Like, just get a dog if you can’t handle the claws.
Cats can retract theirs; dogs can’t. I’m not sure this would work out. Not to mention you gotta clip the dog’s every once in a while and if you do it wrong, you can hurt them.
Cat’s claws are for hunting, fighting and climbing. They are extremely sharp, and can rip your skin and make you bleed without even trying.
Dog’s claws are for traction and digging. Usually dogs claws are dull, they might still cause a big of damage to the top most layer of your skin, but they have to make an effort to draw blood. Dogs hunt and fight with their teeth instead of their claws.
I mean historically people didn’t necessarily think of it as mutilation, even if now most people understand it to be extreme. Many cats have bad scratching habits and people don’t know to train their cats not to do so. Some will definitely trash your furniture and people looked at de-clawing as a way to stop it vs giving up the cat for adoptuon. Are all cats even trainable to not scratch? I don’t know personally.
I’m kind of curious how banning declawing of cats influences rates of abandonment and euthanization. I had many cats when I was younger, some which were bad scratchers and got de-clawed and others which weren’t prone to it so didn’t get de-clawed. I’d like to get one now but know my wife (and I probably) won’t be able to tolerate our furniture and drapes getting tore up if I can’t train it not to, and I hate the idea of adopting one only to give it up later, so I’ll likely not get one at all. I wonder if and how many get put down simply because fewer adopt them when de-clawing is banned.
I wonder if and how many get put down simply because fewer adopt them when de-clawing is banned.
I wonder about this, but in regards to the housing crisis. It’s hell trying to find a new place to live, but trying to find an affordable place that ALSO allows pets? As someone looking for a home myself, it seems like almost everywhere has “No pets, no smoking” as a rule.
I don’t have a pet so it doesn’t apply to me now, but I know people stuck in a shitty apartment that’s falling apart, just because they adopted a puppy (of unknown breed origins) a few years ago. That puppy grew, and now even places that allow pets say that he’s too large to be permitted.
I would love to adopt a pet. But this human housing situation spells bad news for strays and shelter pets everywhere.
Renting and pets have always been a problem, and the higher the occupancy rate the less likely landlord’s allow pets. I certainly understand from a landlords perspective pets damage things and replacing all the carpet because cats pissed all over and the tenant didn’t care is expensive. But as you said, with housing what it is now there are even more people restricted from pet ownership than ever.
Scratching is part claw maintenance and part territorial marking / decorating. And it feels good for them! If you catch a cat scratching the furniture, scolding them will usually get them to stop. Most cats will quit scratching the furniture entirely if you give them more appealing things to scratch. It has to be a good height, very stable, and have a texture they like.
Simply clipping the tips of the claws goes a long way to prevent furniture destruction, when combined with a scratching/climbing tree. Some cats like sisal but others prefer carpet on the posts. I have a routine with my present cat where she knows if she jumps to a certain place she’ll get a couple Dental Treats, but before she jumps I briefly check her front paws. If there’s a longer, sharper nail, I clip it, just the tip. Then I put up the treat. That way she never has to put up with more than one or two snips. I use a regular toenail clipper, but a big sharp quality one. And turn it because claws are taller than they are wide.
I started buying the paste tubes. Our cats go nuts for them. I started giving them one after I clip their nails. Now, they complain and still try to pull away, but they don’t run away anymore when I grab the clippers.
Cat nail caps are not a perfect answer to this problem, but still an infinitely better one than amputation (please don’t use the term declawing as it’s extremely misleading).
There’s also ways to encourage your cat to use scratch pads and the like instead of your furniture (cats hate citrus for example, so a bit of that where they want to scratch and they’ll find a new spot immediately).
Why even have a cat if you’re going to mutilate their hands?
Like, just get a dog if you can’t handle the claws.
Cats can retract theirs; dogs can’t. I’m not sure this would work out. Not to mention you gotta clip the dog’s every once in a while and if you do it wrong, you can hurt them.
Cat’s claws are for hunting, fighting and climbing. They are extremely sharp, and can rip your skin and make you bleed without even trying.
Dog’s claws are for traction and digging. Usually dogs claws are dull, they might still cause a big of damage to the top most layer of your skin, but they have to make an effort to draw blood. Dogs hunt and fight with their teeth instead of their claws.
Sure, but their nails aren’t typically as sharp as cats’ claws, so there is that.
I mean historically people didn’t necessarily think of it as mutilation, even if now most people understand it to be extreme. Many cats have bad scratching habits and people don’t know to train their cats not to do so. Some will definitely trash your furniture and people looked at de-clawing as a way to stop it vs giving up the cat for adoptuon. Are all cats even trainable to not scratch? I don’t know personally.
I’m kind of curious how banning declawing of cats influences rates of abandonment and euthanization. I had many cats when I was younger, some which were bad scratchers and got de-clawed and others which weren’t prone to it so didn’t get de-clawed. I’d like to get one now but know my wife (and I probably) won’t be able to tolerate our furniture and drapes getting tore up if I can’t train it not to, and I hate the idea of adopting one only to give it up later, so I’ll likely not get one at all. I wonder if and how many get put down simply because fewer adopt them when de-clawing is banned.
I wonder about this, but in regards to the housing crisis. It’s hell trying to find a new place to live, but trying to find an affordable place that ALSO allows pets? As someone looking for a home myself, it seems like almost everywhere has “No pets, no smoking” as a rule.
I don’t have a pet so it doesn’t apply to me now, but I know people stuck in a shitty apartment that’s falling apart, just because they adopted a puppy (of unknown breed origins) a few years ago. That puppy grew, and now even places that allow pets say that he’s too large to be permitted.
I would love to adopt a pet. But this human housing situation spells bad news for strays and shelter pets everywhere.
Renting and pets have always been a problem, and the higher the occupancy rate the less likely landlord’s allow pets. I certainly understand from a landlords perspective pets damage things and replacing all the carpet because cats pissed all over and the tenant didn’t care is expensive. But as you said, with housing what it is now there are even more people restricted from pet ownership than ever.
Scratching is part claw maintenance and part territorial marking / decorating. And it feels good for them! If you catch a cat scratching the furniture, scolding them will usually get them to stop. Most cats will quit scratching the furniture entirely if you give them more appealing things to scratch. It has to be a good height, very stable, and have a texture they like.
Simply clipping the tips of the claws goes a long way to prevent furniture destruction, when combined with a scratching/climbing tree. Some cats like sisal but others prefer carpet on the posts. I have a routine with my present cat where she knows if she jumps to a certain place she’ll get a couple Dental Treats, but before she jumps I briefly check her front paws. If there’s a longer, sharper nail, I clip it, just the tip. Then I put up the treat. That way she never has to put up with more than one or two snips. I use a regular toenail clipper, but a big sharp quality one. And turn it because claws are taller than they are wide.
I started buying the paste tubes. Our cats go nuts for them. I started giving them one after I clip their nails. Now, they complain and still try to pull away, but they don’t run away anymore when I grab the clippers.
Cat nail caps are not a perfect answer to this problem, but still an infinitely better one than amputation (please don’t use the term declawing as it’s extremely misleading).
There’s also ways to encourage your cat to use scratch pads and the like instead of your furniture (cats hate citrus for example, so a bit of that where they want to scratch and they’ll find a new spot immediately).