Should I declaw my cat?

Need some help guys. We just got a new house with carpet everywhere. This is also the first time in my life that I'm buying adult furniture that I care about (not thrift store or hand-me-downs).

My cat loves scratching. She destoyed my previous couches by shredding all four corners.

My question is have you declawed your cat? How was the surgury? Price? Attitude and demenor afterwords?

If you didn't declaw did you find another solution?

Thanks for the input.

Obligatory picture of her, Juno.

 

have you tried getting those cardboard scratch pad things and putting a bunch of catnip on it to entice the cat towards it? no matter what weve done though, our cat still likes a good couch scratch. throwing keys, spraying water, yelling, only seems to reinforce its attraction to the couch. assholes. ive been around declawed cats plenty and they still do the act of scratching, but theres no claws to do any damage. is this a strictly indoor cat? if it ever goes outside, id say don't declaw because it still needs to be able to defend itself or get up a tree if a dog or whatever gets after it.

 

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Watch this movie before you decide. Available to stream on Netflix.

 

She's too old now in my opinion. I had mine done when he was just a baby at the same time he was neutered, so it was all one quick pain and he healed fast.

 

Just get rid of cat and get a dog. They are way cooler anyways.

 

We have a circular cardboard scratch pad, a cat tree with scratch posts, and even a stand alone scratch post. They're located in different areas of the house and have not had an issue with our cat scratching the furniture.

I will say that when we got her, she initially used the scratching pad vs the couch. This may have been a result from her training at the rescue home.

 

Chop off your fingers at the knuckle, that's declawing a cat. Please do not declaw your cat.

 

I agree with you, too old now I would imagine. I have two, one declawed and the other with. We just use some clear double sided tape where our clawed girl cat keeps scratching and she'll learn quick she doesn't want to do it any more.

 

Well, I guess that response is pretty one sided. Guess I'll have to try some alternatives.

 

I'm a licensed veterinary technician.. I have a declawed cat he is 9. I HAD to declaw him at the age of 4. He tore up furniture his whole life didn't matter what I had for him. I was remodeling my house and he had to stay at my mom's house.. well he tore her stuff up and with me not having a floor in my house and my mom not keeping him to declaw. It's not my first choice and go to to declaw.. recovery depends on the cat.. fat? Skinny? Old/young? Obviously the younger you declaw the better. However, it depends on the method used to declaw. Most do well after surgery with morphine and nsaid from vet. As to do it or not.. I would try the plastic nails (covers over the nail) first..with behavioral modification training.. a spray bottle with water .. they make a spray that makes cats avoid areas and as mentioned before the tape.. I would recommend bloodwork before deciding on the procedure to determine if patient is eligible for anesthesia

 

Find the cat another home, don't yank out it's claws. If you want to keep your house nice, get a fern & live pet free...

 

I'm not getting rid of my cat... but thanks for that fine advice.

Thank you everyone, we'll be heading out today to buy some scratching sprays and other items.

 

this. I would never declaw a cat ever. Get a spray bottle and squirt the cat when he/she claws the wrong thing. I have Bengal cats that have pretty wild personalities and I've been able to train them to not claw the couch.

 

We have a carpeted cat tree with a place for the cardboard scratching block, built in. Cost about $60 at Country Store. We also have a another cardboard scratcher just so he has options. Only thing that makes a mess is the cardboard pieces than can be vacuumed up. Maybe try setting up an area just for her, too. Hope you can work it out!

 

Gonna have to side with the 'no' voters here. I've had cats for many years, and training them to not claw the sofa is pretty easy.

I went the extreme and built shelves & 8 foot carpeted towers and things for them to climb/rip up. Never lost a single piece of furniture. One 2.99$ plastic squirt bottle was a cheap and quick lesson.

Cats are smart fuckers. They'll get what you mean pretty fast.

 

Trial and error. The scratch pads and squirt bottle are good. I use citrus bath spray on my stereo speakers to keep my cats away from them..I have 4 cats currently.

 

lol yeah and after a while I didn't need to use the squirt bottle. I just made squirt bottle noises with my mouth and they knew what that meant.

 

pet rocks are much more affectionate and entertaining than plants. You can also put a leash on a rock and take it on a walk or bike ride where doing that with a plant would just look silly. Fish won't chew up the furniture. A beta can go a few years without even changing the water and they can live in a Dixie cup with no problem. No cat with tape on their feet has ever messed up furniture. I may not take one to be declawed if I had one but damn sure mischevious enough that the cat will know it is NOT the boss.

 

My Ozzy just needs to see the bottle and he runs now.

 

I think she approves.