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Declawing your cat: Don't even consider it - Part II
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In the first part of this article, we discussed how declawing should never be considered an option for your cat. In addition to the pain from the surgery, the cat no longer has the entire paw to use for walking, which brings about a whole new type of strain on your animal.
The simplest method to keep cats from destroying your furniture and carpets is, you guessed it - have his or her claws clipped short regularly. Pet stores sell a variety of claw clippers, from the very inexpensive to high-end professional models. If you do plan on clipping kitty's claws at home, a good recommendation would be to have some sort of styptic, or blood clotting agent, just in case you get a little too close to the quick of the nail bed.
Another thing - if you've never clipped a cat's claws before, it would be wise for both yourself and kitty to observe a groomer perform this procedure a couple of times first, then have you clip his or her claws with the groomer observing and giving advice. Every cat is different, and their reactions can range from total indifference to total outrage. There's a right way and a wrong way to restrain a cat during the clipping process, and your groomer can show you that as well.
Well, now that the clipping part is over with, we need to re-direct your cat's scratching area. Pet stores, both of the walk-in and on-line variety, are jam-packed with multitudes of cat-scratching posts, ramps, boxes, tunnels, etc. My advice would be to go with something simple and cheap at first, like a cardboard scratching box, or a short vertical post wrapped in sisal rope that the cat can dig its nails into. Rub catnip over the surface to attract kitty's attention. There's even a spray-on variety, which is less messy.
Remember - always have patience with your kitty - don't expect him or her to "get it" immediately. This new scratching area will be new to it, so some gentle guidance and showing it where their new "toys" are may be time consuming to you, but will lead to a happier cat, and a more relieved you!
