• Reasons
not to declaw.
• Scratching
is natural behavior for cats.
• Why do
cats scratch?
• Provide
your cat with an appropriate
scratching
post.
• How to
get your cat to prefer the post.
• Trimming
your cat's nails.
• Soft
Paws -- Vinyl nail
caps for cats. An excellent
alternative.
Your Sofa and your nerves are in tatters. You're scolding
your cat, knowing all the while that it's futile. This is
not a cocker spaniel you're dealing with. This is one of
nature's most pragmatic and self sufficient creatures. Worse,
you're well aware that your cat considers your behavior
abberant. She looks at you as if you've gone slightly mad.
"Why the Fuss?" she seems to say. "What are
you raving about? I'm simply doing my thing--what's with
you?
You're at an impasse. What to do?
Above all, don't declaw.
Please, take that as a given. Declawing is not an acceptable
option for the beautiful, loving animal that depends on
you. The reasons to avoid declawing are compelling, for
you as well as for your cat.
Declawing is literally maiming a cat, a mistake that can
lead to physical, emotional and behavioral complications.
It is erroneous to think that declawing a cat is a trivial
procedure similar to trimming fingernails. A cat's claws
are a vital part of its anatomy, essential to balance, mobility
and survival.
Declawing is an irreversible surgical procedure that involves
amputating the last joint of the cat's "toes."
It is a very painful procedure with strong potential to
secondary complications. (Imagine having the last joint
of your own fingers amputated. Not a pleasant idea.)
On rare occasions declawing may lead to secondary contracture
of the tendons. This makes it uccomfortable for the cat
to walk. Since the last joints of their front paws are missing,
they compensate by placing more of their weight to the hind
quarters, causing them to be out of balance. This shift
of weight to the hind quarters may lead to atrophy of the
muscles of their front quarters.
Being out of balance is extremely distressing to a cat,
whose very life is about balance. You've observed cats climbing
trees, teetering perilously on a single branch, leaping
incredible heights to land on a pre-selected spot, or threading
in and out of complex arrangements of knickknacks without
disturbing a single ornament. (Unless, of course, they choose
to do so.) These are acts of balance and part of a cat's
basic heritage.
In addition to being an intrinsic part of a cat's normal
conformation, its front claws are a cat's primary defense.
Once declawed, there is no replacement or regrowth of the
claws. You may think, "My cat never goes outside."
But what if your cat accidentally gets outside and you can't
find her? She is now defenseless in a potentially hostile
environment.
Deprived of its front claws a cat may become insecure and
distressed. I can assure you that if Kitty becomes emotionally
distressed, you will too. Kitty's display of distress tends
to take such forms as urinating on your favorite rug or
spraying your antique armoir. Feeling defenseless without
her claws, Kitty may become hostile to people (including
you), and to other cats and become more apt to bite. Some
cats develop an aversion to their litter box because of
the pain associated with scratching in the litter after
a declawing procedure. If Kitty doesn't go in the box, she
will find a more comfortable place to do her business. Often
times, these habits are hard to break.
One more compelling reason not to declaw. Some European
countries have ruled declawing illegal! It is considered
inhumane. For more information on declawing, please visit
www.declawing.com.
Now its time to lighten things up and provide you with
some solutions. Remember: Knowledge is power. Understanding
the situation is half the battle. You and your cat are about
to teach each other some valuable lessons.
Lesson 1- Scratching is a natural behavior for cats.
This isn't exactly a revelation, since you probably have
the evidence everywhere--in the tattered corners of your
sofa, the shredded drapes, your frayed nerves. Though Kitty's
natural propensity for scratching my not be big news, it
is a fact that you'll need to take into account if you're
to make any headway in winning the battle to keep her from
scratching in places you consider undesirable.
Lesson 2 - You can't keep your cat from scratching.
What you can do is stop her from scratching those items
you value and want to keep in their relatively pristine
state. Bear in mind Mark Twain's advice, which applies universally:
Never try to teach a pig to sing; it frustrates you and
annoys the pig. Translate this bit of wisdom to your dealings
with cats and you'll avoid a good deal of futility and frustration.
You can't make a cat do anything she doesn't want to do.
Get clear on that. And getting her to stop something she
enjoys is just about as difficult. Therefore you have to
think smart and re-channel her desires.
A word about punishment--Don't do it!
Cats don't understand physical punishment. In addition
to it being wrong to hit your cat, punishment simply doesn't
work and is likely to make your situation worse. Clever
though Kitty is about many things, she won't understand
that you're punishing her for scratching the couch. She
will only compute that sometimes when you catch her she
is treated badly. This may make her insecure and stimulate
her to scratch more or develop other undesirable behavior
problems.
Eventually you will break the trust and security that is
the basis for your cat's relationship with you, and you
will find it very difficult to catch her for any reason
at all. Cats have excellent memories
and hold serious grudges.
Lesson 3 - Why do cats scratch?
More to the point, why do they scratch your prized possesions?
Understanding your cat's need to scratch is more than just
an act of charitabilty on your part. It's the key to channeling
Kitty's efforts to more acceptable areas.
Marking their territory: Scratching is a territorial instinct
by which cats place their mark and establish their turf.
Through scratching, cats mark their domains with more
than just visible signs of claw marks. Cat's paws also
have scent glands that leave their own special scent on
their territory. And this is why they mark the most visible
portions of your house. It's Kitty's way of adding her
own personal touch to your (and her) home. Her version
of interior decorating.
Exercise: Scratching also serves to keep your cat in shape.
The act of scratching stretches and pulls and works the
muscles of a cat's front quarters--a cross between a feline
gym workout and Kitty Yoga.
Sheer pleasure: Hey! It feels good to scratch.
So give up the idea of reforming Kitty's desire to scratch.
Rechannel her into scratching where you want her to. You'll
both be happier.
Lesson 4- Provide your cat with an appropriate scratching
post.
Since your cat brings you so much joy, you decide to buy
her the softest, prettiest and most luxurius scratching
post you can find. You take it home and your feline friend
gives you a blank stare and walks away. This activates your
parental guidance mechanism and you decide to show her how
to use the post by taking her front paws and making scratching
motions at the post. She of course struggles till she gets
free of you and then treats you with utter disdain for the
rest of the day.
Never make the mistake of trying to "show her how"
to scratch anything. You'll only offend her. She knows pefectly
well how to do it. She just reserves the right to scratch
when and where it suits her.
Lesson 5 - Remember, we said appropriate.
Bear in mind that your idea of desirable and Kitty's may
not coincide. Cats like rough surfaces that they can shred
to pieces. (The exception of course is your velvet couch,
which has its own particular appeal.) The scratching post
with the most aesthetic appeal to your cat is often a tree
stump, though this is a bit unwieldy in a one-bedroom apartment.
Whatever post you choose, it must be tall enough for her
to fully extend her body, and most important, it must be
secure. If it topples over even once, she won't go back
to it.
Sisal scratching posts are ideal for releasing Kitty's primal
urges. This is a material she can shred to pieces with great
satisfaction. Be sure not to throw it away when it is shredded,
since that's when she's just broken it in satisfactorily,
and she will not apprciate your tidiness.
The reverse side of rugs provides a good, satisfyingly resistant
texture for clawing. You can place a piece of rug material
over an area of carpet wher Kitty has already been scratching.
However, it must be stationary. Secure it so it doesn't
move by duct taping the edges or placing it under furniture.
You can also staple pieces of rug to a wall or post.
Lesson 6 - How to get Kitty to prefer the post.
Remember that an important part of scratching is the cat's
desire to mark a territory, so a scratching post should
be in an area that's used by the family, not hidden in a
back corner. After a time you can move the post away to
the periphery of the room, but you'll need to do this gradually.
Initially, put the post where your cat goes to scratch.
This may be by a sofa, a chair or wherever Kitty has chosen
as her territiory, and you may need more than one post to
cover her favorite spots. Security is a major factor in
making the post appealing to your cat. If it topples or
shakes, she won't use it. It should either be secured to
the floor or have a base wide enough and heavy enough to
keep it stable.
Encourage Kitty to use her post with clever enticements.
Feed her and play with her by the post. Rub dried catnip
leaves or powder into it. Make all the asssociations with
the post pleasurable. Reward her with a favorite treat when
she uses it. Have her chase a string or a toy around the
post or attach toys to it, which will result in her digging
her claws into it. Eventually she will learn to love it
and regard it as her own. It's also a good idea to put a
post where Kitty sleeps. Cats like to scratch when they
awaken, especially in the morning and the middle of the
night. If space permits, a scratching post in every room
of the house is a cat's delight. The most important place
is the area of the house in which you and Kitty spend the
most time. I have many sisal posts in my house, yet often
in the morning my cats line up to use the one in the living
room.
If at first Kitty is reluctant to give up her old scratching
areas, there are means you can use to discourage her. Covering
the area with aluminum foil or double-sided tape is a great
deterrent. These surfaces don't have a texture that feels
good to scratch.
Remember too that Kitty has marked her favorite spots with
her scent as well as her claws. You may need to remove her
scent from the areas you want to distract her away from.
You will find pet odor removers in pet stores and many supermarkets
as well.
Cats have an aversion to citrus odors. Use lemon-scented
sprays or a potpourri of lemon and orange peels to make
her former scratching sites less agreeable to her. If Kitty
still persists in scratching the furniture, try squirting
her with a water gun or a spray bottle set on stream. Another
option is a loud whistle or other noise-maker. You must
employ these deterrents while she is scratching for them
to be effective. The point is to establish an aversion to
the spot you don't want her to scratch.
Lesson 7- Start them young.
If you are starting with a kitten, consider yourself fortunate.
It's much easier to initiate good habit patterns than to
correct undesirable ones.
From the beginning teach your kitten the appropriate place
to scratch. Use the methods already described, especially
playing around the scratching post to capture her interest.
Take advantage of your kitten's desire to play and attach
toys to the post. She will soon "dig in" to catch
her toy and discover how good it feels to scratch this surface.
Do not take her paws and make her scratch the post. This
is a major turn-off and will only inspire a bratty "you
can't make me" attitude. Even at an early age, cats
refuse to be coerced into doing what they don't want to
do.
If she starts to scratch an inappropriate object, immediately
place her in front of her scratching post and begin petting
her. Some cats will begin kneading when petted, thus digging
their claws into the desired surface and establishing this
as a fine place to scratch.
Cats are creatures of habit. Start them off with good ones.
Alternate
Solutions: Trimming your cat's nails.
Though you should never declaw, you may defray some of your
cat's potential for destruction by carefully trimming the
razor-sharp tips of her claws. You will find this endeavor
more easily accomplished by two people, one to hold Kitty
and one to trim her nails. Though she enjoys other forms
of pampering, Kitty will not find a manicure soothing.
Gently hold Kitty's paw in one hand and with your thumb
on top of the paw and forefinger on the pad gently squeeze
your thumb and finger together. This will push the claw
cear of the fur so it can easily be seen. You will notice
that the inside of the claw is pink near its base. This
is living tissue that you do not want to cut. Trim only
the clear tip of the nail. Do not clip the area where pink
tissue is visible nor the slightly opaque region that outlines
the pink tissue. This will avoid cutting into areas that
would be painful or bleed. The desired effect is simply
to blunt the claw tip. Many different types of nail trimmers
are available in pet stores, but I find human toenail clippers
easy and effective to use.
If by now you're rolling on the floor laughing because you
know your cat isn't about to let you trim her claws, here
are a couple of guidelines that will help make this a possibility:
Patience and preparation.
Rushing into a full-scale claw trimming is a foolhardy move
unless you're really into operatic drama and traumatic events.
As you well know, cats hate to be restrained. And they don't
like you fooling with their paws, which comes across as
threatening. After all, their claws are a major tool for
survival, and Kitty may consider your motives suspect.
This is where preparation comes to the rescue. For approximately
a week before her manicure, begin making Kitty accustomed
to having her paws handled. While petting and soothing her,
start massaging her paws, especially on the under side.
Gently press on the individual pads at the base of her claws.
You may want to give her treats to reward her for not protesting.
(Or as in the case of my own cat, to distract her from doing
so.) The point, of course, is to make the process reassuring
so that she will eventually feel comfortable enough to let
you handle her paws without protest.
Next, be patient. Don't attempt to trim all her nails at
once. Trim one or two at a time, reward her with affection
or food, and then let her do as she wishes. Cats are not
strong on patience or restraint. As the creature theoretically
higher on to evolutionary scale, that's your department.
Don't attempt to change your cat. Instead make it tolerable
for her. Eventually trimming will become a completely non-traumatic
experience. For a more detailed explanation and pictures
of how to trim your cat's claws click
here.
Soft
Paws®--An excellent alternative
If all of this is too time consuming and you have a strictly
indoor cat, you have another very desirable option; a wonderful
product called Soft
Paws. These are lightweight
vinyl caps that you apply over your cat's own claws. They
have rounded edges, so your cat's scratching doesn't damage
your home and furnishings. You can find Soft
Paws on the web by
clicking
here or call 1-800-989-2542.
Soft
Paws are great for
households with small children, as they guard against the
child getting scratched. They are also extremely useful
for people who are away from home all day and simply can't
apply the watchfulness neccessary to train a cat to use
a scratching post. An important caveat here, however; they
should be used only on indoor cats, since they blunt one
of the cat's chief means of self-defense. Soft
Paws last approximately
six weeks once Kitty becomes accustomed to them. At first
they may feel a bit strange to her and she may groom them
excessively, causing them to come off sooner. She'll get
used to them quickly though, and thereafter they will last
longer. It is amazing how well cats tolerate the Soft
Paws, most don't even
notice they are wearing them.
Soft
Paws come in a kit
and are easy to apply. Just glue them on. They are generally
applied to the front paws only, since these are what cause
most of the destruction to your home. A kit will last approximately
three to six months, depending on your cat. After applying
the Soft
Paws, check Kitty's
claws weekly. You may find one or two caps missing from
time to time, and these are easily replaced using the adhesive
included in the kit. To make application easier for both
you and your cat, follow the instructions on accustoming
your cat to having her paws handled that are discussed here
in the section on trimming your cat's claws.
The great majority of cats tolerate Soft
Paws well. The brattiest
of my own cats, a princess who is hyper-fastidious, wears
them with aplomb. On her, by the way, one Soft
Paws kit last at least
five months.
|
