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#1
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Help! Need suggestions---how to train cats not to claw or scratch carpets, drapes, wallpaper, ...anything that doesn't move
I posted a similar question on this bulletin board about two months after we
adopted two cats and got no response, so I'm trying again. Mainly, I'm asking for any information or suggestions to help me train our cats to scratch and claw only their scratch posts before they are no longer trainable. We adopted our cats from a rescue group about six months ago. I do not recall if we signed an agreement to never have them declawed, but we were given a lot of information against this. We believed we could adopt the two cats on that basis. Since adopting our cats they find, paw at, and ultimately destroy small objects (e.g., kids' toys, expensive camera lens), and it's becoming blatantly obvious that unless we can find a way to train them to stop they will destroy our carpeting, drapes, wallpaper--the list goes on. This matters a lot as we recently completed major remodeling and upgrading to our house at great expense and it is extremely frustrating to see all that hard work slowly going down the tube. We have two scratch posts that the cats use, but this doesn't seem to be enough. Our house is fairly large (but not huge), so maybe two scratch posts aren't enough. I'd prefer not to have them declawed but it's getting so bad that I feel our choice is to either give them back to the rescue group (thereby increasing the homeless cat population by two) or have them declawed. We love our cats and would hate to give them up, which makes the latter choice seem like our only alternative. I've read with great interest the 7/5/03 post from Homer (you CAN declaw with Love) and responses to it. Gotta hand it to ya, Homer--way to hang in there. Still, I'd prefer to not declaw our cats as the thought of it is very discomforting to me. Tough decision. I understand the vehemence many readers will have at the mere suggestion that I am considering have our cats declawed. Please--unless you have constructive, helpful information about training cats, I'm fully informed about what a cat goes through when declawed and ask that you abstain from filling my response string with hate messages or irrelevant questions like "why didn't you buy a goldfish?" Suffice it to say that we wanted a cat, ended up with two, that we love them both but are faced with a problem of nightmare proportions, the result of scratching and clawing that we were NOT informed of when we adopted our cats. In a 7/3/03 response to a post (same date) by Karen Chuplis ( Soft Paws), Karen M. refers to something called "Smart Paws." If anyone has more information or a web link about this please respond. Thanks to all who take my post to heart and offer help. |
#3
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A few suggestions:
-try different types of scratching things -- my cat LOVES those giant catnip laced cardboard scratchers that you can pick up at Walmart or the petstores. Lays flat on the floor and he just attacks it and nothing else really. But there are so many different kinds - sisal (sp?), carpeted, etc., (rub catnip on whatever you want to attract them to) -- if they are attacking furniture try getting some slipcovers for them (maybe not as attractive as the furniture but they may stop clawing if the material changes). Shorten the drapes so they cannot reach them and keep stuff they destroy out of sight. Teach the kids if they value their things then to put them away - or else - ^..^ -www.softpaws.com - I think is the site. -do you clip your cats claws? -squirty water bottle or squirt gun spray kitty when kitty scratches in a bad spot - if you can isolate them to a 'cat proof' (ha ha, i know) room when you're not home that might help My Max doesn't scratch anything except those cardboard things now that I have them. Before that it was the couch and other furniture too. Good luck! LeeAnne "Girg" wrote in message ... I posted a similar question on this bulletin board about two months after we adopted two cats and got no response, so I'm trying again. Mainly, I'm asking for any information or suggestions to help me train our cats to scratch and claw only their scratch posts before they are no longer trainable. ....major snippage... |
#4
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"Girg" wrote:
I posted a similar question on this bulletin board about two months after we adopted two cats and got no response, so I'm trying again. Mainly, I'm asking for any information or suggestions to help me train our cats to scratch and claw only their scratch posts before they are no longer trainable. They are never untrainable. The easy solution is to build a cat tree and put their dry food near the top. If they need help finding it, well, you put them up there and show it to them. They will climb for food. It is a constant reminder that the post(s) are great for scratching. End of problem (at least in my experience). Try reading this group for a while. Good luck. Out. |
#5
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Homer howled at the moon, then scrawled thusly upon the aether:
Just like a human being would be normal and happy after getting over the pain of having his (or her) fingers removed. And just like a human being would be normal after getting over the pain of having his balls removed or her ovaries cut out. at least they could function normally as soon as they've recovered... it's rather difficult to type, play piano, write, climb trees, etc. with partially amputated digits. i've seen someone who can, to a certain extent and with great difficulty, but it was a matter of losing much of her fingers or losing her entire hand, not overly sharp fingernails. if you could never, ever get laid and weren't physically capable of satisfying yourself, but had the option of a simple surgery that would eliminate the frustration forever, as well as reduce the risk of certain cancers (and painful or even dangerous ovarian cysts if female), wouldn't you go for it? He mutilated some kittens allegedly because he read "other posts" which said it was a good idea. He ignored the contrary posts written by "cat nazis." In other words, he mutilated some kittens because he needed cute little harmless playthings. I'm sure glad I ignored people with opinions like yourself otherwise I'd be stuck with some razor sharp playthings. or the occasional hassle of trimming nails and gluing on nail covers that allow your cats to climb and stretch and scratch and scent mark with their paws as they would normally do without doing any damage to you or your furniture. train them to it early enough with the right rewards, and, like grooming, many cats may even consider it a treat. if that's completely impractical because, say, you're immunosuppressed and an accidental scratch while trimming nails and replacing covers would endanger your life, sure, declaw rather than get rid of the cats, but short of that there are usually far more humane options to protect yourself and your furnishings from kitty damage. The author seems to think that the only possible correction is to physically alter the cat. I guess such shallow minds are why laws are necessary. I believe you are the one with the shallow mind to think you can get into the business of others by forcing your *morals* upon others and making asinine laws. Next thing you'll do is outlaw criticising the president. there's quite a large difference between criticism (which, unless slanderous, directly harms no one and often is to the greater benefit when people choose to listen) and a more often than not unnecessary surgical procedure which carries with it significant risks. And your playthings can no longer properly exercise. They can never grip or climb anything again. They can no longer defend themselves. Your playthings will be dead meat if they ever get outside or if a dog gets inside. If your helpless playthings escape you or for whatever other reason end up outside, they will be either killed or beaten up and perpetually chased away from food sources until they die. That's 'cause I'm a responsible owner and make sure they have a full and happy life inside the house. I'm not careless enough that they ever accidently escape. so, you lock them in a room previous to every time you open your door for any reason? your house is completely fireproofed, or you would sooner allow them to die than escape? you never have surprise visitors, and you're the only person who will ever open your door? you keep your door lokced at all times to prevent a curious kitty from turning the knob? you have arrangements with someone who knows your cats well to keep them as indoor pets should something happen to you? there's always the possibility of escape, however remote. when my cat escaped, i assure you it was not due to carelessness on my part. indeed, he managed to get past more than one closed door. i'm glad that he had the means to hunt and defend himself, else he may have returned far more injured and ill than he did, or he may not have been able to return at all. I don't expect any camaraderie from the likes of you. I see myself as doing a service to the cat owners by posting another viewpoint. AND I see that I have had a hand in helping the overpopulation problem by giving some cats a good, loving home. thank you for providing a loving home to your feline companions. i just hope that in future SoftPaws (or similar) training is tried in as many cases as possible before declawing is seriously considered. Maeve... with typos courtesy of Fevs the lapkitty, helping me type... -- throw the baby out with the bathwater to reply by e-mail ~*~ http://volatiledreams.deep-ice.com ~*~ 666-A -- The Tenant of the Beast. |
#6
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In article ,
enlightened us with... I don't expect any camaraderie from the likes of you. I see myself as doing a service to the cat owners by posting another viewpoint. AND I see that I have had a hand in helping the overpopulation problem by giving some cats a good, loving home. thank you for providing a loving home to your feline companions. i just hope that in future SoftPaws (or similar) training is tried in as many cases as possible before declawing is seriously considered. If someone wants to save lives but feels they cannot train a cat properly, there are thousands of already declawed cats in shelters nation wide. Save a life - adopt! ------------------------------------------------- ~kaeli~ There is no justification or rationalization for mutilation. Ban declawing as inhumane. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace ------------------------------------------------- |
#7
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If you cannot afford to, nor have the "time" for your animals then you
shouldn't have them. You have only one reason to get your cat declawed: you are lazy. I clip my Max's nails every couple of weeks and I can't imagine that for you to take a few minutes out of your day to glue nail covers or clip your cat's nails is too much of a burden. Seem ridiculous to me LeeAnne "No One But Me" wrote in message ... i examined the softpaws brochure & quickly discarded that as an option. i am very busy in my life and don't have the time it will take to glue fake nail guards onto two cats. that's total crap. i don't even do my own nails ... i pay someone else to do 'em, so why would i do a cats? i'm glad you have so much time on your hands, but some of us are very busy people, but even if we weren't, we would have better things to do than sit & glue fake nails onto the feet of two cats. i will not pay a veterinarian $60 every 6 weeks to glue nails onto a cat. they have better things to do & so do i. declawing is an option they offer & i take them up on it. i don't pay $60 every 6 weeks to get my own nails done, so why would i pay it for theirs? If you don't have time to glue nail caps on, how do you have time to care for two kittens, even just enough to make sure that they're eating and uninjured? What would happen if one of your cats came down with a sudden illness? Do you even spend enough time around them that you would know? i have 11 cats total, including the kittens. all of them are fat & happy. all of them go to the vet when they have problems. of my 11 cats, one is diabetic, one has arthritis, two have urinary crystals periodically, the kittens had a 3 week bout of diahrea, one had a bacterial infection in his ears with yeast accompanying it. of my 11 cats, six are considered geriatric, 2 are middle aged, the rest are young. the diabetic cat has been going back & forth to the vet every 10 days for regular evaluations to get his diabetes under control & to adjust his insulin. my cats only go to the vet for illness & to be spayed or neutered. if they are to be declawed, they get that done while they are in being spayed/neutered. taking an animal in for true illness is far more important than taking them in for stupid **** like gluing on fake nails. i leave that to people who don't have anything better to do with their time or money. all of my cats appear to be in very good health, so sayeth their vet, so don't you worry your tiny little head about them. Barbara (a full time worker 5 days a week at a university, who, inspite of having to service uppity college students everyday, still has time to take care of my own responsibilities ... including my cats) Maeve... busy college student, still makes time to properly take care of her responsibilities, including the furry ones... |
#8
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On Sun, 18 Apr 2004 22:16:54 -0500, BoTo
wrote: WOW! A great solution! Tell me more about declawing. My god, PLEASE tell me you're joking/trolling. Declawing is mutilation, short and simple. It's illegal in the UK for that very reason. If your furniture is more precious than your cat's wellbeing, then don't have a cat. Alternatively, if you're prepared to put in the effort, there are a million different ways to dissuade a cat from clawing furniture - water pistols, scent products, sticky tabs, distraction etc etc Please, please think about what you're doing to your cat if you have the ends of its paws hacked off - it's not like snipping their nails, it's like someone removing the end bones in your fingers. Not only does it impede the cat's defence and movement mechanisms, it can also have psychological consequences. The cat isn't being destructive for the sake of it - scratching and scenting its territory is intrinsic to cat behaviour. |
#9
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On Sun, 18 Apr 2004 22:16:54 -0500, BoTo
wrote: WOW! A great solution! Tell me more about declawing. My god, PLEASE tell me you're joking/trolling. Declawing is mutilation, short and simple. It's illegal in the UK for that very reason. If your furniture is more precious than your cat's wellbeing, then don't have a cat. Alternatively, if you're prepared to put in the effort, there are a million different ways to dissuade a cat from clawing furniture - water pistols, scent products, sticky tabs, distraction etc etc Please, please think about what you're doing to your cat if you have the ends of its paws hacked off - it's not like snipping their nails, it's like someone removing the end bones in your fingers. Not only does it impede the cat's defence and movement mechanisms, it can also have psychological consequences. The cat isn't being destructive for the sake of it - scratching and scenting its territory is intrinsic to cat behaviour. |
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