Declawing my cat

A cat should never be declawed. How would you like it if someone decided to remove all your fingernails and toenails because you accidentally scratched someone. I think if the cat is lucky enough to get to the farm and out of harms way you shouldn't get any animal. To even think of declawing the little creature makes me think you are not mature enough to have a pet.

I would never have a cat declawed. First of all since you did som research I assume you know how they do that. Ewww. And second, this is a cat's primary defense. If a delcawed accidentally gets outside it has no defense against predators. They can't evem climb a tree to escape. I believe your best option is to have it's nails clipped regularly or even have those soft nail covers put on.

What ever you do please dont declaw the kitty. Do your reaserch as to what they exactily do. The claw is not just a nail for them it is the final joint inthere paw and to havethem declawed you are removing that last joint and can be extremily painfull. Plus IF you cat ever got outside after being declawed you haveremoved your cats only defense. He/she will not be able to climb a tree to get away from danger. Your best bet is to invest in animal safety clippers and clip your cats nails once every 3-4 weeks to keep them short and dull. I have 3 beautifull fur babies and when I play with them or when any of my kids play with them they get scratched. There really is nothing you can do about that except get rid of the cat.

I think you should first teach your daughter how to treat animals, it is possible she is trying to hold him when he does not want to be held, or grabbing at him and he might be afraid of her, and then I would also spray him with water when he scratches for him to know that this is not an acceptable behaviour, and I would get his claws trimmed. declawing might cause him to start bitting.

I agree with your first respondee, that if you get another kitten, it is very possible that the new one will start scratching too depending on how your babes treats the cats. Some kids think that kitty is just another toy and they dont understand till they are older. Maybe you should send him to the farm and get a diferent kind of pet.. something smaller, or a fishy. lol. What about keeping him locked out of the room that you have your daughter in when she's just in the one room with you guys ? Kitty could have roamage of the rest of the house could he not ?

hi. you say u dont need a mean cat. there are cats that are nice. if i were you. i would send it to the farm. you wont have to worry about the cat scratching your daughter. you can always get another cat. it would be a solution to your problem. u know everyone has their opinion about declawing. i think sometimes you have to do what you feel is best for you. have a good day

I have three cats none of them are declawed. I have trained them not to use them when mad. Everytime they have gotten them out I have tapped them on the paw and said no. I has worked for us with every cat that has come to our house.

I've had cats that were declawed and never knew them to be mean. I currently have two cats that have their claws - since they go outside a lot I am keeping them intact - we live in a wooded area and they need to be able to make a quick escape up a tree now and again, I am sure. There is a lot of controversy regarding declawing a cat - I am not sure if it is somewhat exaggerated or not... but people can be very passionate in their views against the practice.

I have always had cats. None have been declawed. You might be better off getting a new cat. I see a common problem with cat owners. They teach the cat to attack their hand when it is a kitten. Well the cat gets big. Don't teach the cat to attack your hand. Teach it to play with toys. I am not saying this is why your cat scratches. But it is why most cats do it. Yes most people play with a kitten with their hand but I think it teaches the cat that it is ok to attack people. My cats don't scratch. Even if they swat at you.

I don't think that you are a responsible pet owner. You should rethink about having any animal as apet owner until you learn to be able to treat your animals responsible.It woud be best if you could find this cat a good home and maybe wit until your daughter gets old enough to be able to act around a pet. Cats and dogs are not throw away toys that you can just go out and buy another one because the first one did not work out. If you need a pet then get a large aquarium and some tropical fish. They will help you to relax by watching them and they will not stratch your daughter.

Hi myworkid, I can see that you have a problem here. How old is your daughter? I'm asking this because I've seen small children scream at a cat and chase them around the house. If I hadn't intervened I'm sure the cat would have bitten the child. Sometimes cats will get very scared by loud noises too. Of course you can't have the cat clawing your daughter, so it might be an idea to sent him to your parents farm and get another. All cats are not alike. I don't like the idea of declawing, because I once saw a cat that had recently been declawed, it looked like he had suffered terribly. Blessings.

If your cat is still young you can train him to keep his claws in, by gently pushing the claws in and saying claws to him. I did this with my cat and even when she got over excited playing I could get her to not scratch by just saying claws to her. If he isn't then you'd be better giving him to someone else, as declawing is a horrible thing to do to a cat. Maybe get some other type of pet or get a kitten and train it. There is no reason to think that another cat will or won't scratch your daughter, are you sure it isn't your daughter that makes the cat want to scratch her? Children can be unintentionally rough with animals.

firstly I know why Cats get mean after de-clawing! It's because the act is the same as amputation of a limb in a human and a lot of the time it causes phantom pains, you'd soon get mean if you were in pain, wouldn't you? My friend is a Vet and even if the operation was legal here in the UK he wouldn't do it. He explained to me when I first heard of this barbaric practise what the operation does and I was horryfied that anyone who claims to love an animal could do such a thing. I've lost count of the cats I've owned or fostered in the last 50+ years, and I've only once had a cat scratch a child. It was what my daughter was doing to the cat and once I corrected her behaviour she was never scratched again. Cats are not cuddly toys and most children are far too rough with them. If you de-claw the cat then it's next line of defence will be it's teeth and cat bites become infected far more often than dog bites do. Getting rid of one cat and replacing it with another is not a good example to set your daughter either. She'll grow up with little respect for animals unless you teach her that keeping them is about making a long term commitment (Cats can live well over 20 years) and treating them with respect! Buy some claw covers, or learn to clip the cats nails and teach your daughter the correct ways to handle and play with a cat.