To ban or not to ban? More people believing declawing is animal abuse

[Ruby the Liberal]

33. I absolutely refuse to declaw a cat

Not when they can be trained, and yes, it takes patience.

I have had declawed cats in the past and never had any issues with them when it comes to litter. I also didn't take the time to train them when it came to where to scratch or not, because it never mattered, so they were allowed to exercise on the carpet and the couch.

My biggest recommendation is to find a substance (like sisal) that the cat enjoys and stick with it. People who buy 'cat scratching toys' made of some kind of fabric or carpet are often surprised when the cat doesn't see the difference between their designated scratching thing and the regular furniture or carpet. Doh! Choose something like sisal and then don't have anything else sisal in the house (including plant containers). Kitty will glom onto that, learn that if its sisal, its his and there ya go.

They also make sprays that encourage/discourage scratching on various specific items (depending on need). I haven't had to do that, but its good to know they exist.

My little beastie is a good girl. She will wake from a nap and walk across the house to her sisal to start her stretches and scratchings. I trim all 4 paws about once every 10 days. We call it a mani-pedi spa day and she gets a good girl cookie afterwards.