I'm not trying to anger anyone, I'm just expressing my opinion. I've had cats around me my entire life: good, bad, scratchers, non-scratchers. I could never have a cat declawed. In my opinion, it is a severe form of cruelty. This thread has been very difficult for me to read, and that's all I will say on this subject.

well that makes two of us that have the same kind of cat, and neither are declawed and they are both not thin animals

I love cats and cats love me. I am apparently 'cat people', I grew up with cats all my life, be they outdoor barn cats or indoor pets.

An outdoor cat should not be declawed, cats are wild when alone outside and need those claws. We had declawed cats who did venture out and were ok, but I don't think its a good thing.

An indoor cat has no use for claws. If the cat is going to spend all its time in your house I have no problem with declawing. All of our cats did just fine with it, still acted like cats, still had normal cat lives after. This counts on you doing you part to make sure the cat doesn't get out on its own.

I have always clipped my cats claws. If you start when they are young, it becomes part of your grooming regimine, like brushing, etc. and they actually seem to enjoy it. Even when the claws grow a bit, they are not in the "scratch to defend, attack, or piss off" mindset.

regarding your question about how to keep them from scrathing, you may get lucky. he may grow out of it. he may not. cats have very pronounced personalities and you just never know how they are going to be.

i know this isn't part of the thread, but i hate to see indoor cats. outdoor cats (IMO) are much happier. they are still a bit wild and get to do what cats enjoy most. i know that outdoor cats have shorter lifespans, but that's life. the reason i bring this up, is because an outdoor cat, in my experience, isn't gonna use the couch as a scratching post. he's gonna have his favorite place to scratch on some tree or log or whatever.

also, has he been fixed yet? this might change his behavior significantly.

in any event, i'm happy to hear that you have decided against it. your cat thanks you.

that twosided sticky tape stuff does work to keep cats from clawing or even going near the stuff after they find it. A combo of that and a water spray bottle to train them not to do it helps even more. but declawing just isnt right. but.. you can trim the cats claws so they arnt razer sharp if your careful. just snip the very tip off. just make sure you have a vet show you how to do it so you dont hurt the cat when you do it yourself. my kitten thats only a few months old has razer sharp claws and slices the hell out of my hands. at least he did till we started clipping them. now he has claws enough to climb up his cat scratch fort but not enough to cut into leather or skin.

So long as you only get the front paws declawed I don't think it's a problem (they use the back for defense and climbing). Longbough is simply wrong (at least in generalizing to all cats). My Dad has a declawed cat (front paws only) that's outdoors on her own all the time, she has no problem climbing or defending herself. She's been fine for all 11 or so years of her life.

I consider my cats family. Declawing them would be a cruel thing to do. Pets are not decorative items that look good in your house, sit on your lap and allow you to pet them when you want to touch something soft and warm, and then are otherwise invisible. My cats are great cats, they do sit on my lap because they want to be petted and they love company. My cats do not scratch the surfaces in my house except for their scratching pole and one carpet. I'd say it's a small price to pay. I have good and friendly cats because I brought them up well. Everyone who meets my cats is always surprised how easy-going and friendly they are, even with strangers. If you take away a cat's claws, it can't play-hunt properly, it can't play on climbing frames properly, so what are you going to have the cat for? So it can sit indoors all day doing nothing? What is the point? I could never consider declawing my cats. It may not be the practical thing to do, but I'm not being practical about my cats. I love them and to declaw them would be inhumane and very cruel.

I agree with the people who say don't declaw your cat.

Sorry if this insults any of you guys, but if you don't have the time, or ability to train a cat not to scratch and claw furniture. Then don't get a cat.

Pets take time, they are not for mutilating into a convenient toy for yourself. Very selfish to mutilate pets.

I'd say I fall squarely on the 'no declaw' side of things. When we got our cat, we considered it, until I did some research on the subject. After reading sites like:

http://www.declawing.com/

and:

http://www.declawing.com/htmls/declawing.htm

There's no way I'd get a cat declawed unless it were absolutely necessary. Not to be judgemental on those who do have their cats declawed...but at least read those pages before you decide.

I'm not usually a tenderhearted person, but...poor kitty!