Kitties

So the boyfriend and I adopted two 7-week old kitties that are just adorable. I love them a whole lot. They are WILD though. Constantly playing (fighting?) and running around, climbing the brand new couches we just purchased. Usually we keep them in the back room that has the door to the backyard but when we are in the house watching TV or hanging out we like to have them around us to play.

I am having thoughts on getting them both de-clawed. Do people think this is abuse? Well, I dont think it is - I am trying to save my new couches and my own legs when they like to jump and attach themselves to my pant legs. I surely do love them a whole lot but they can get a little annoying.

Does anyone know how much declawing kitties costs? Pros & Cons to it all?

Declawing/fixing two kitties (if you're gonna do it, do them both at the same time) will run you $500-750 is my guess.  I paid $780 to have mine done, but I was living in southern cal and everything is expensive out there.

If your'e going to declaw them, do it early.  It is a little cruel (you're basically amputating their toes), and I had a hard time doing it, but I live in apartments, so if I wanted to keep them I had little choice.

Declawing is abuse.  It's like cutting off the ends of your fingers to the first knuckle.  It affects a cat's balance and their emotional health.  They also can't defend themselves if they need to.

Give the kitties away if you don't want them on your furniture.

Awwww.  I love kittens.  Don't get their claws out though.  That's like pulling off someone's fingernails!  Some cats have discomfort for the rest of their lives.

Kittens are pretty out of control, but you can start training them now to use scratching posts.  I have a cat with claws that I never did any training with.  He doesn't scratch up anything, although he does go a little crazy on the carpet sometimes.  You can also buy caps for their claws.

We do want the kitties....and its true that we dont want them climbing on the furniture but if we wouldnt have adopted them they wouldve been put down.

So what would have been the better choice?

Thanks for the input tho Pavlov and Michachu - Ill definitely take in consideration of a scratching post.

I would not hesitate to have them declawed as long as you are going to leave them as indoor cats.  If they are going to go outdoors at all,  I would not declaw them so they can defend themselves.

They will calm down some as they get older, but inthe mean time they can destroy your furniture...trust me, I know!

I've had cats for years.  One indoor cat lived to be 22 and she was declawed and perfectly happy and healthy.

Also, if you get them declawed, ONLY take the front claws.  Cats can defend themselves with their back claws in the event that for some reason they got out.  But do keep them as indoor cats if you get them declawed.

I don't know your living situation.  Some apartment complexes require them to be declawed.  Do it when they're young and their balance will be fine.

I did not even circumcise my son.  I would not declaw a cat. 

Your groomer or you can put vinyl tips on their claws that protect the furniture.  They do have to be reapplied from time to time but it is much less cruel than declawing.  They come in fab colors so its fun to mix it up. 

http://www.softclaws.com/

Kittens are wild (and destructive) but they will calm down considerably as they mature, and most can be trained to use a scratching post. In the meantime, do check out Soft Claws. They can be tricky to apply at first before you get the hang of it, but it is an excellent temporary solution to what is most likely a temporary problem.

As for declawing, I don't believe it is necessarily abuse (better a cat should have a good home and no claws, as opposed to claws and no home), but I do believe it should only be used as a last resort if everything else fails.

I had my cat declawed at 18 months old.  up until then it was impossible to get her to stop clawing the furniture and flooring.  She even managed to pull up the parquet flooring that edged the bathroom tiles!!!

We only had the front claws removed.  She is now 13 and still "scratches" everything from books to baseboard!!

I also am an animal lover but I dont see it as abuse.

Would it be abuse if it was a human being having the ends of their fingers removed?

from about.com, reasons not to declaw your cat.

A couple of tricks to keep cats from sharpening their claws on things and keep them off of places you don't want them to be on: aluminum foil and double sided tape. :D

Cats usually don't like to walk on aluminum foil, so place it on top of things you don't want them on.  (I had an upholstered seat my cat loved to jump up on and scratch.  I stuck aluminum foil on it and she stayed off.  Worked for speakers too (although it looks like crap.)  Same goes for the double stick tape- they don't like the feel of it.  So you can cover places they want to reach up and scratch with it.

And give the kitties lots of good things they can scratch like scratching posts.  Figure out what kind they like the best (my cat likes the rope stuff but she'll deal with the cardboard too).

Jumping and attaching to things?  Just take them off your leg when they do that.  I'm sure they'll grow out of that phase eventually or they'll do it less and less as time goes on.

I had cats declawed before I learned about the procedure and what it really does to the cat. The kittens can be trained to use a scratching post. You can also use the tips as suggested.

I simply nip the ends of my cats claws with a fingernail clipper. If you do this start doing this when they're little, they'll get used to it and allow you to do it. It doesn't hurt them, it only takes a few minutes, and it's also incredibly cheap.

You'll need to trim their claws every week when little, then every 2 weeks. Adult cats can go 3-5 weeks depending on the cat.

Original Post by moonikins:

I had cats declawed before I learned about the procedure and what it really does to the cat. The kittens can be trained to use a scratching post. You can also use the tips as suggested.

I simply nip the ends of my cats claws with a fingernail clipper. If you do this start doing this when they're little, they'll get used to it and allow you to do it. It doesn't hurt them, it only takes a few minutes, and it's also incredibly cheap.

You'll need to trim their claws every week when little, then every 2 weeks. Adult cats can go 3-5 weeks depending on the cat.

 I was thinking about doing this. But have you ever watched that infomercial where they are trimming the animals claws and it looks like its hurting them? :(

But if it doesnt hurt them, then I will definitely try this. I know the kitties are gonna FREAK when I try to get a hold of their paws but of course Id rather do something like this than get them declawed. (not only does that harm the kitty I guess but it also looks like itll hurt my bank account).

Original Post by priceless7:

Original Post by moonikins:

I had cats declawed before I learned about the procedure and what it really does to the cat. The kittens can be trained to use a scratching post. You can also use the tips as suggested.

I simply nip the ends of my cats claws with a fingernail clipper. If you do this start doing this when they're little, they'll get used to it and allow you to do it. It doesn't hurt them, it only takes a few minutes, and it's also incredibly cheap.

You'll need to trim their claws every week when little, then every 2 weeks. Adult cats can go 3-5 weeks depending on the cat.

 I was thinking about doing this. But have you ever watched that infomercial where they are trimming the animals claws and it looks like its hurting them? :(

But if it doesnt hurt them, then I will definitely try this. I know the kitties are gonna FREAK when I try to get a hold of their paws but of course Id rather do something like this than get them declawed. (not only does that harm the kitty I guess but it also looks like itll hurt my bank account).

 I think if you clip too much off it's akin to a human ripping their nail.  It'll bleed a little and be sore for a while.  If I could do it over again, I would have accustomed my cat to having his nails clipped when he was still a kitten.  He's way too skittish now.

I have two cats that are brothers. They are CRAZY. I adopted them around 8/10 weeks old and they were not the sweet lil kittens I expected. They play fight still (sometimes to the point where they scare me with their vigor), and they are 2.5 years old now. They are half maine coons and apparently they are a much more energized breed. But I loooooooooove them and love that they have a lot of "dog-like" behaviors.

Anyway, I say no declawing. I think it's extraordinarily painful to the cats. Obviously I don't know that as I'm not a cat but I just think it's unnecessary. I also think it's a safety issue. If they ever did get out, they would have no way of defending themselves in the "wild" -- hopefully that will never happen but it does occur to me as a reason not to declaw indoor cats, outdoor cats, or indoor/outdoor cats.

As someone else said, I clip their nails with a fingernail clipper. Start when they are kittens and you will not have any trouble. I do all three of our cats' nails about twice a month. It does NOT hurt them to trim their nails regularly as long as you are doing it properly. It's just like our nails - avoid the skin and quick, and you're fine. You have to do the same thing on dogs' nails. It's not harmful as long as you do not cut the quick. On cats' nails, in my opinion, it's actually much easier than on dogs' nails. You could also get a vet to show you how to do it. And they also sell special clippers that help you to be safe with clipping their nails. I just use a human fingernail clipper but I have been doing it for a long time on many pets.

Original Post by priceless7:

Original Post by moonikins:

I simply nip the ends of my cats claws with a fingernail clipper. If you do this start doing this when they're little, they'll get used to it and allow you to do it. It doesn't hurt them, it only takes a few minutes, and it's also incredibly cheap.

You'll need to trim their claws every week when little, then every 2 weeks. Adult cats can go 3-5 weeks depending on the cat.

 I was thinking about doing this. But have you ever watched that infomercial where they are trimming the animals claws and it looks like its hurting them? :(

 I don't mean to be rude, but if you're worried about this, I can't believe you would ever consider declawing a cat.  For further clarification, here's a site that explains the anatomy of the cat's claw. 

It will only hurt them if you get too short and nip the cuticle. It's just like cutting your own fingernails. The kitties will squirm alot at first. Try picking them up when they've been sleeping so they're nice and calm and relaxed.

You may want to have a dishtowel ready. You can wrap the dishtowel around their belly and back legs so they can't kick you with them. Then wrap your arm around them and grab the front paw with your non-dominant hand. Gently squeeze the paw so the claw extends and nip the end quickly. They won't like it at first, but will get used to it.

You may want to start with just holding the kitty like that and pushing the paw out so she gets used to the feel of you messing with her paws. You may not be able to get all claws on each paw done the first several times. If you get one or two per paw, count that as a success. You cat may be mad at you for a little while, but she'll get over it.

My Moon is a pistol. She's 5 now and I have to trim her once a month. Sometimes she'll meow at me and smack at the nail clippers. She knows she's going to lose, she just likes to be in control. She'll go pout and give me evil glances from across the room for about an hour afterwards.

Edit to add: I only trim the front paws.

Original Post by pavlovcat:

 I think if you clip too much off it's akin to a human ripping their nail.  It'll bleed a little and be sore for a while.  If I could do it over again, I would have accustomed my cat to having his nails clipped when he was still a kitten.  He's way too skittish now.

I have accidentally done this, but it only happens rarely. If it does happen, the claw will bleed for a very short time and the cat will be fine. AND YES, get the cats adjusted to having nails clipped as kittens.

I once had a cat that had repeated infections. The vet had to check her monthly for her white blood cell count for about 6 months. He did this by purposely clipping one claw too short and getting a couple of drops of blood. He explained this was the least painful and least intrusive way to get these few drops of blood.

Original Post by purespark:

Original Post by priceless7:

Original Post by moonikins:

I simply nip the ends of my cats claws with a fingernail clipper. If you do this start doing this when they're little, they'll get used to it and allow you to do it. It doesn't hurt them, it only takes a few minutes, and it's also incredibly cheap.

You'll need to trim their claws every week when little, then every 2 weeks. Adult cats can go 3-5 weeks depending on the cat.

 I was thinking about doing this. But have you ever watched that infomercial where they are trimming the animals claws and it looks like its hurting them? :(

 I don't mean to be rude, but if you're worried about this, I can't believe you would ever consider declawing a cat.  For further clarification, here's a site that explains the anatomy of the cat's claw. 

 I am only just learning right now that declawing hurts the kitties....I thought it would be a painless process that the vet would perform.