It's important for you to understand that declawing is not simply removing the claws. It is amputation of each toe down to the first joint, equivalent to having all of your own fingertips amputated. It is painful and completely unnecessary. In some cases, cats end up with chronic pain in their feet which may cause them to permanently avoid the litterbox. Also in some cases, declawed cats turn into biters to compensate for the loss of their front claws as a natural defense.

There are a number of strategies you can use to coax Dustin to use appropriate surfaces for scratching. Offer him a variety of surfaces and orientations. Some cats prefer sisal rope, some prefer corrugated cardboard, some love to scratch natural wood, some like carpet or fabric. The preferred surfaces in my household are sisal, cardboard, and wood. Some cats prefer to stretch up while scratching and will use vertical posts (they should be nice and tall to allow the cat to reaaaaaaally stretch), while other cats prefer to stretch out and will more readily use a horizontal scratching pad.

Dried catnip leaves are generally a lot more appealing than catnip sprays. My cats ignore the sprays completely, but they go gaagaa over catnip leaves rubbed into their favorite scratchers.

You can teach Dustin which surfaces to stay away from with a well-aimed water gun or water bottle. You can also cover the unacceptable surfaces temporarily with double-sided carpet tape (cats HATE to put their paws on sticky surfaces). Just make sure to provide him with scratchers that he enjoys before you start telling him where he's not allowed to scratch. It'll be much easier to modify his behavior if he can still meet his scratching needs.

Keeping the hooks trimmed off of the ends of his claws will help minimize any damage he may do while scratching. There are also Soft Paws or Soft Claws which are little plastic ball tips that you glue to his claws so that he can't damage anything when he scratches.

There are plenty of effective and humane alternatives to declawing. Just find the one(s) that work for you and Dustin.

Laurie

Laurie is right . Declawing is amputation and I would never think of doing that to my cats. Try the corrugated circles with a ball on a track. Mine love those, and put dried catnip on it to get him interested. Squirt guns work in deterring the inappropriate scratching. My five right now are pretty good. My 19 year old Louie was a bad apple when it came to scratching the sofa, but we still loved him.

One thing I noticed is the way you have the cat tree elevated. You mention it's supported with a stool. Have you tested the tree to make sure it's really stable and doesn't tend to rock/move when the cat is on it? If it feels as tho it may fall over while he's scratching on the sisal that would be enough to make him avoid it.

You need a variety of scratching options throughout the house, and they should be steady and fun.

Use double-sided industrial tape or tin foil on objects you don't want scratched.

My friend used Soft Paws after all else failed. They were great, but had to be checked for overgrowth each week.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soft paws

Go out and get yourself some double sided sticky tape and place the tape on the areas where your cat likes to scratch. You can also tape up some aluminum foil or place some boxes under your bed. Our cats LOVED to peell that lining from under the bed off and nag out in there making little nests...When we got new mattresses we discovered how much damage they did to that lining. They also were caught actually using that lining to pull themselves around, upside down, they would have power surges, zipping along by pulling themselves with their claws on the lining. I have to say they always can out a little more dustier than when they started....looked like fun

I have to say, I am so lucky in this department -- my boy prefers to scratch carpet. He has a carpeted cat tree that he loves to scratch. He also has one of those cheap cardboard box things he uses. Sometimes he just uses the carpeted floor or a rug -- I keep his nails trimmed so he doesn't really damage the carpet so I don't care (just stay away from my new couches!)

Try one of those cheap scratching boxes you get at Petsmart. Put your kitty on it and if he scratches it, immediately give him a treat -- that is how trained mine as a kitten.

Also start trimming his nails. My cat hated it for a long time but tolerates it now to get treats. It really minimizes the damage he could cause. I pour treats on the floor and lean over him and do one paw at a time while he eats.

Another vote against declawing here -- claws are part of being a cat. I think it is sad that a declawed cat can't even grab a string because someone removed his claws.

Call me crazy but I also think it hurts their "self-esteem." My friend declawed her to kittens and now one of them is a biter.

Thanks for all the advice. I used to dislike declawing but now I hate the idea. I personally don't have many pieces of furniture that I'd be upset to see damaged but I do want him to have his outlets to prevent any issues later down the road. I've never been one to get upset if I'm playing with a cat and get scratched. Cats have claws and I'm playing with them so if I get scratched it comes with the fun. The vet I'm visiting is new (to me) so I'll be certain if they ask about declawing that my refusal is more than my dislike of what I feel is an unnatural procedure but also the healthiest choice for my Dustin.

Thanks!

I've always found the best scratching post to be a post wrapped with sisal twine. DH and I have made a number of these ourselves with peeler cores (cheap at the hardware store), a couple rolls of sisal twine (1/2"?), and some non-toxic rubbery glue. The real trick is that you need to make the scratching post tall- tall enough that the kitty can stretch out to his full length. Once we had a sisal wrapped pole in the house, our cats didn't have much interest in the furniture anymore.

We used the squirt gun technique for a while, but then decided that a new, soaking wet kitchen sponge was the way to go. We'd leave it on a saucer nearby, and when one of the cats would start scratching the sofa, you toss the wet sponge into them. It leaves a huge wet spot that stops kitty cold.

My boy cat has some acne/allergies and bloodies up his face scratching it. We've put soft paws on his hind feet and they work very well. If training doesn't seem to get you anywhere, these are a good option.

SUCCESS!

I found a circular scratch pad with ball and catnip and he started scratching it right away (after he licked the catnip off the carpet, the bag was open and spilled all over). He likes the ball and the scratch pad. I probably will get the sisal for him too, give him more options for his urges, but he took to the pad immediately.

You and Dusten are doing so well. Have fun.

sweetchastity, God bless you for taking the time and making the effort to do what is best for the cat. So many people opt for the easy solution and have their cats mutilated. Your cat doesn't know how lucky it is. Well, maybe it does!!

Like many here, I believe declawing is downright cruel. I am always heartbroken at the many cats and kittens listed as "lost" every day on Craigslist that are declawed--poor, defenseless creatures! My cats really like the horizontal scratching boxes on which I sprinkle catnip every so often. They are inexpensive and effective. Also, start right away to train your cat to be comfortable as you handle and massage its feet--then learn how to trim its claws. Do it once every month and you'll cut WAY down on clawing destruction. Once you get the knack, it takes all of a couple minutes. Finally, just like having a child, remember that you and your cat are now co-existing: some damage WILL occur and you should expect it. Consider it a way to update your furniture every so often :)

Thank you for all the support and advice. It's been years since I've had a kitty and now I'm not a kid at home with my parents to make the decisions. My parents didn't have my cat as a teen declawed and there was one beautiful leather desk that got ruined by my sweetheart but they just threw it out when it got too ugly and didn't get mad at the cat. It was part of having a cat. And even though I was the only one in the house who wanted a cat (parents are dog-people but I was always a cat lover), everyone came to love him.

Glad to hear it's going better. I didn't read all the replies so excuse me if I'm repeating.

Have you tried the flat corrugated cardboard scratchers available at major pet stores? Station your scratchers in places where he spends his time (in other words, not in the back bedroom where she never goes, for example). After he's fully trained to use the scratchers only, they can be moved a bit so they aren't so prominent in your house.

I don't like to have him destroying anything even if it's not important, like the bottom of your bed. Can you get some storage boxes or other similar sized objects and place them under the bed to keep her out?

I put either a mattress cover or fitted sheet under the box spring to keep the cats out.

This post doesn't pertain to Dustin...it sounds like Sweetchastity is doing a wonderful job training him away from furniture and her decision not to declaw him is a responsible one.
But I always like to take an opportunity to remind cat lovers who also may have very valuable furniture that there is an option: If the housekeeping issue is important to you (or you know someone like that who wants a cat), go to the local shelter and adopt a cat who needs a loving home that someone else has previously declawed. You do have to be careful that the operation...or anything else in their past for that matter...has not affected their temperment. Over the years I've acquired 3 (wonderful)declawed cats this way, and its a win-win-win (cat-furniture-me) situation.

The fitted sheet sounds like a great idea. He also likes the corner right behind my computer chair so for that area I'll try the double sided tape. Its less of a matter of protecting the furniture as starting him off with the rules of behaviour we expect of each other rather than trying to deter him from doing something he's been allowed to do for years (it would be conflicting). I'll keep introducing options for his scratching pleasure and he will find something and avail himself of it and not other areas. I have a lovely bachelor that has separated rooms but pretty much everywhere, except the attic which I will not let him into, is a play-zone. He got into the corrugated cardboard scratcher with the ball he can play with and he immediately clawed on it but hasn't been too interested since. The catnip didn't seem to interest him. I gor a long board with carpet around him (its about as long as him) and when he stretches out and tries clawing the carpet or anything within reach I gently put it in reach and he starts to claw on it. I think a corrugated cardboard scratcher that is on an angle where he can stretch out might be enticing.

Does catnip work with all cats? I thought perhaps not indulging in it he may not have a taste for it yet. Maybe I should grow it fresh? The spray was useless (he didn't even bat an eye) and while extracting the essence or oils of plants is possible I'm weary of sprays that might use chemicals to make them work as a spray.

He likes to sleep under the bed so I think I'll go with a fitted sheet, especially since my place isn't large but the windows are 2 feet off the ground at most and he's got a great view and I've placed the kitty house where he can sit on the top and look out on the balcony to give him a variety of things to occupy his time (as well as loving and playtime).

There are sprays that are an unpleasant scent for cats, citrus I think is one, but spraying it on the bottom of the bed he sleeps in, I think his sense of smell is good enough that it wouldn't be pleasant for him.

What I am concerned about is his back claws. 2 of them looked dirty but when the vet looked closer she said it was an infection and to just clean it with alcohol. He doesn't seem to like his claws being handled, she trimmed them for me, but I'm determined to give them a good cleaning.

Sorry, my previous post I expressed my opinions of declawing to the vet and she didn't suggest it and spoke of it as a last option to destructive behaviour, which made me feel good. Even though I was there getting the prelim stuff for the neutering certificate she was attentive and communicative and handled Dustin with care and talked to him. I told her that I would probably make this vet hospital our regular one and she seemed pleasantly surprised and thanked me, which to me (felt) like she wasn't trying to put on a false impression to gain a client and certainly didn't treat us like we were just another shelter neuter that she might never see again (even though that was a possibility). I liked her and think she will be a great health care provider for Dustin.

Some cats react to or are "sensitive" to catnip, and some are not. With my first two cats, one seemed like she could take it or leave it, the other would bite the packaging, trying to get to the catnip toys inside! With the two we have now, one seems to go nuts for it (rubbing her face and head all over the toy, rolling around with it....), while our other cat really only does so if there are liberal am'ts of catnip recently sprinkled or rubbed on them.

Catnip is easy to grow. We had a pot of it on our deck a few years ago, and I cut it and hung it up to dry, and then put it in a ziploc bag.

IME, it's a matter of finding the right surface for the cat. I've acquired 3 Ragdolls in the last 3 years (I still have 2, the first died young of FIP). The first one liked flat surfaces, like the corrugated cardboard scratchers. We had one in our bedroom and one on the first floor. They seem to like to scratch after waking, so you need to have one available when they will use it. My next Ragdoll, a boy, hated the flat scratchers and only likes the pole type. It was a challenge to find one tall enough for him, he's so big. The one we found has rug, then rope, then rug. He loves it. My new little kitten like the flat scatcher. She only uses the pole one when her brother is. With all of them whenever they scratch inappropriately I pick them up and put them on the scratcher and then praise, praise, praise when they scratch in the correct place. I have very expensive rugs and haven't had an issue. There are still occasional mistakes when they jump or something, but no issues with deliberate clawing.

I also trim my cats claws. When they are very young I start playing with their paws when they are half asleep so they get used to it. The big boy might give me the evil eye, but he let's me trim all his claws. I generally do it when he's in a calm, half-asleep mood. The little girl is still learning to cooperate, but we get it done.

I didn't read through the replies so you may or may not have heard these suggestions. They make nail caps or you could dremmel your cat's nails. Or you could cut them. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+1894+2975&pcatid=2975

They sell them other places to, not just at that sight.

You could also try deterrent sprays. Here are some ideas. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pet_supplies.cfm?c=3261+1894

De-cawing is EVIL! It wrecks the cats temperment/ can result in pain so intense vets test pain meds on De-clawed cats, its much better IMO to have the cat rehomed/ or PTS at least in the worse case they just go right to sleep and don't feel a thing, Good on ya to not decide to do that. BTW get cotten wood/sliver maple bark, from dead trees or/and as rough and bark like a scratching post as possible, so kitty will love it so much he wont even think of using your stuff.

As cats age they claw less and spraying with a water mister is the best of punishments to keep them inside when darting out and when doing unaccpetable scratching.

My middle aged cat Emma was declawed when I adopted her. She must experience "phantom limb (digit)" phenomenon because she loves to go through the act of clawing any cardboard box she runs across. Another thing against declawing: She is far more prone to reach out with a bite, be it one of those affectionate (?) ones OR to square off with our other cat, Sealey. Sealey on the other hand was adopted out of the cold Michigan winter and has all her defenses. Twice only (when she first came to us) did she give the couch a "try" but I just picked her up and took her to the sisal post, ran my nails down it (eeks!), and she has never in the last 6 months forgot the directions. Also, she NEVER uses her teeth but will even retract her claws and grab my hand with her paw for a petting, etc. - gems both!!!!

I'm so glad you decided against declawing; it's so cruel. To me no furniture is worth our 3 fur kids health and happiness. Our one couch I was going to sell because I held my Jaz(19 at the time) as she slipped into her last sleep. Anyway 67 days later 3 feral kittens were born under our house, so we kept all 3. They have shredded the couch, fine with me after 1 1/2 years I can now look at it without the pain of the last memory of holding Jaz.

We don't use the couch having bought a reclining love seat, so it's theirs now.
*G*

I've never had a problem with cats scratching furniture, luckily. We just have a few sisal rope scratching posts throughout the house, and the cats know that those are theirs, and use them on a daily basis. I think it's important, too, to stay on top of cutting their nails...

I am certainly not advocating declawing - please let me be clear. I did, however, adopt a beautiful Burmese lady who had been declawed. She shows no signs of any pain or problems. She digs in the litter box like she is digging to China. She scratches on a sisal post on her cat tree like a cat possessed. She has never bitten me. I just include this because I wouldn't want people to avoid adopting cats who have been declawed. I am sure some can have problems, but my sweetie is fine and I am thrilled to have her. She is an indoor kitty that loves to go out for walks on a leash so she can pretend to be tough and wild outside, then go home and curl up in my bed.

I have adopted 3 previously declawed cats...and I've had the same experience as oregpsnow. They were/are sweet, affectionate, and no more prone to biting than the other cats I've had with claws. And while I could never have a cat declawed, it is a great solution for people who don't have the patience or know how to get a cat to scratch appropriate places. Its also a wonderful opportunity for especially vulnerable adult cats to be adopted into loving homes.

Ironically, when I bought Odessa home from the ASPCA she paid absolutely no attention to the old cat condo that all my late cats (with and without claws) loved. Nor does she seem interested in my most valuable pieces of upholstered living room furniture, but she does 'claw' the sofa in the office that would be shredded to ribbons if she had claws.

Having said that, you do have careful when assesing a declawed cat. Before adopting Odessa, I briefly fostered another declawed cat, She was obviously frightnend and not friendly, but I thought I could make it work. I think the vet knew that this poor puss had problems besides her hyper thyroid because it was she who insisted on a temporary fostering before adoption. Because he had to be medicated and would not let me near her, so had to give her back to the ASPCA.

When I looked at Odessa (she was not my first choice because she was a few years older)I could see that her personality was just fine. She let me play with her paws, purred, and jumped right into my arms when I opened the cage...and she has been an ideal puss ever since.

In gen a de-clawed cat is more depressed, apt to bite and isn't happy, Animals hide their pain and discomfort because in the wild they would be picked off by predators, so the cats you have/had could have been suffering a great deal but never let on about it.

People IMO should treat the de-clawed cats in shelters like fighting dogs/ fighting dog breeds, it is pre-haps only with this that the practice will end here in america as it has in europe/new zealand,ect.. It would be sad for the cats involved but necessary to stop further de-claws.

"People IMO should treat the de-clawed cats in shelters like fighting dogs/ fighting dog breeds, it is pre-haps only with this that the practice will end here in america as it has in europe/new zealand,ect.. It would be sad for the cats involved but necessary to stop further de-claws."

I guess Odessa is bravely hiding her pain as she snoozes after a morning of intense 'mousing'(chasing after her favorite toy) and sitting on my lap purring as I drank my morning coffee. When she wakes up, I'll send your kind and humane regards...along with a tummy rub.

LF

wild animals hide pain and though cats are domestic they resemble 90% of what wild cats do. The only real difference I see is in their sexuality and behavior towards people. if you privately own an exotic such as a lion or tiger, get used to spraying they'll do it even if you fix them as cubs,with a domestic you fix it early you nix it. also don't ever fall down by it or that lion or tiger will discover hay I'm 400 pounds and really CAN DO whatever I want. If you fall in front of a house cat you'll just get a whatever look. Everything else including Diet,outside behavior, play patterns IS EXACTLY THE SAME!

I'm sure she did feel pain at one point if not anymore..