Suggestions from any cat owners?

^ Mine had negative behavior, but with love and care, it will be reversed with time. Call it whatever you want to call it, YOU talk to Chuck 4 about his $1500 leather couch.

 

My wife's cat loves to tear at our brand new carpet. I may look into this softpaws thing...

 

Mine didn't have any adverse effects at all. And he still stretches and paws at things like he did when he had the front claws.

He especially likes things with a rough texture. I have stomped walls in my bathroom and he loves to stretch up and rub his paws on the bumps.

 

My cat does like to pull carpet fibers with its mouth.

 

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the most obvious...

Sell the leather couches. Look, leather couches are cool and all (I was I had one, but alas...the cats! ), but trading out a leather couch for some kind of tough fabric couch isn't a big deal...imo. If it is a big deal, you can always have "your room"...you know, a study or something where you can have whatever kind of decor you want and keep the door shut.

It's probably not just the leather couch. There are probably other "lifestyle" changes you can make that will make living with a cat easier.

Now, if you decided having a leather couch is more important than your relationship with your girlfriend, that's your call. But even with declawing (which I wouldn't ever do personally), I'd still replace the leather couch. Animals are like kids. And as someone mentioned, it's not just cats. Cats, dogs, whatever. They do have a tendency to destroy stuff. But they also offer a lot in return, as Swoly has found out. And there are little hidden benefits. I, for example, never have to get my wife flowers...because if I do, they just end up in a bathroom that has a shut door...otherwise, they'd get eaten and shredded. No roses necessary on Valentine's Day..that's a plus!

 

I had a $1700 cloth couch torn up, so I don't particularly feel like I am incapable of understanding.

I got some double-sided plastic thingies that are like tape. I ran them up and down the parts where the cats were scratching. It immediately cut the behavior way back, and eventually stopped it all together. It required a lot of work and quite a bit of trial and error. But I never considered subjecting my cats to multiple amputations so that my material goods would be protected.

 

I like how you slipped this in at the end.

I guess that would be me. Admitting it feels so much better.

Oh and I stole a caramello from Safeway when I was 12

This thread is like therapy.

 

eat it

 

Leather couches are good though, especially if you have pets except for the cat scratching thing of course. Hair and fur don't cling to leather and pet accidents don't stain them either. This is invaluable, especially if you have visitors that frequent with allergies.

 

Give your cat a personality test.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_re_us/cat_personality;_ylt=AkV0c7VfXs5H4VN3LCkVEaus0NUE

It happens to all of us. You fall in love with someone's looks... but then he's not quite what you expected. Even, sometimes, if he's a cat.

"People come in and say, I had a black and white tuxedo cat before, so that's what I want," says Jim Monsma of the Washington Animal Rescue League in Washington, D.C. "But cats are not all the same. They have widely divergent personalities."

That's why the shelter is now using the Feline-ality program, developed by behaviorist Dr. Emily Weiss of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Part of the ASPCA's Meet Your Match program, which also includes Canine-ality for dogs, the program assesses a variety of behaviors in individual cats. It rates the animals on confidence and sociability, which Weiss' research has shown are independent of each other.

The program then tallies those assessments to place the cat into nine personality categories, which can be matched with a family's situation and desires.

It's not unlike a magazine quiz to find out, "Which kind of cat are you?"

The program is used at 45 shelters, with additional facilities preparing to use it.

On this day in the Washington shelter, Monsma brings Barnaby the cat into an unfamiliar room and opens the carrier.

Barnaby shoots out and takes charge, checking out the room and everything in it. Monsma uses a stopwatch to track how much time Barnaby spends on social interactions. For example, he adds up how many seconds Barnaby spends trying to get on his lap. He also monitors his noises and blink rate, both indicators of sociability.

Monsma then initiates some interaction, offering a hand, three different toys and hug. Each transaction earns Barnaby some points.

His total comes out high on both scales — he's both highly sociable and highly confident.

All of the types have fun, vivid names and descriptions. Barnaby is "leader of the band." His opposite, a cat low on both scales, is called a "private investigator," who stays out of trouble.

A more middle of the road cat is familiar to many people: the "personal assistant." "You're working on the computer? Let me press the keys. Reading the paper? I'll hold the pages down for you... You'll wonder how you ever managed without me," according to program literature.

Equally important to the Feline-ality program is the fact that people differ, too. Adopters fill out a questionnaire and the results give them a color code, telling them which set of personality types would be best for them to consider.

The program aims to end animal-human mismatches, often a reason cats are returned to the shelter, Monsma says.

Weiss says the program has helped to increase adoptions in shelters that have tested the Feline-ality program, partly because people find the process fun.

Experts may differ on what details of a test can best predict a pet's behavior in an adoptive home, says animal behaviorist, author and radio host Patricia McConnell.

But she applauds these efforts to enlighten people about the differences among cats, which have always been less well understood than dogs.

"They're complicated, interesting animals with rich emotional lives that deserve to be treated well," she says. "Any kind of test is somewhat limited, but it's an excellent idea to be thinking as much as we can about what's the right cat for the right home, and whether we can do some matchmaking."

Weiss says that people still sometimes fall in love with a cat that isn't a perfect fit, but the program can help in these cases too: People who know what issues to expect are more prepared to deal with them.

But as Monsma says, "There are so many cats out there, why not get one that fits?"

 

I didn't intend to disparage your character. I think it is perfectly reasonable the way the practice is generally portrayed for people to consider and look into declawing, especially when they aren't particularly familiar with it. I think in actuality the practice is horrific, but I understand and sympathize with the impulse and can appreciate how some generally good people are able to rationalize it and avoid thinking of it as what it really is.

 

Cool stuff, Chuck 4. I know a very good vet on Clay that did my Siamese Cosby's procedures. It's called CLAY Rd. ANIMAL Clinic. The doctor was a Houston Zoo Vet for years.

Make sure it gets enough loving when coming back from the vet after the procedure. I know my black cat Camille is still very careful when jumping off furniture 'cuz she has feelings about us doing this to her. All in all, it's a lot happier SwoLy household 'cuz the kids aren't gettin' scratched across the face.

I am glad you and your girlfriend came to a decision TOGETHER. Nice.

How's about getting the username Chuck 4 changed to something else?

 

It's so gay to hear you guys talk about your cats. Cha-chas.

 

Here we are having a male-bonding thread, and you... never mind...

You wanna hear manly stuff? FINE.

You know what I did today? I freakin' busted into a convenience store and cursed the clerk out. I said "Hey, b_tch, how much for these fawken seeds, twirp? Did I stutter? HOW MUCH?!?!?!?" The dude looked at the bag. The bag said "2/99¢" and he read it but didn't answer, so I looked at the bag and slapped the clerk. I said: "Next time you answer me, b_tch!", took the bag of seeds, and left.

After that, I hailed a cab. The cabbie stopped his car, and I kicked the door and said: "WHAT'S UP, p_to? " The cabbie said: "I don't want any trouble, man." I said "SO SHUT UP and leave." He left.

A little while later, I went into the street corner church, walked in, didn't make any gestures with my hand, the priest was at one of the pews, and he says "Hello, my son." Then I kicked one of the PEWS and spit on the floor.

Then I woke up.

WHAT DID YOU do today?

 

I'm with you. It drive me crazy. I don't like dogs roaming (we have a dog) and I don't like cats roaming.

It takes me around 2 hours to clean our cars (1 requires a ladder). And we've had cats come in the garage just after I've finished and get their paw prints all over my clean cars - I love it when the get the windshield so I can see that everywhere I go. I feel like I can't leave the garage open for a second just to keep them away from these fur balls from destroying the time and money I've spent.

I'm not a fan of cats but I really hate when people think it's ok to let them roam.