Best Method for Declawing a Cat?

That's the thing - front declawing won't save the couch and I find all
fours declawing a little repulsive.

I am not the only voice in the house on this topic. The quicker I can get
it to look under control the more likely I can save the cat claws.

I am considering getting a leather professional in here so I can find an
ideal leather touch up product. I've seen (and bookmarked) a british
product that is sort of like a shoe polish, but presumably doesn't rub
off onto your clothes.



"Buddy's Mom" wrote in news:1169170760.318053.143070@
38g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:


But I will restate that front declawing will not save the leather
couch!





--
Looking for a clue.

Well..

(1) I have an older, smaller leather sofa and it does not show the cat
scratches at all. They climb all over it to get to the windows right
behind it. It must be a peculiarity of the leather.

(2) The cats have shown no interest in actually scratching the older
leather sofa on purpose.

(3) I would have been happy keeping the older Futon as my main sofa, but
the wife wasn't.

and the end result was a new sofa that shows the light underside of the
leather whereever it gets scratched.




"Alan" wrote in
:

I saw your other posting before I saw this one. What in Sam Houston
possesed you guys in obtaining new leather furniture when you already
had 3 cats?



--
Looking for a clue.

My parents used electric shocks.

"MoMo via CatKB.com" u27647@uwe wrote in news:6c7d6316c5ae3@uwe:

Should my
parents of had my teeth pulled to prevent me from doing this?




--
Looking for a clue.

On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 04:38:38 GMT, eDog wrote:


My parents used electric shocks.
unfortunately, you lived.

Ditch the wife...

"eDog" wrote in message
. ..
Well..

(1) I have an older, smaller leather sofa and it does not show the cat
scratches at all. They climb all over it to get to the windows right
behind it. It must be a peculiarity of the leather.

(2) The cats have shown no interest in actually scratching the older
leather sofa on purpose.

(3) I would have been happy keeping the older Futon as my main sofa, but
the wife wasn't.

and the end result was a new sofa that shows the light underside of the
leather whereever it gets scratched.




"Alan" wrote in
:

I saw your other posting before I saw this one. What in Sam Houston
possesed you guys in obtaining new leather furniture when you already
had 3 cats?



--
Looking for a clue.

AZ Nomad wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 04:38:38 GMT, eDog wrote:

My parents used electric shocks.

unfortunately, you lived.

Wow, where did you study the art of persuasion? Ask for a refund.

Rhonda

on Fri, 19 Jan 2007 04:37:39 GMT, eDog wrote:

Well..

(1) I have an older, smaller leather sofa and it does not show the cat
scratches at all. They climb all over it to get to the windows right
behind it. It must be a peculiarity of the leather.

(2) The cats have shown no interest in actually scratching the older
leather sofa on purpose.

(3) I would have been happy keeping the older Futon as my main sofa,
but the wife wasn't.

and the end result was a new sofa that shows the light underside of
the leather whereever it gets scratched.

I feel bad for you that your wife cares more about stupid furniture than
she cares about your cats. You should withold sex until she backs the
hell off.

I plan on buying a new set of leather furniture when my basement is
finished. What brand and what type and color of finish did you buy so I
can avoid it?

--
Lynne

Anyone declawing a cat should be forced to go through it themselves. If you
are against it then you shouldn't do it. Would you cut off your human kids
fingers if they destroyed your precious couch? Things can be replaced but
the damage and pain you will cause that cat will follow them the rest of
their life Declawed cats will develop deep psychological issues and
definately become biters. Also, by declawing your cat, if they get out
they'll have no defense against predators or if they encounter another cat
wanting to fight. Declawing a cat would punish them permanently for doing
something that comes naturally to them.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Clip your cat's claws on a regular basis.

2. Get them a scratching post and teach the cat to use it.

3. Use soft claws which you can buy at Petsmart.

4. Put a plastic cover over your couch.

--
Cat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com

Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs!
www.panthertekit.com

"eDog" wrote in message
. ..
Although I am against it, a new and rather expensive leather sofa has
raised the possibility of declawing my 3 cats.

If I have to get them declawed what is the best way to do it?

What kinds of questions should I ask the vet? What kind of equipment
should
he have/use?

Simply declawing their front paws may not accomplish much with regard to
protecting the furniture.


Also, I am going to ask in a separate thread:

If I keep my cats nails trimmed short will they still be able to
(unintentionally) damage my leather sofa?

--
Looking for a clue.

Yes, I realized after I sent the message that I should have asked you not to
let your wife (not your "husband") talk you into declawing. Please, though,
do not give in on this point. I had a cat that was declawed on all four
paws. She was declawed before I adopted her, then the people who had the
procedure done decided they could not keep her indoors because they were
expecting another baby and did not have room for the cat. Amber was truly a
little angel -- one of the dearest, sweetest little cats a person could ever
hope for. She compensated very well for the loss of her claws, but she
never did have the same balance and agility as all of my other cats have
had. She obviously could not climb like they can, but she also did not have
the same type of balance when she would jump up onto the arm of a chair or
other similar objects. As she got older, she started to urinate outside the
litter box, and she stopped covering feces in the box. I finally realized
that it was probably painful for her to scratch in the litter box. I
switched to the very softest litter I could find. That helped for awhile,
then she went back to urinating on the carpet. It was not a medical (other
than paws) or behavioral issue -- she would go to the same spot each time,
and I am sure it was because of pain in her feet that had developed because
of early arthritis. For awhile, I would cover that spot, but then she would
locate another spot. Finally, I just accepted it and cleaned that area as
best I could. After she died, I had the area of carpet and padding removed
and sealed the concrete underneath before replacing the carpet. We even had
to remove a section of tack strip because the urine had soaked into the
wood.

My point with this is that you could eventually face something far worse
than scratches on the sofa. Amber was not misbehaving, and I did not treat
it as such -- she was reacting to pain. But what would your wife do if she
were faced with some of the negative effects that are often seen in declawed
cats, such as inappropriate urination or biting? That does not even begin
to address the question of how unfair it is to the *cat* to amputate, but I
am concentrating instead on how *people* will react. I certainly do not
claim that all declawed cats will have these characteristics. However, a
much larger percentage of declawed than clawed cats do have these problems.
Approximately 1/3 of declawed cats exhibit some of these characteristics --
not necessarily right away, but later on and at an earlier age than would
normally be expected. I used to do volunteer work at the animal shelter,
and there were *many* declawed cats that were dumped there because they had
started to spray or urinate in the house, bite, etc.

--
MaryL

MaryL


"eDog" wrote in message
.. .
I'm the husband.

The cats are my buddies.

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in
:

Whatever you do, please *do not* let your husband talk you into
declawing the cats.



--
Looking for a clue.

"eDog" wrote in message
.. .
Divorces are messy things.

Not if you initiate the proceedings. Sounds like your wife probably has a
whole basket full of problems. If I were you, I'd cut my losses. Do you
really want to be with some one whose so insensitive to another creature-
not to mention your feelings.


I would like to avoid getting to that "Me or the cats"! moment.


I think that's inevitable. I know the mentality and I see the early warning
signs-- I've been through it *twice*. My cats are still here. After I was
given "the ultimatum", I could no longer trust my wife alone with my cats.
She had to go *that day*-- and she did.

If a fuuking sofa is stressing your marriage, its probably on shakey ground
to begin with. What happens when she complains about cat hair on her
clothes? Is she going to tell you to shave the cat? What about the litter
box? What happens when the cat wants to sleep next you in bed? What
happens if the cat gets sick and needs expensive treatment which interferes
with her vacation plans? So you see? Complaining about scratches on the sofa
is just the beginning.

Declawing your cat is only a temporary solution for you- but its permanent
mayhem and deprivation for your cat.


And I would really like to avoid getting to it AFTER declawing the cats.


If you declaw your cats, you'll resent her for the rest of your life. You
might be able to surpress the resentment for awhile, but sooner or later it
will surface.

http://maxshouse.com/facts_about_declawing.htm



That would be the worst of all possible worlds.

Complaining about scratches on the sofa is just the tip of the iceberg. If
I were you, I'd cut my losses. There are millions of women who would love to
meet a man who loves cats cares so deeply about their welfare. Just go to
any pet store on a Saturday! You can trust me on that!

Phil