SoftPaws...anybody use them on their cat?

[BoysNightOut]

Our 2nd family cat passed away last month suddenly, and of course since there has been a cat in my parents house since 1990, we all miss having a feline there. Even though my brothers & I don’t live at home anymore, we still visit on weekends & it’s just not the same without a kitty around. I know my parents would love another cat. We might be making a trip to the local animal shelter this weekend. :sadsmile:

Question is…our 2 family cats were both declawed many years ago. I know declawing has had a lot of controversy over recent years. I’m trying to find alternatives to declawing as I know my mom doesn’t want a cat scratching up their furniture. I came across SoftPaws (www.softpaws.com).

Had anybody had experience with them? Easy to apply? How long do you find they last? Do cats seem comfortable with them?

Any opinions would be appreciated.

[mht]

Just started using these about a month ago. Have a neutured cat about 7 years old that decided that the two new leather chairs in the living room would be ideal for scratching. Got the Soft Paw, and they have made quite a difference. ‘Charlie’ was a little freaked with them at first, but has gotten used to them. Easy to apply, just make sure you trim the nails first, and use lots of glue. The first set lasted almost the whole month!

[RedMare01]

I used them on my two boy kitties when they were kittens. They work fairly well. How long they stay on is directly proportional to how active a scratcher the kitty is. One of mine was a little dervish of a kitten and tried to scratch anything and everything. He lost them pretty frequently. Not all at once, but probably two or three a week. His brother was much lazier and kept his on longer. The only issue I had with them was that occasionally they would get hooked on something and the cat would be unable to get it off of his claw. Oliver, AKA Wild Boy, got toys stuck on his more than once, and Bodie got caught on a scarf…the Soft Claw covers all of the nail in a normal position, but when they extend their claws, there is a space at the back not covered. Loops of thread can get caught back there. Luckily the few times they got hooked, I was there to get it off. Not sure they could have gotten free otherwise and it was enough to give me pause in using them long term.

I know declawing is unpopular, but that was my final solution. All three of mine are front declawed. They are completely fine (and obviously indoor only). I would only declaw a kitten, though, never a full grown one. Much harder on them when they’re older.

[CrouchingCheese]

Soft Paws

I’ve used them on my two cats, both neutered males, about 6 and 8 years old. The one cat did fine with them. They are pretty easy to apply (as long as your cats are good for getting their nails clipped) and lasted quite a while. In fact, with him, even if you cut the nail first he’d still “outgrow” the softpaws before they fell off, his nails would start poking through the soft paws after a few weeks.

With the other cat, they worked really well for a couple of months and then he decided he didn’t like them. As soon as I’d put them on, he’d wait a few minutes and then run off somewhere and chew every single one of them off. I tried reapplying, keeping him occupied with food for an hour after or whatever, etc. Didn’t matter, if he had them on then he’d chew them off.

They don’t scratch anything anymore, but then again, we don’t really give them access to the furniture and stuff when we aren’t home. A cat tree and appropriate cat scratchy things has also helped tremendously with their need to claw.

Good luck!!

[emaren]

If they are going to live inside, just get a declawed cat. You can probably find one already fixed, declawed and up to date on shots for free if you don’t want a kitten. I used to think that declawing was mean, but then I got a cat that was declawed and it is the best thing ever. Still though my other declawed cats have caused hundreds of dollars of damage to my doorways in my house, I guess I could have spent that amount on softpaws instead. Declawing is cheap and easy and results in a week of hardship for the cat, it could be worse.

[Simkie]

I found Softpaws easy to apply, as long as your cat is easy to restrain. They worked well at what they were supposed to do.

I DID find that sometimes they did not come off and the nail kept growing…nearly into the pad of the foot. They are difficult to deal with when that happens. I stopped using them because of this issue, as I was afraid I’d miss one growing all the way into the foot.

I like emaren’s suggestion of getting an older cat this is already declawed.

[ASBJumper]

Talk about spending money for nothing.

Just get a set of pet nail clippers (6-7 bucks) and trim the cat’s claws once a week. Simple.

I have a 5’ cat tree made of carpet and sisal, and my cats claw it to their heart’s content. They never touch the furniture. Even if they did, their claws are clipped & blunt so it wouldn’T do any damage.

SoftPaws are fine if you want to keep spending money all the time. Or you could just take 30 seconds of your time out once a week and clip your cat’s claws.

[RedMare01]

I had a scratch post and I trimmed nails. Maybe it’s just me (not a professional nail trimmer here), but even keeping their claws short…they can still scratch and damage furniture. In fact, my kitten managed to climb (and severely damage) my shower curtain with claws freshly trimmed. He couldn’t do that with Soft Paws. He regularly went after the couch and other furniture. At least with Soft Paws, the ends are blunt and unable to get purchase to dig in.

[GoForAGallop]

[QUOTE=ASBJumper;6222840]
Talk about spending money for nothing.

Just get a set of pet nail clippers (6-7 bucks) and trim the cat’s claws once a week. Simple.

I have a 5’ cat tree made of carpet and sisal, and my cats claw it to their heart’s content. They never touch the furniture. Even if they did, their claws are clipped & blunt so it wouldn’T do any damage.

SoftPaws are fine if you want to keep spending money all the time. Or you could just take 30 seconds of your time out once a week and clip your cat’s claws. ;)[/QUOTE]
Seriously. I regularly have 6+ cats in my house (up to 13 at one point, with a litter of foster kittens and two feral barn cats locked in the bathroom) and I have not had a single bit of furniture damage. I’ve raised plenty of wild, naughty kittens too, and have plenty of broken and glued together stuff to show for it, but no furniture damage.

Claws get clipped once a week (I just schedule a day) and I have lots of sisal and cardboard scratching boards that get regular use.

Edited to add: A friend was considering declawing a cat the other year (a requirement to have one in her apartment building) and called most of the vets in my area. Every one except one very “sketchy” vet refused to do the procedure. It is considered cruel, and unnecessary. I forget the exact number she called, but it was over 10 separate practices.

[HenryisBlaisin]

The declawing proponents all realize that it’s the anatomical equivalent of amputating all of your fingers at the first knuckle, right? It deprives them not only of protection but of dexterity. Many cats refuse to use a litter box after declawing because it’s painful. Others become defensive biters. I have one that I adopted already declawed-he’s pretty normal, but it is much harder for him to jump up on things (like the counter where he eats) than my normal cats because he can’t “grab” with that first joint. Sure,some are fine afterwards…I’m sure some people would be fine having all their fingertips amputated, too…

I used the Soft Paws for a while…they lasted 2-4 weeks, never had any hang-up issues, but then I found it to be easier to simply train the cats to use a scratching post and keep their nails trimmed. It’s more work, but in the long run, has the same outcome.

[BoysNightOut]

Thanks for the advice! I am going to see if they have any cats already declawed, but not sure what luck we’ll have. The age range that I think will be good for them is a 1-2 year old. Skip the kitten stage, but they don’t want anything too up there in age (losing our cat last month was horrible). So in case they don’t have anything declawed, I was hoping for some ideas to cut down on damage to the house.

I will look into some good scratching posts & learn how to clip nails properly (my own cat has claws as she’s part barn cat, so I’ve never had to clip nails before).

Thanks again for the advice! Hopefully a kitty will get a new home this weekend, and my parents will have a new friend.

[onelanerode]

If you do try the SoftPaws, make sure your glue is fresh. Old glue doesn’t work worth a crap and your cat will have them off in two seconds flat. Ask me how I know! :winkgrin:

We’ve settled for frequent nail trimming and regular applications of catnip to scratching posts and cat trees. It isn’t perfect, but it’s the best option we have.

[Chall]

Anyone use the dremel “sanders”? They look like they would keep the nails fram snagging on anything.

[CrouchingCheese]

Dremels

I have that pet dremel one, that one that catches all of the dust when you use it to dremel nails. Every single one of my pets hate it. The dachshunds think it’s the devil and bark and growl at it (even after trying to get them used to it with treats) and the cats are even less impressed.

My normally-easy-to-restrain cats turn into flying demons of fury when that thing comes on. I can touch them all over with it when it’s off, but as soon as I turn it on they go a-flying.

Honestly, it’s much easier (as many other people have said) to just clip the nails once per week. Takes one minute tops per cat.

The dogs get done too, and to “smooth” out the rough edges of the nail we take a quick walk around the block. Does the same job as the dremel without the drama.

I did used to be able to use it on my old shepherd mix, but she never liked it, just barely tolerated it. It also took a LOT longer to do the nails that way.

The clip-and-walk method is less stressful and seems to make my dogs happier.

[Simkie]

@Chall;6224020

Anyone use the dremel “sanders”? They look like they would keep the nails fram snagging on anything.

My cats are super tolerant, but I cannot even IMAGINE using a dremel on their nails. No way.

The dog, however, is just fine with it.

[wireweiners]

One thing that I have found that works fairly well is to have a variety of scratching surfaces for the kitties. I have a large cat tree with carpet and sisal, several of the cardboard scratchers, a very large sisal scratcher and a log with bark on it that one of my kitties just loves to scratch. I think the mistake that most people make with scratching posts is they don’t get one tall enough. Most cats really like to reach out and stretch when they scratch.

[ASBJumper]

[QUOTE=wireweiners;6224990]
One thing that I have found that works fairly well is to have a variety of scratching surfaces for the kitties. I have a large cat tree with carpet and sisal, several of the cardboard scratchers, a very large sisal scratcher and a log with bark on it that one of my kitties just loves to scratch. I think the mistake that most people make with scratching posts is they don’t get one tall enough. Most cats really like to reach out and stretch when they scratch.[/QUOTE]

This.

My 5’, multi-tiered cat condo tree was the best $180 i ever spent. It looks like hell, but my furniture looks pristine! :winkgrin:

[tabula_rashah]

I can’t believe their are people still barbaric enough to declaw cats:mad:
I have not tried softpaws- but we have 7 indoor/outdoor cats and every single one of them has been easily taught not to scratch furniture. I would try just training them not to scratch first.

[Wellspotted]

i was going to start a thread asking about Soft Claws, which I have just been reading about on another web site, but I decided to do a search here on COTH before starting a new thread.

This is a good thread.

However.

The Soft Claws just look uncomfortable! Like the claws can’t be sheathed with them on. I would worry about the kitties not only pulling them off but swallowing them.

I’m glad they have worked for some of you, and I may try them, but I would worry about leaving the cats alone all day with them on, especially after reading the posts about threads and things getting caught at the base of the claw.

I can’t believe anyone would declaw a cat. That is cruelty. Can’t believe anyone would be unaware of this, these days.

[VaqueroToro]

Having a multitude of surfaces throughout the house really is the key. Just like we have routines, cats do too. They’ll wake up from a nap and want to stretch and scratch – put something near to where they nap frequently, etc. Even better if their nap spot also doubles as a scratcher like a cat tree does.

Declawing should be the absolutely last resort ‘cause as HenryisBlaisin’ pointed out, it is essentially amputating to the first knuckle of their toes.