I knew when my girlfriend and I decided to move in together that adjusting to life with a cat was going to be quite a task. I’m a dog kind of guy and at first we were worried about my dog and her cat getting along, but that hasn’t really been a problem. But over the course of the last five months, other problems have begun to emerge. The cat has about 10 scratching posts or something to dig her claws into scattered around the house. However, all she scratches is stuff she isn’t supposed to. The carpet, the pillar that holds up the stairs, the window sills, and of course, my $1500 leather couch. You would think that declawing is the best answer. However the girlfriend refuses to do it stating that it is cruelty. Yet, she had the cat fixed, which to me seems more cruel, but what do I know? I have tried to deal with this best I can. But punishing her (By the way, the squirting her with a water bottle is completely ineffective) seems to do absolutely nothing. In three minutes she is tearing something up again. But the final straw for me was this morning. The cat decided to go outside and not come back until this morning. I am guessing that she was still in defense mode or something, but completely unprovoked, she decides to just strut right up to the dog and scratch her across her face twice. So, anyone have any suggestions? Because I am this close to taking the cat for a little car ride to the middle of nowhere and “forgetting” her somewhere. And I don't think that would be too good for my current relationship.
I had my cat's front paws declawed. They use their back paws for defense, so it doesn't hurt them to have the front ones removed. Mine hasn't had any problems with just his back claws. He's still able to defend himself. Though since yours is an indoor/outdoor cat the vet will tell you what is recommended. I would also get him checked for an ear infection. That caused my cat to be very aggressive even though he's normally a very docile creature. I don't know if this is true of all of them but it was the case for me. Good luck.
Thats just the thing, she is an indoor cat but the girlfriend lets her outside once every week or so for a little bit and says that is why she needs claws. I will look into the ear infection thing. Thanks Hayes.
I don't know if you want to use this to reinforce your declawing argument but... Letting a cat roam around outside all night is cruel as well. Here is a "humane" alternative to declawing. I have no idea if it works. http://www.softpaws.com/
How old is the cat? I wouldn't declaw the cat if it's over 2 years old. If you're going to declaw a cat you should do it as early as possible, like before they're a year old. Otherwise, they've already learned what life is like with them, and it'll be incredibly hard for them to adjust to not having claws anymore.
Tell your girlfriend if she loves her cat so much, and doesn't want to be "inhumane" to them, she should keep them indoors. Cats are domesticated animals: they do not belong outside anymore. It exposes them to disease, attack, and injury. Any clawing solution you find for the house will leave them defenseless outdoors, so you both face a choice: live with the damage or make the cat a permanent indoor animal. There are options to stop clawing. Softclaws (http://www.softclaws.com/) are a solution, though I must admit that I've never used them. We simply trim the nails of our four (yes, four) cats. All of our are declawed in the front (rear declawing is not necessary) and we trim the back nails every other month or so to prevent accidental injury.
I hate cats, because I'm a MAN!!!!!!111 Did I mention that I hate cats? And that I'm a heterosexual man? Just wanted to make sure everyone knew that.
Your manliness is on record, thank you. Seriously, though: liking cats makes you neither gay ("Not that there's anything wrong with that" - Seinfeld) nor female. Nor does it mean you don't like dogs just as much. Cats are wonderful animals, but you have to train them when they are kittens (just like you need to train a dog as a puppy). Since cats are so independant, most people skip the training, and are surprised when the cat grows up with no control/discipline.
How do they defend themselves with their back claws? I got lucky with my cat. We picked him up from the pound and we didn't discover until much later that he had his front paws declawed already. I'm not sure whether or not I could willingly do it to a cat though.
I never ever ever everrrrrr want to own a cat. Tell your g/f to figure out a way to stop her cat from messing up all of your stuff, because money doesn't grow on trees. Seriously, it's not cool for your stuff to get messed up. It's her cat, so make her think of something.
They lock their front arms around the other cat and kick with their back legs at the other cat's belly - they basically try to gut each other.
I actually like cats. I envy them because of their "I don't give a ****" attitude, along with the fact that all they have to do is eat, play and sleep. Must be cool to be a cat. On the scratching furniture deal, when mine was younger, I had a tin coffee can full of pennies that I would shake any time she would even THINK about scratching the furniture (or anything else bad, for that matter). It would scare the crap out of her, and after a while, she would be too scared to even try it. Problem solved.
This is true and most, good vets won't even do it after a certain point. My girlfriend has a cat and I hate it as well but I told her if she wants to keep it here then it's getting fixed and declawed. The cat still goes outside everyday and it has had no trouble at all.
