Declawing: glad I took the time

wrote in message
news
How difficult is it to trim a cat's nails?

Easy! The key is don't use too much restraint and don't make a big deal
about it - cats pick up your anxiety. The best time to trim claws is when
the cat just wakes up.

Do they have blood vessels in them like a dog's?

Here's an actual photo of a cat's claw and the quick, and where to cut/


http://www.maxshouse.com/anatomy/cla...im-quick-1.jpg


Here are detailed instructions:

http://www.maxshouse.com/Claw%20Trimming.htm

On Mon, 3 Nov 2003 08:06:10 -0600, kaeli
wrote:


I thought she was just an animal.

Well, I had hand surgery last week, and that little 1" incision hurts
like hell. When I had the cat spayed, she came back with a huge
incision halfway up her abdomen. That must have hurt.

We do that to cats for the greater good of preventing unwanted
kittens. I had thought declawing was for the good of having a cat who
is ultimately happier and healthier by living indoors.

I had no idea it caused so many problems.

Geez. As a lifelong cat hater, I can't believe I'm going to go shop
for scratching posts and litter boxes. :-P

On Mon, 3 Nov 2003 08:06:10 -0600, kaeli
wrote:


I thought she was just an animal.

Well, I had hand surgery last week, and that little 1" incision hurts
like hell. When I had the cat spayed, she came back with a huge
incision halfway up her abdomen. That must have hurt.

We do that to cats for the greater good of preventing unwanted
kittens. I had thought declawing was for the good of having a cat who
is ultimately happier and healthier by living indoors.

I had no idea it caused so many problems.

Geez. As a lifelong cat hater, I can't believe I'm going to go shop
for scratching posts and litter boxes. :-P

In article . net,
enlightened us with...

wrote in message
news
How difficult is it to trim a cat's nails?

Easy! The key is don't use too much restraint and don't make a big deal
about it - cats pick up your anxiety. The best time to trim claws is when
the cat just wakes up.


I'll say. My aunt had a cat she insisted would not let anyone trim his
claws. The poor guy's nails were starting to turn inward (back feet, old
cat). She insisted that he bit if you tried.

I went over to him, pet him, picked him up and plopped him in my lap
like a baby, and clipped his claws. He never once tried to bite me.

The less of a big deal it is to you, the less the cat thinks it is big
deal.
-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Jesus saves, Allah protects, and Cthulhu
thinks you'd make a nice sandwich.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In article . net,
enlightened us with...

wrote in message
news
How difficult is it to trim a cat's nails?

Easy! The key is don't use too much restraint and don't make a big deal
about it - cats pick up your anxiety. The best time to trim claws is when
the cat just wakes up.


I'll say. My aunt had a cat she insisted would not let anyone trim his
claws. The poor guy's nails were starting to turn inward (back feet, old
cat). She insisted that he bit if you tried.

I went over to him, pet him, picked him up and plopped him in my lap
like a baby, and clipped his claws. He never once tried to bite me.

The less of a big deal it is to you, the less the cat thinks it is big
deal.
-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Jesus saves, Allah protects, and Cthulhu
thinks you'd make a nice sandwich.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In article ,
enlightened us with...

Geez. As a lifelong cat hater, I can't believe I'm going to go shop
for scratching posts and litter boxes. :-P



Oh, you convert, you. LOL

Get vertical and horizonal, sisal and wood.
Choices for the cat are your best friend when teaching appropriate
scratching. My cats ADORE their cat tree. Best investment I ever made.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Jesus saves, Allah protects, and Cthulhu
thinks you'd make a nice sandwich.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In article ,
enlightened us with...

Geez. As a lifelong cat hater, I can't believe I'm going to go shop
for scratching posts and litter boxes. :-P



Oh, you convert, you. LOL

Get vertical and horizonal, sisal and wood.
Choices for the cat are your best friend when teaching appropriate
scratching. My cats ADORE their cat tree. Best investment I ever made.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Jesus saves, Allah protects, and Cthulhu
thinks you'd make a nice sandwich.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

wrote:

watch her scratch the corner posts of our deck, and I picture that
being the spindles of our stairs. Oy. Our whole house is custom
wood.

As far as training her, does it matter that she was feral until about
9 months old?

Probably not. We recently adopted a stray cat that we literally found on our
doorstep. Although she was not feral, she was obviously accustomed to being an
indoor/outdoor cat and had never been trained to scratch appropriately. She had
also never had her claws trimmed (she is estimated to be about two years old).
It only took a few days to teach her to scratch on the various scratching posts
we have around the house for our other cats. As for claw trimming, the first
try was a bit of a battle, mostly because she doesn't like to be restrained,
but each time it got easier and now she accepts it peacefully.
So yes, it can be done even if the cat is an adult and has not been trained or
had regular claw clipping before.

wrote:

watch her scratch the corner posts of our deck, and I picture that
being the spindles of our stairs. Oy. Our whole house is custom
wood.

As far as training her, does it matter that she was feral until about
9 months old?

Probably not. We recently adopted a stray cat that we literally found on our
doorstep. Although she was not feral, she was obviously accustomed to being an
indoor/outdoor cat and had never been trained to scratch appropriately. She had
also never had her claws trimmed (she is estimated to be about two years old).
It only took a few days to teach her to scratch on the various scratching posts
we have around the house for our other cats. As for claw trimming, the first
try was a bit of a battle, mostly because she doesn't like to be restrained,
but each time it got easier and now she accepts it peacefully.
So yes, it can be done even if the cat is an adult and has not been trained or
had regular claw clipping before.

wrote in message
news
How difficult is it to trim a cat's nails?
Do they have blood vessels in them like a dog's?
.... As far as training her, does it matter that she was feral until about
9 months old?
....
Mitch,
Some cats will cooperate for nail trimming and some won't. Our Cinder will
let the vet clip her claws, but she will not let us clip them. Fortunately,
she claws where she is supposed to claw. She likes both horizontal and
vertical surfaces, so we provide plenty of opportunities for her.
Occasionally, she will make some motions on the back of one of the couches,
but we put double sticky tape that is made to deter scratching those places,
and she forgets about it.
We also have some minor scratches on a leather couch where her back claws
propelled her when she ran across it. We just put a decorative throw over
it, and she runs over the throw.
Our furniture is about eight years old, and except for the couple of minor
scratches, the upholstery looks fine. If Cinder would let us clip her claws,
we would have not damage at all.
I would say that we have caused as much or more wear on our furniture as the
cats we've had throughout the years. Of course, we shed less.
We have had several cats and none has scratched wood furniture. We did
bring in a small log and set it up in a base for one of our indoor-outdoor
cats.
As for feral part, Rosie was wild and seven months old when I trapped her
and brought her inside. I know that she had never been in a home or touched
by human hands.
Yet, she used the litter box from the very first day. She uses a sisal
scratching post. When she was in taming and allowed out of the taming room
and within reach of upholstered furniture, she tried out the chair a couple
of times. I just told her "no" and she stopped.
She is so careful with her claws that I have never even tried to clip them.
There is no reason to do so.
Before you bring this cat inside, you need to examine your own commitment.
Once she is in, she will not have the opportunity to grow a winter coat and
you will not be able to turn her out. Also, if you declaw her, you will
definitely not be able to turn her out.
Whatever you decide about bringing her inside, you should have her spayed
and vaccinated and treated for parasites.
Good luck with your endeavor.
Annie