Reason #1002 to NOT own a cat

[TeamCasey]

As much as I catch TeamMorris' cat being naughty, I agree with her.

I'm not a fan of declawing, but I've always had indoor/outdoor pets. Our neighborhood has a hierarchy. The neighbor's cats used to rule before they moved. Our new neighbors have 4 dogs. A few swiped noses redefines the hierarchy. You gotta give them a chance, or keep them in the house.

I'd hate to keep ours in the house. They LOVE to walk in the woods with me. I wouldn't get a big dog without a big yard. I wouldn't get a cat or a dog unless I had a yard they could enjoy.

[Red Thunder]

We have a cat, too, and I have never heard of declawing a cat before. That sounds horrible ... in my opinion you shouldn't choose a cat as a pet if you are afraid that it could scratch something in your home. We never had that problem, as our cat since the beginning only used the scraching spots made up for him as well as a tree in the garden.

[OldCat]

On the declawing issue -- at the vet you can get little plastic caps that fit over the tips of the claws and are glued on. This should help reduce any clawing damage while you post train the cat.

You can even get them in nail-poilsh like colors

[tom browning]

Dogs are so much better then cats. Just thought Id throw that out there.

[KronoRed]

In your opinion, I have 2 cats and I wouldn't trade em for the world

[Ravenlord]

declawing=bad. cut off your finger tips at the knuckles. that's about what declawing is.

my cat is usually scared of the tree. sometimes he gets brave and sniffs at it, then runs away very quickly. i guess it bothers him because it's not real.

[pedro]

In your opinion, I have 2 cats and I wouldn't trade em for the world

me too! If you have cats and they're your buddies it's totally different. Other people's cats aren't like other people's dogs. Cats usually only dig they're keepers.

[KittyDuran]

Just a little update on THE cat - named KC (kittycat) by my Mom. Convinced my parents not to declaw but it was up to me to clip the nails. It was a lot easier that I thought - I waited until she was almost asleep and just took off the tops. A BIG difference! Should I also trim her back claws? Thanks!

[TeamCasey]

Her front claws will probably be enough. You just need to do a tiny tiny bit off the tips every few weeks.

I had an old SPCA cat that I used to clip. He didn't seem to wear them down on his own enough.

The cats here go outside. They have some favorite trees that they've debarked from clawing them. They also do it on the railroad ties. I never have to clip them. (They're trained not to claw indoors. Squirt guns are an awesome tool for that when they're young.)

[Red Heeler]

A couple of things:

1) I just re-read my earlier post and noticed an error. It should read vaccinate at 6-8 weeks old with boosters every 3-4 WEEKS (not months).

2) Trimming the back nails is only necessary if they start to get long. Wrapping the cat up in a towel is a good way to restrain them while you do the trimming.

3) It is a good idea to have a scratching post indoors for the cat, especially if she won't get outside much. As TC said, squirt-guns are good for discouraging scratching on furniture.

Good luck!

[KittyDuran]

KC is better than an alarm clock! Which is good for workdays but bad for weekends. : Yesterday morning I didn't want to get up and she started to play around my face - Unfortunately I open my right eye and she scratches it! It only hurt for awhile - hurt more when I put the eye drops in. I go to an Urgent Care ($50 co-pay) and get a tentunus (sp?) shot. Then get a antibiotic for my eye ($20) which is a gel that I have to put in twice a day for 3 days. So I'm looking at Redszone with one eye. Thank goodness for the flexplan - getting all that money back! Still have to call the vet for the price for fixing her up...