Comments on: Nine Week Photos

By: Rangashrii

Rangashrii — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:34:11 +0000

Thank you. I did find a couple of vets nearby but they both offered declawing and that kind of scared me. I was wondering if I had to look elsewhere . My current vet has been very good and I hate to move only because I shall have to look for someone local there.

By: Beth

Beth — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:13:52 +0000

As Lisa knows, I have Brasen and Keiran and neither will be declawed because of the contract BUT all my previous cats including a purebred Burmese and Siamese were declawed. They lived long lives, ran, played, jumped and Softee (the Siamese) would occasionally regrow a claw! Their paws healed well, no limps, etc. Brasen is fine but I would get Keiran in yesterday if not for the contract. He is a climber! Back of sofa over the top, up the books on the bookcase to the top! Doesn’t scatch the rug but also won’t scratch a cardboard post/box/flat/circle whatever shape. Lisa has seen pictures where he will pull of the sticky no scratch strips with his teeth! to get to the sofa underneath. A terrorist kitty/cutest thing ever rolled into one! Anyway, I am definitely for declawing - but don’t worry Lisa these two guys are safe!

By: Pat Brandt

Pat Brandt — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:17:00 +0000

You do NOT have to declaw cats. EVER.

in August 2007 we got 2 of Lisa Vasa’s kittens (Garion and Belgarath). They have NEVER clawed ANY of our furniture. We have one 3-foot scratching post the same color as our carpet in a corner of the living room right in their path where they stop and scratch before they enter the room. It has carpet on it, but we also have a tall floor to ceiling scratching post in our downstairs tv room that has rope and carpet surfaces, from Dr Foster & Smith website.

We also have a big 20-lb Maine Coon who is 5 years old. He never claws the furniture either. We never used sticky strips - we just make sure there is a cat post directly in their path. When the 3-foot post starts to look bad, we go to Petco and buy a new one. They just want to stretch and mark the entry to the room as they come in. So put a scratching post where they walk by, and it will get used.

Belgarath and Garion (now named Max and Pie) do like to climb high on their cat tree, but they have never shown any interest at all in scratching our furniture. They prefer the cat posts.

By the way, both our kittens we got from Lisa Vasa are very sweet-natured, affectionate pets - she did a good job raising them.

By: Beth

Beth — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:15:35 +0000

Every cat like every person is different. Brasen and Keiran are uncle and nephew but they are complete opposites. They have a cat tree - they claw the cat tree - they love to claw the cat tree. They do not claw rugs, they do not claw any cardboard scratcher in any shape or location. Brasen has never clawed the furniture ever - ever. But Keiran thinks scratching and climbing my sofa, chair, side of bed, dining room chairs are the only way up - its his nature. Sticky strips he eats - literally, we’ve pulled them off his fur, his lips, his teeth. I will not, but I would declaw him in a minute - it has absolutely never effected my previous cats, purebred or shelter. Lisa’s cats are wonderful cats and I love the terrorist kitty he is absolutely the cutest thing ever but he’s like the little girl with the curl in the center of her forehead - when he is good he is very, very good - but when he is bad he is horrid. His latest is finding out if he is big enough to swing from my dining room chandelier light fixture. Any day now he will make like Errol Flynn and jump from the bookcases to the chandelier like some swashbuckler of old - I just hope the builder put in really good ceiling anchors!

By: Sally

Sally — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:57:25 +0000

Has anyone tried the Soft Paws claw caps? I haven’t but I always see them in pet catalogs and on websites.

By: Rangashrii

Rangashrii — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:42:24 +0000

Is declawing only prevalent in the US? I didn’t know about it until my ragdoll’s breeder , educated me before we signed the contract stating no declawing.Back home, people think neutering a cat or dog is making the animal suffer. But until I had my cat( back home) neutered, I didn’t have single peaceful moment. It took me several months to convince my mom to let me have him neutered. While she agrees, she has been feeling relieved that Chechu hasn’t been trying run out of the door or picking up fights with strays for mating territory, she still thinks I am cruel for neutering my wegie and my ragdoll.
I wish they will have the trap,neuter and release program there too. It could save many lives.

By: Rangashrii

Rangashrii — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:16:08 +0000

When are the Winter gifts writing a letter? Please tell them to make time between the jumping sessions:)))

By: Shelliene

Shelliene — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:31:50 +0000

I find the variety of comments interesting so I thought I’d add this and see if anyone has an opinion on this:
I lived in an apt complex in Seattle when I got my cats Martina (left behind when someone moved away) & Oscar (a 7 week old saved from going to the shelter & actually I now suspect he is a NFC). Due to a lease agreement with the landlord, I had them declawed on the front only. I thought this was better than giving them up.
They never had any problems or complications from this. In fact later when I brought my 3rd cat Mickey home after his surgery, the vet advised me that he would need a few days to recover and be careful to not let him have to jump down from anything like the bed or couch. Yeah right - he tore out of the carrier and started running around playing with Oscar as if nothing had happened. He also had a bad tendancy to get on the kitchen counters & in the sink constantly & I hoped it would deter him from jumping up if he couldn’t jump down but no, he never figured that out and remained a skilled counter jumper all of his days.
I agree with Beth that some cats are just more active & adventurous. They have that sweetnatured affectionate wildcat inside, and for them to not have claws would help minimize their tracks as they are tearing around the house - literally. Maybe Keiran should be called Tarzan.=)
I also like Pat’s sratching post idea - it makes sense to work with their instincts and behavior. Also, I think clipping their nails is a simple option. If you start when they are kittens, it’s easy to get them used to having their nails trimmed. We tried this with our kitten Zippy and she only would scratch if her claws got too long. If I saw her start to scratch on the chair or anything, it was time to trim & she was fine until they grew out again.
If they are hyper or really dislike it, do 1 or 2 at a time or when they are sleepy, cuddle them and clip away. Make it a positive thing - lots of loves ect. & I think they actually like it. In fact to this day, if Martina’s get too long, she will sit there & chew on her back claws as if they annoy her.
Oscar will go to the leg of the coffee table or a chair & wrap his front paws around it and alternate pulling his paws kind of like he is packing but faster as if it massages his feet which I don’t think he would like to do if he had claws. Is this a typical NFC thing? - because I’ve never seen any other cat do this. I don’t have a scratch post currently and they don’t seem to act like they miss it or want one.
Personally, I wouldn’t choose to declaw a cat again but I think in rare circumstances declawing is O.K. especially if it lessens the number of cats going to a shelter or increases the adoptions from the shelter - most of these are older cats that probably have scratching habits and would be harder to work with. Also, if a hyper-playful cat is wrecking your home and damaging your stuff which can be expensive, it might make sense to consider it. If it makes it possible to keep the cat in a home, it could be the best option.
Overall, people love their pets and don’t want to cause any pain or harm to them but need to do what’s best for the situation. If you ever decide to do it, make sure you have an excellent vet who really cares. This could make all the difference.