sewmom

I agree with not having it declawed. And our caus love the sturdy scratching post with the rope on it. We also have one with actual tree branches with the bark on it that a previous cat loved. Then we have another with carpet that a different cat likes. Some like to scratch vertically and some like to scratch horizontally. We have both. I clip my cats' claws every 10 days or so to keep them short. You may have to start out with someone holding the kitten and the other one clipping. Just be careful not to clip to the quick which is the pink part. I usually just clip the tips. If you squeeze the paw a little their claws will come out and you can get to them easier. I have had to wrap one of mine in a towel because she was in a mood and wanted to scratch me. She has extra toes on all her feet and long hair so it takes me a long time to get hers done. Other times she lays still and growls at me. Good luck with your kitten.

nativetexan

sometimes I have my cat facing me when i'm in my recliner and I clip her nails. the small one I turn back to me and clip usually. which ever way works best. I only clip the curve near the tip of the nail. I'm chicken to go back further. I don't want to hurt them.

RobertaMarie

Please, all the above suggestions are excellent, and I agree about the neutering. Do not have this precious pet de-clawed. It would be like cutting off your fingers at the first knuckle. Please do the research on this issue and give your cat to another pet lover before taking that terribly painful step. Scratching posts, and spray bottles of water worked in teaching our cats not to scratch furniture.

lynnie

declawing involves cutting the cats first digit off. how would that feel. getting fixed is o.k. My zoey gets her nails clipped regularly and does find with scratching posts. \
please rethink that, the people I know who have had it done their cats, 1 made all over the house, 2 pulled out all the fur on the belly, and the 3rd threw up all the time. dr. said it was a neurosis developed from being declawed.
good luck with your kitty. please don't declaw. and worst of all, sometimes they grow back all mangled.

lynnie

my little girl is an indoor cat, she learned to scratch her toys and condos. we cut her nails regularly, clean her ears and scrape her teeth. have the vet show you all this and you'll have a happy kitty. they take awhile to get used to this 'stuff', but it's for their own good.

Retired Fire Chief

I will have to agree with the others who are against declawing. I had that done to my indoor cats in the past until I realized how painful and tramatic it is for cats. As far as playful, my Dave just turned one and he is still every bit as crazy as he's always been, he gets in his moods and runs like a wild cat, but I enjoy it, DH not so much.

margee

I had to stop reading this after the first page. All I can say is that I had a cat declawed years ago and would never, never, never do it again. The pain that cat had. I had to carry him to the litter box almost 2 weeks . I'll never forget the look of pain in his eyes. I only did it because I was told it was the thing to do. Never again.

jcrilley

He will be helpless as far as defense without any of his claws. He won't be able to climb without front claws and his back claws would be a last ditch effort - if he gets to that point, he's done.

renee765

I had my first cat (about 40 years ago) declawed because 'everyone' said that was the thing to do. I have taken the guilt of that decision with me my whole life. This poor beautiful creature was mutilated and was never the same.

Today, I have a four month old kitten I rescued from the engine of my car. I didn't want a kitten, but she was under one pound and the humane society wouldn't take her until she was at least two pounds. I've named her Lil Orphan Annie, but should have named her Jekyll and Hyde. She can go from loving and cute to an aggressive terror in under two seconds. I will not have her declawed because I won't do that to an animal again. I have a pair of kitty nail clippers and once a week, when she is in her lovable mood and napping on my lap, I trim her front claws. Since I have started this right from the beginning, she doesn't freak out when I do this,and it keeps her claws with the sharp hook that causes so much damage.

Please do not do this to your kitten.

Grace MooreLinker

I had both of my cats declawed(front feet only) they had no problems and we were all a lot happier. They fight with their back feet.. Both lived to be 19 & 20 yr.