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I wouldn't do it. My cat is declawed, and I don't know why, he came that way. I adopted him at 6 years old. I don't see where he walks like he is in pain, etc, but I do not know what he walked like before he had it done.
Since he does not scratch up your furniture, just as others have said, I think I would just make sure my closet door were all the way closed.
Sounds like he likes the feel of that jersey fabric. My cat does too. He likes a silky feeling item over anything else. Give him something that is his that feels that way!
From not on, keep those jerseys up high, just in case the closet door accidentally gets left open a little. I do not see where this is a behavioral issue at all.
Spare your kitty his finger tips, please.... =)
The bolded was the first thing I did. I'm still so upset about it. 3 of the 4 jersey were gifts over the years, and 2 of them are kind of not 'exactly' replaceable. And one of them have sentimental value.
Anywho, I never planned on declawing the cat, as I have learned over the years what that really means. But I can't be 100% perfect 24/7/365 days a year. The closet may be cracked open, I may get tired and do something else that would lead to the possibility of 'something' else getting damaged.
I like this cat, he is a really good cat, but if he is going to cost me $500 a year in non-cat costs (for example cause I leave the door cracked open 1 day every 3-4 months), I really can't/dont-want-to afford that.
I will look into buying a big ol cat jungle gym like one poster mentioned above. Problem is, I know sometimes cats don't always take to them and use them. Plus, this guy is about 15 lbs min, so he is a good size kitty. Will he even fit on one of those things?
I am going to agree with all of the above posters, please don't declaw your cat. It is mutilation.
Get him a scratching post and one of those kitty condo climbing things. Almost all cats will take to them, maybe put a few cats treats there for him for a few days until he gets familiar with it. Cats love to be up high. He fill fit into it, he will find a way to fit into it.
I can tell you love your cat, we just need to coexist with them sometimes. Good luck to you!
The bolded was the first thing I did. I'm still so upset about it. 3 of the 4 jersey were gifts over the years, and 2 of them are kind of not 'exactly' replaceable. And one of them have sentimental value.
Anywho, I never planned on declawing the cat, as I have learned over the years what that really means. But I can't be 100% perfect 24/7/365 days a year. The closet may be cracked open, I may get tired and do something else that would lead to the possibility of 'something' else getting damaged.
I like this cat, he is a really good cat, but if he is going to cost me $500 a year in non-cat costs (for example cause I leave the door cracked open 1 day every 3-4 months), I really can't/dont-want-to afford that.
I will look into buying a big ol cat jungle gym like one poster mentioned above. Problem is, I know sometimes cats don't always take to them and use them. Plus, this guy is about 15 lbs min, so he is a good size kitty. Will he even fit on one of those things?
I have seen some pretty big cats on those. Does he get up on your furniture or up high much?
I actually will never buy one of those for my cat because he is not what they call a 'tree dweller.' He likes to stay low to the ground. He won't even get up on the back of the couch.
Total different story if your cat likes to get up high and 15 lbs should be fine if he does.
I hope you didn't throw those jerseys away! Since they're wrecked and he likes them, you could put them somewhere in his living area. And keep the closet door closed. And the tall carpeted trees are pretty popular with most cats. You could get some cheap scratchers as well for variety. Mine all like the cardboard wedge shaped one. I think it's called alpine something.
The bolded was the first thing I did. I'm still so upset about it. 3 of the 4 jersey were gifts over the years, and 2 of them are kind of not 'exactly' replaceable. And one of them have sentimental value.
Anywho, I never planned on declawing the cat, as I have learned over the years what that really means. But I can't be 100% perfect 24/7/365 days a year. The closet may be cracked open, I may get tired and do something else that would lead to the possibility of 'something' else getting damaged.
I like this cat, he is a really good cat, but if he is going to cost me $500 a year in non-cat costs (for example cause I leave the door cracked open 1 day every 3-4 months), I really can't/dont-want-to afford that.
I will look into buying a big ol cat jungle gym like one poster mentioned above. Problem is, I know sometimes cats don't always take to them and use them. Plus, this guy is about 15 lbs min, so he is a good size kitty. Will he even fit on one of those things?
I'm not blanket against declawing although I have never done it and would for sure explore other options first.
I've never tried them but they are in wide use, definitely not a fad thing, and something I would for sure try before surgery.
I've had a couple of cats who were cool about having their nails trimmed; that plus cat trees and squirt bottles (for house plant attacks LOL) kept the damage level to, basically, zero.
The bolded was the first thing I did. I'm still so upset about it. 3 of the 4 jersey were gifts over the years, and 2 of them are kind of not 'exactly' replaceable. And one of them have sentimental value.
Anywho, I never planned on declawing the cat, as I have learned over the years what that really means. But I can't be 100% perfect 24/7/365 days a year. The closet may be cracked open, I may get tired and do something else that would lead to the possibility of 'something' else getting damaged.
I like this cat, he is a really good cat, but if he is going to cost me $500 a year in non-cat costs (for example cause I leave the door cracked open 1 day every 3-4 months), I really can't/dont-want-to afford that.
I will look into buying a big ol cat jungle gym like one poster mentioned above. Problem is, I know sometimes cats don't always take to them and use them. Plus, this guy is about 15 lbs min, so he is a good size kitty. Will he even fit on one of those things?
Unfortunately, this is all just part of owning not just a cat, but pets in general. In my nearly 20 years of owning pets, I've incurred a ton of non-cat, non-dog, non-rat, non-hamster, non-ferret, non-g pig, and non-gerbil costs. Animals will find a way to cost you more money beyond their basic needs through sheer destruction. If you don't take serious precautions, you'll quickly find that owning almost any sort of pet will become a hazard to any nice things you own. If it isn't claws and teeth, it's bodily fluids and hair. You will spend quite a bit of cash on preventative measures like claw covers, locks, vacuums, cleaners, repelling sprays, sturdy enclosures, and of course, tons of training guides and materials.
If it makes you feel any better, it's not much different than having a human toddler around.
As for a cat tree, I got one off of Amazon about a year or so ago for under $150 and it easily handles two cats running up and down it. Julius, the big orange one, at his heaviest was easily close to 20lbs (he's probably around 16/17lbs now) and did fine. The other cat, Cypher, is about 8-10lbs at his heaviest, so in total, this tree can take up to and likely over 30lbs of crazy cats jumping around on it. Both cats fit comfortably on those tower shelves and in the houses. I bought a fairly cheap catnip spray which they love and encourages them to use the post. It's a pretty tall tree-the tallest shelf is probably just under 6' tall.
Try the soft paws. They work really well. A friend of mine had them put on her cat when her elderly mom moved in with her. Mom was deathly afraid of being scratched by the cat, so they tried those. The cat didn't seem to be bothered by them.
If he's usually really good about not scratching the furniture, why declaw him at all? Just make sure your closet door is firmly closed. Get a new latch, if need be. Why subject this poor beast to cruel and unusual punishment?
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Originally Posted by Dogmama50
Close your closet door, pick up your clothes and buy your cat something to scratch. If you can afford to buy 4 jerseys for $500, you can surely afford something for you cat to scratch and play with.
^^^These. YOU left your closet door open and now you want to mutilate your cat?
No vet in my area will declaw. There's a reason most civilized countries have made the practice illegal.
Yes, get some scratching posts. Overstock has great prices on many (I've bought probably half a dozen through them, of all different sizes from small to huge). AND CLOSE YOUR CLOSET DOOR.
Keep your closet door shut, and keep anything you don't want your cat touching in the closet or otherwise out of reach.
It's not rocket science.
Buy him some inexpensive fluffy fleece blankets (my cats love fleece blankets; you can get them at IKEA for $3) to knead and snuggle with. Scatter them throughout your house, cover your furniture with them ... whatever it takes. Make sure he has lots of toys to play with.
Clothing is just things. Cats are living beings. Which is more important to you?
I've a cat I took responsibility for a year ago.
He is now 2 years old.
He was 'fixed' before I got him.
He was never declawed. He is usually REALLY good about not scratching furniture or things he shouldn't.
I'm sure you provide a few scratching posts and at least one cat-tree from the petshop for him.
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Until Saturday morning. I left my closet open a crack, and he is a curious fellow, and loves the closet for some reason. I have noticed a jersey of mine on the ground a time or two over the year, assuming it would fall off as he walked through the closet. these jerseys were on the lower level hanger pole in the closet.
As i was cleaning around the house on Saturday, I noticed four of my jerseys on the ground. Turns out kitty cat decided to kneed and use my four jerseys in excess of $500 for his nap time bed.
Basically, due to the jersey material, they have more snags than I can imagine, and are basically ruined.
Why not keep your closet door closed so he can't get to your excessively expensive jerseys? Anything that costly should be kept where children and pets can't reach them.
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I was against declawing him, as I feel it is cruel, and unnecessary.
But, I chose to not afford for him to destroy any farther clothing/furniture should it happen again.
This is a no-brainer - CLOSE THE CLOSET DOOR!
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Anyone have their cat front claws declawed lately? How much is a realistic current price?
I can obviously call some vets, but I was curious if anyone recently paid for a declaw only on a 2 year cat, and also if anyone has any thoughts about declawing an indoor 2 year old cat.
You need to do some research on de-clawing. It's extremely painful for the cat and can leave them crippled or with serious personality problems. I'm surprised you would even ask about such a cruel practice that it's been outlawed in many countries.
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