% convenient. They aren't on this earth for our pleasure only. If you want an animal to live in your home, ,you have to be aware of that.
That's why some people don't have pets.

Almost all of this .

But cats don't do things to spite us. I mean they may poop or pee outside of the box, but it's usually because of anxiety or health issues. They aren't THAT evil.

Re: If you have cats, please come in.

Posted by wakemeup

Posted by klingklang77

Posted by NervousNell

I think what people don't realize is that when you want a pet it comes with a lot of sacrifice and give and take.
Your house will be messy.
There will be hair everywhere.
The pet will piss and shit where it shouldn't at times.
My cats tend to eat too fast and vomit a lot- I have stains on my rugs. (I found a great rug cleaner for that, thankfully)
They scratch things sometimes.
They jump on the counter sometimes.
They walk where they shouldn't after walking in their liter box.
If you want to live in an immaculate house at all times, then you can't have a pet. Because no matter what, something will happen.
You can declaw the cat, so great, no scratched furniture- but the cat will still have an accident outside the box if it's sick, or something sets it off
It still might puke on your couch
It still might shit on your bed to spite you for going on vacation.
Pets aren't 100% convenient. They aren't on this earth for our pleasure only. If you want an animal to live in your home, ,you have to be aware of that.
That's why some people don't have pets.

Almost all of this .

But cats don't do things to spite us. I mean they may poop or pee outside of the box, but it's usually because of anxiety or health issues. They aren't THAT evil.

You have never met my cat

Re: If you have cats, please come in.

I have had cats my whole life (but not now). Never one declawed. It's extremely inhumane and illegal in some states, heading in that direction entirely because it's extremely painful and not natural for a cat. Do not do it. It's just wrong. Don't get a cat if you don't want an animal with nails.

Re: If you have cats, please come in.

Thank you everyone for all your responses.
I will look into all of the suggestions.

If you have cats, please come in.

My husband and I have adopted four cats over the course of our relationship - all adult cats. Two passed away last year. Fiona was adopted when she was about six and was already declawed. Her paws looked like someone cut off a hunk which is essentially what it is. They cut off the first knuckle on each "finger". I always felt like I had to explain to any vet or grooming place we took her to that we didn't do it and we got her like that because I felt it was so cruel.

Re: If you have cats, please come in.

I have had a lot of cats in my lifetime....only one was ever declawed and he was the most evil SOB I've ever met in my life. I loved that darn cat (he was my 15th birthday present and my parents declawed him before we knew how horrible it was to do) but he ripped the stuffing out of me with his back claws (they stayed) and his teeth. I still have scars. He also lived for 19 years....and I'm pretty sure it's because he was surviving on pure evil at the end there.
I now have 3 wonderful, amazing cats.....they all have claws and we put scratching posts/pads all over the house for them. They still get to the furniture, but it's much less....and they're so cute that I can forgive them.

Re: If you have cats, please come in.

I got two cats 13 years ago (only one is alive now) and at the time I did have them declawed. I will say, my vet was really good with pain management for them right after the surgery. I also never saw any behavioral issues with them at all.

That said - with any cat I may get in the future - I would not make the decision to declaw again. I did so years ago with out the proper education/research as to what it really entailed for the cats. I know much better now.

Re: If you have cats, please come in.

We just got our first cat less than a month ago. I have no idea about cats, but I heard that declowing is not good for them. We were lucky to find a good kitten, in the ways that he doesn't do anything to our furniture, although when we chose him, he was very animated scratching a pole. We are learning to cut his nails (tonight for the first time), and it is not that difficult. We also have a pole and a scratcher, although he uses it to sleep on it :D

Re: If you have cats, please come in.