I'm looking for ways to get my boyfriend off my back about declawing Charlotte

[JuliePup]

Hi everybody. I'm extremely new here, just joined today. I'll give you the short version of my dilema...my boyfriend Matt and I just got Charlotte, a 2 and a half month old female kitten. She's just a princess, and she doesn't scratch anything but her scratch post. Matt is somewhat OCD about keeping the furniture perfect I'm constantly reminding him that if we have animals, nothing will be quote "perfect" all the time, and for the animals we have, all of our furniture is in perfectly good shape. He's quite worried about her scratching up the couch and everything else when she gets older. He's on my back about getting her declawed, which I am VEHEMENT about never doing to her. I refuse to take her claws away from her, especially just for the furniture's continued perfection....I hate when people do that, and I'll never be one of them.
I've tried explaining to him that it's not a 'simple' procedure, that there are plenty of negative consequences possible, and that there are reasons why cats were given claws. He still doens't get it Well I found the website www.softpaws.com today, and it shows the truth (diagrams included) behind declawing your cat. i'll show him that today to try to get it into his head lol. I was also wondering....I'm looking for options besides declawing that will be effective and humane that will convince him to get declawing out of his head.
I guess my question is....Just in case she does start scratching the furniture in the future, what would you guys recommend? I notice a lot of you have their nails trimmed...how does that work for you guys? it seems like that would be the best option, being easy, effective, and very humane, along with training her to use her scratch post as much as possible. Have any of you ever tried these things called ''soft paws''? they are those caps you glue onto their front claws. I'm not sure what to make of them, I'm a little wierded out by them. I was just after some of your oppinions on this whole subject, I guess. I really appreciate all of your help, and I thank you for your time!!! any advise would be great!!!

~Julie

[angieh]

Sorry Julie - I know it's not you who is advocating declawing little Charlotte but I don't even want to go there. It's illegal I believe in U.K.

[Shelley123]

Hello Julie, welcome to the forum.
You are so right not to have Charlotte declawed, it's barbaric.
It's not a procedure that is done in the UK , thank goodness.
A scratch post is good and it's a good sign if shes using it now. Our cats sharpened their claws outside on fences, tree trunks etc. We have never found it neccesary to have our cats claws trimmed but then again our furniture sure has seen better days,lol.
That being said, maybe claw trimming would be an option if she did start on the furniture.

[dandysmom]

Declawing is barbaric; most sensible countries have outlawed it, and many vets refuse to do it. But I'm preaching to the choir, I see; you don't need convincing, but the OH. If he can watch that video and till want it, I despair ..

Claw clipping is easy if you start them young they take it as a part of life. Just get a good pair of cat clippers, not people ones. Does she use her scratching post now? If not, try rubbing a bit of catnip on it; may encourage her. I've neither used the attachable artificial claws nor known anyone who has, so no opinion there .... although it seems like a lot of bother. Will she have access to outdoors? She may do a lot of her claw sharpening there, hopefully.

Good luck!!

[lynz85]

i also dont want to go into the declawing subject too much, i do think it is cruel and unecessary. i have a 9 month old kitten, i got him at 9 weeks old and he has treated my furniture very well. i have a leather couch, he's only left a few claw marks from hanging on the back , he never uses his claws when jumping up. there has been a couple of times when hes tries to pluke up the carpet to get into a room but that kind of behaviour can be easily discouraged. if your kitten is using her scratch post, some regular claw trimming should be fine.

[Hreow]

Start by getting her used to having her claws trimmed. Just do one or two at a time and only take off the very end. With a bit of luck, this might be all you would need to do. I know some people swear by the soft paws - maybe that would be a decent compromise if it becomes absolutely necessary.

Good luck with your continued training of the boyfriend.

[dandysmom]

Yes, be careful not to clip too far down; you can see the pink vein. If accidentally cut, it bleeds. Mine got used to claw clipping as kittens, so it was no big deal.

[Velvet]

Ive never clipped Tim or Amber's claws, are you meant to do it??

[Tink]

Tell him it's basically amputation of her fingers and she is going to have mental issues as well as physical pain and having to relearn how to walk. It'd be like cutting off his toes. If he still insists, kick boyfriend to the curb. Or maybe he can put his perfect furniture into storage facility.

[Hreow]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Ive never clipped Tim or Amber's claws, are you meant to do it??

You don't have to if your cat has ample opportunity to scratch properly - your scratchpost should do nicely - and they are physically capable of doing so.
However, if you do take just the very tip off they will do less damage if they do by accident catch on something or the cat extends their claws to catch themselves falling (or at the vet's when they are feeling scared or irritated). Also, if you get your cats used to having their claws clipped, you have an easier life if they damage a claw and you need to trim it so it doesn't catch on everything (as they know the clipping bit already) and they'll be used to you handling their paws and claws so that the "soft paws" will be doable if you need to go down that route.