Talk to me about cat declawing and options...

[Draftmare]

**Please no hate, this is a last resort.

I have a five year old cat that has always been on the destructive side. However, my house has been under a constant state of construction until recently, now we are starting to put things together, and the more we put together and the more we clean the more we see the levels of his destruction. Every room has at least one corner that he has shredded, one room the point where there is an actual hole in the dry wall. He has ripped down wall paper, torn up carpet, and made one roll of carpet that we had laying around partially unusable. Likely thousands of dollars of damage.

We have tried caps in the past and he obsessed over pulling them off. Would do nothing else for hours on end. We have tried sticky tape, tin foil, sprays that are suppose to make him not like an area, getting him to use a cat tree instead… If we could think of it, we have tried it.

I am at my wits end of what to do.

So, we are thinking about getting him declawed. I am wondering about recover time both mentally and physically for an older cat, and if all the horror stories you hear about arthritis down the road are true? Or any other suggestions to get my cat to stop destroying my house.

[french_fry]

Has he had a full medical workup? This level of destruction is way beyond what I would consider normal behavior.

I am hardline on my anti declawing stance so unfortunately don’t have any advice to share on that front.

[Lazy_Palomino_Hunter]

Have you talked to a veterinary behaviorist?

What you’re describing sounds far outside normal behavior; if the destruction is being driven by any underlying issues (physical or psychological), declawing could just lead to the frustration being vented through other outlets (biting, inappropriate elimination, etc.).

Here’s a link to the member directory for the American College of Veterinary Behavior. A consult will probably cost less than declawing.

[RedmondDressage]

I too am hardline about declawing and I personally think it would probably be doubly cruel to do to a 5 year old cat. As mentioned above I would seek medical and behavioral advice from an expert. I can also recommend soft claws. They’re a bit of a pain but IMO a MUCH more humane option.

[Altermyne]

A cat crate could help, maybe. I’d make an appointment with a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist (some do online or phone consults) and see if they have any suggestions.

All that said, the cats I have now will be my last. They are FAR more destructive than my dogs, to the point I have a tattered old couch I have not replaced as I don’t want to pay for a new scratching post that looks suspiciously like furniture.

[Tornado_Run_Farm]

I have 3 cats now that will also be my last - 15 yo. They were formerly barn cats that I brought into my house as 1-year olds. At that time I had a new house, new furniture, and the young cats were totally destroying everything, so I casually, thoughtlessly just had them de-clawed. HORRIBLE DECISION! When I brought them home I cried because of the obvious pain they were in, and I have regretted.it.every.day.since. It took them weeks to recover, and it changed their personalities - the 2 females especially. As others have said, look for alternatives, but please - do not put your 5yo kitty through it. It’ll be too painful for both him AND you!

[horsenut_8700]

My cats used to be super destructive until I bought several floor to ceiling cat trees. They need to have room to stand straight up and scratch- most scratching posts simply aren’t tall enough to allow that. I sprayed them with catnip spray at first, but they’ve done NO damage since the cat furniture arrived.

Having worked in the field, I would NEVER declaw a cat- you’re just asking for bigger behavioral and physical issues after doing that.

[dressagetraks]

My cats adore their new tall cat tree, and I have noticed much more scratching on it. They were using the cat scratcher and such before, not the furniture, but they LOVE scratching on the tall tree, and yes, they want to stand up and reach. It has silsal wrapped posts, but they had a silsal cat post before that was much less used.

[saje]

I have 10 indoor cats and my house is not a torn up mess. My suggestions:

• Trim his nails short regularly. Have you looked at his nails? He may be doing it because they irritate him.

• Make him a safe and interesting space outside using tall nylon mesh with an overhang. I built one for my crew, I can show you what I did if you’re interested.

• Ask your vet about a bit of kitty-prozac. It can be compounded into a cream that you rub on an ear.

Clawing is a form of territory marking, and you say your house has been in construction for a while. It may actually BE the construction that’s making him mark this way, be glad it isn’t urine marking! I would try the 3 things above and hope that with the end of construction and general upheaval he will settle down.

Declawing him now would be very, very hard on him - please don’t.

[Draftmare]

I don’t think that I will ever get another indoor cat, and outdoor cats are just coyote bait around here, if they don’t get hit in the road first. He has a cat tree, about three feet tall including a scratching post. He has never touched it. The dog gets more use out of it than the cat. He is also one of the few cats that aren’t effected by cat nip. You can set a cat nip toy on his head and he will lay there looking annoyed at you.

[Marshfield]

[QUOTE=horsenut_8700;8598909]

Having worked in the field, I would NEVER declaw a cat- you’re just asking for bigger behavioral and physical issues after doing that.[/QUOTE]
^^^This. I know how to do it. I won’t. You’re just asking for either biting or inappropriate urination.

[MustangSavvy]

Declawing is cruel. Period. I would rather see cat euthanized then declawed.

[saje]

[QUOTE=Draftmare;8598948]
I don’t think that I will ever get another indoor cat, and outdoor cats are just coyote bait around here, if they don’t get hit in the road first. He has a cat tree, about three feet tall including a scratching post. He has never touched it. The dog gets more use out of it than the cat. He is also one of the few cats that aren’t effected by cat nip. You can set a cat nip toy on his head and he will lay there looking annoyed at you.[/QUOTE]

Which is why I said make a safe yard for him with tall fencing. My crew have a cat door in a window in my office and they can go out into their own 40’ x 120’ yard at will. The fence isn’t climbable or jumpable, and it would take a determined digger a long time to get in under it by which time any self respecting cat would have headed for the cat flap at mach 3. You don’t have to do anything that big, but it should have “furniture” that can be moved around or changed out for interest. I have a bark covered log to scratch on, a chair, a tote that blows around and they can sit in or on it, and a couple of small dog houses. There’s bushes to hide under, sand to pee in, grass to eat and roll in. And a birdfeeder outside the yard for kitty tv. My crew spends a LOT of time out there, and we are a rural area with coyotes and roaming dogs.

I also would let him have one thing or maybe two that you know he already likes scratching on in the house. Trim his nails short, see about a little happy juice, and wait and see what happens when life calms down a bit in his territory.

There IS a way around this.

[Credosporthorses]

My cat was starting to scratch on my walls. I started being more proactive about trimming his nails and he hasn’t scratched since. It’s not his favorite thing but if I break it up into multiple trimmings he’s much more tollarant.

[Laurierace]

[QUOTE=MustangSavvy;8599123]
Declawing is cruel. Period. I would rather see cat euthanized then declawed.[/QUOTE]

I agree. A fate much worse than death in my opinion.

[MistyBlue]

The problem with many problem cats is that, to may people, getting/having a cat is an easy ‘extra.’
We’ll tailor or homes, schedules, lifestyles, etc around other pets…but not cats. We tend to consider them “add-ons” like options as opposed to very distinct animals with very distinct needs to be happy.
Definitely NOT saying we don’t care about or love our feline buddies, it’s just that unlike puppies they don’t really require training for behavior or being housebroken.
Except for adding a litterbox, few toys and a bed we don’t give them much in the way of habitat or enrichment. Heck, we even give gerbils, hamsters and birds more in the way of happy environments than we tend to do with cats. We’re not neglecting them on purpose, but it often ends up that way even when they’re well fed and healthy.

Cats have an instinctual need to climb and use those claws. They love being up high and even if they’re not acting skittish they’re often not happy being on the ground all the time. Then we give them heck for using our furniture and walls to claw or try to get up higher.

Cat trees are excellent and most good breeders won’t sell a kitten to a house without at least a cat tree. And not one of the low ones. They understand cats.

You can alter your home for the cat as well as yourselves and still have it look great. Floating shelves staggered up a wall looks nice and gives cats climbing places and high spots to hang out and watch their little world go by below. Putting a cat bed on top of kitchen cabinets gives them a great high spot, too. Or on top of the fridge.

You can buy inexpensive but nicely colored/printed hall runner carpets and hang them vertically on a wall as a decoration like a tapestry for cats to climb. Add a narrow shelf bed to the top as a bonus.

You can fit a window with a cat cage for warmer days for your indoor kitty to enjoy the outdoors safely. Also hang a cat hammock to one or two windowsills so they have a spy-spot to outside. Hanging a bird feeder outside of those windows helps, LOL!

Some low hidey-holes are a good idea, too. You can put a skirt around the bottom of a wing chair for a cat-cave underneath. Or a high plate rail around a room as a cat-walk.

And at least once every single day plan to play with your cat for 15 minutes. Just like dogs, they need both exercise and habitat enrichment. They need to chase, catch and tackle stuff. Despite being sedentary most of the time, they definitely require that short time to stalk and pounce and run every single day.

There are also food puzzles you can get for them to bat around and get treats out of or you can hide a few small tidbits around the house every single day.

One they can act like a cat, move like a cat and get up high and climb and claw and chase and pounce like a cat…they almost always stop destroying things you don’t want them to destroy. We can’t just drop a cat in the house with a toy and a litterbox and expect every single one to be happy and well adjusted. A cat-unfriendly house for an indoor cat is like keeping a horse stall bound 24/7.

[Simkie]

Awesome post, Misty! :yes:

[SLW]

The vet I work for will only declaw the fronts on cats 6 months old or younger.

I inherited a cat who is declawed on all 4, you read that right. He does everything my clawed cats do- climb in the hay, kills mice and sparrows. He doesn’t back down from a skirmish over something. Pretty amazing kitty.

[Simkie]

SLW, your post reminds me…when I was a little girl, my first kitty was declawed in front. That’s just what was done then. She still tore the HELL out of our sofa with her declawed front feet–totally destroyed it. She’d developed really impressive callouses and was able to use them just as effectively as claws.

Declawing doesn’t guarantee they won’t wreck mayhem with what’s left of their toes!

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

I have 10 cats and pee wars on occasion and researched valerian to calm them and found out ingested it will calm but inhaled it will act like catnip. Here is a link for other options…you can’t limit to catnip. (I am targeting calming herbs).

http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-behavior-tips-humor-stoned-totally-legal

I also have cardboard scratchers, and even made a tower with upholstery leftovers that they prefer to the couch. Please try some other alternatives to the standard…none of my cats are declawed, my house is in decent condition. My elderly rescue cat that just passed away had a four paw declaw and was in such pain before she died on all four feet that if she had not suddenly declined and passed I would have had her euthed.