Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband and I have 3 cats, 2 are older and declawed in the front, the third just turned one year old and still has her claws. My niece adopted this kitty from the "friends of feral felines" and they have lots of standards for the people adopting the kitties, which is good. Not in this case though b/c her Mom lied and said they wouldn't get her declawed and they had other cats, which they didn't. A few months later, the lady had enough of the kitten and asked if we wanted her. OF COURSE WE WANTED HER! Hehe. She's been a great little cat! She's much happier having other cats to play with, but I worry about safety b/c she has her claws and the others do not. I don't want the other cats getting hurt, so far it doesn't seem like it's going in the direction, but I still worry. She stretches on the couch and puts her claws in EVERYTHING... she's ruining the couch, tearing up my carpet and she gets stuck on everything! A lot of times, I have to go over and help get her claw out of something b/c she's stuck to it from scratching. I really want to get her declawed, that way we don't get scratched and neither will the furniture or other animals. I also have to lock her up when the other pets are out, we have a ton of reptiles and the other cats love and respect the lizards and snakes, but this cat immediately starts swatting at them with claws out and that's dangerous for the reptiles and for her b/c they may retaliate. Any suggestions?

I feel that declawing is a personal decision and that one has to really think before doing it. That said, I have 2 declawed cats and 16 that are not. Obviously the 2 that are would be the older cats at least 2 of them. The oldest was already extremely shy and the Vet felt that she should not be declawed. I have lots of available scratching surfaces for the others and for the most part they use those. Have you tried to trim her claws? Does she have appropriate scratching places? Have you tried several different kinds of scratching surfaces? Some of mine are content with the firewood that is kept in here for winter fireplace use, and others like the carpeted things. The two that are declawed do not seem to get hurt by the others, nor do they get abused by them, both don't seem to notice the missing claws and will bop the younger ones without a second thought if they bother them and the others know to leave them alone or they will get bopped again. Perhaps if you trimmed her claws, she would not be able to hurt the reptiles either

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PHWildCat
Cat Board Monitor and Chat Host
Pet Hobbyist
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

I have to say dont declaw your cat, I see that you have other animals though, would it be better to find her another home than to put her through that pain?
http://maxshouse.com/Truth About Declawing.htm
check out that website before you do it, i just hope i'm not too late...
Kate

>>I have to say dont declaw your cat, I see that you have other animals though, would it be better to find her another home than to put her through that pain?
>>http://maxshouse.com/Truth About Declawing.htm
>> check out that website before you do it, i just hope i'm not too late...
>> Kate

What if she ends up in a home that abuses her. How would that be better.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

I guess you can read my reply from above. Again we all have our own opinions, thats what this is for. There was a question asked and I answered it in my own opinion. I would never want a animal to end up in an abused home, and I hate to see them go through any pain what so ever (i'm so not a people person, i'm totally an animal person), so I guess its a
catch 22. No right answer, no wrong answer. Your right (i think it was you) its a personal decision. Again, my opinion.

Kate, Haz, and Turbo

Do you know why the claws are getting stuck in things? Retracting the claws appropriately is something cats learn by about 4 months. For a one year old to be having problems makes me wonder what is going on with the claws themselves.
Claws CAN be defective. Sometimes they don't retract, sometimes they curve too much and end up piercing the pads, sometimes they don't curve enough and cut the cat when the cat is trying to groom and sometimes they curve in the wrong direction which also cuts the cat.
For right now, get a claw trimmer and extend each claw, look at it carefully and then clip the white part off.
If the cat doesn't get more skillful, then have the vet take a look at them. There may truly be a problem.

When I first brought my kittens home they both had problems "unsticking" to things and needed me to help them, but they did grow out of it, they just needed to learn how to retract!!!

Kate,Haz, and Turbo