Scratching & Declawing: Options & Alternatives Front Legs
Some cats use their claws destructively indoors by clawing the furniture or carpet. For those cats, there are solutions to help curtail this habit.
Scratching
Scratching is a completely natural and normal behavior for your cat. It helps sharpen their claws, acts as a scent and visual marker, and aids in stretching. Scratching is important to cats and feels good, however it can be destructive to a household and hard to control. By providing your cat with alternatives to your furniture, you can help discourage destructive scratching.
The first step is to provide some acceptable scratching mater... Read More
Declawing by Frank Utchen, DVMFront Legs
Question: Dr. Utchen do you think declawing a cat is cruel?
Answer:
Well, I think I speak for all veterinarians when I say I would love it if cats didn't become destructive with their claws, or if a living arrangement could always be worked out so a cat didn't have access to the furniture in the house, or if every cat with these tendencies would use a scratching post exclusively. I would certainly be glad to never do that particular surgery.
Our preference is always to try encouraging a cat to use a scratching post or other acceptable object, rather than pe... Read More