So our leather couch is a little worse for wear now that we've added Monkey to our household. He hasn't scratched it like he does with his scratching posts, its all just accidental through the course of running around and playing. My boyfriend and his family have always declawed their cats in the past, though now I've patiently showed him lots of websites on how barbaric that practice is. However, for the sake of our relationship something has to be done! I've been researching online and came across the soft paws website. I got some last night and applied them to Monkey's front paws, and so far so good! There was no adjustment time, immediately after he was back to running around and playing as if they weren't there. Just wondering if anyone else has experience with these and likes/hates them, or if not it might be something to consider for others who like cats and leather furniture
There was a discussion of softpaws a couple of weeks ago that you might be able to do a search and find. There were mixed reviews on them, but as long as they work for you, that's what matters. It's amazing to think that people still declaw - do you realize that the U.S. is one of the only countries that still allows it? The other countries see it for what it is now -- it just takes educating people -- so why is the US lagging behind? You may find over time as Monkey grows and calms down, it won't be such an issue. Right now he just has lots of energy to burn off!
I can say our boys do not really use their claws only on areas we have set up but then we do not have leather only in my computer room and that is my chair. Patience and lots of love will do the trick or I hope.
Better go my granddaughter is demanding my attention.
I saw them for sale in Petsmart but didn't think either of our cats would go for it. Plus, I figured, we'd go through all the trouble of putting them on and then they'd just go to their scratch post and within a few days, have them off as they shed their old nails. Besides, They need to scratch don't they? So, it's really just a matter of altering their behavior and getting them to scratch in the correct places. We got Dolly and Maddy a scratching MAT. It's a small mat of rope with a feather thingy in a corner and they both run to it and scratch like crazy. I suppose a large rope-like door mat would work too.
I think you may need to re-read what she wrote. The cat isn't scratching the leather furniture intentionally, just as he plays (and probably uses it to launch himself to another piece of furniture!) - so nothing inappropriate to retrain for - -just as he gets older he'll probably calm down more. I hear shoe polish works really well to cover the scratches though!
Hi Jenny,
I adopted two older Ragdolls. The female who is 16 months became very kitten like since she came here to live. My male will be three in November. A cat tree and extra post is coming to my home soon so that they will have more things to scratch and call their own. Since yours is still very young and is probably still extending claws to keep balance and such it will take time for Monkey to become more confident with balance and not using claws for balance.
Since my cats seem to love the texture of the downstairs furnature (consistancy of cordroy) and my mothers antique chair (she redid it in this ugly light weave material and it feels very rough) I considered the soft paws myself. Since it did not take me long to learn how to trim their claws and because they are older pets I gave up on the idea. I am trying to be patient with training them to use other things to scratch and have more furnature and posts for them to use instead of my things. To be honest I would rather work with my cats than take them in to be declawed. I have two parrots who my female is very interested in and am concerned with her interaction with them but I still will not get her declawed for a instinct she cannot help herself with.
Sometimes I think about trying the softpaws but at this time I want to see how the new cat tree and extra post do for them. As your kitty gets older and learns how NOT to use his claws Monkey accidently scratching the leather will not be a issue anymore and as you learn to manage the length of the claws with clipping I am sure your leather couch will be okay.
Rebecca
I found that when my ratbag was a small kitten, his claws were very very sharp because they were so small - like prickles (ie. why he has the name Edward Prickles)
He did a bit of damage to walls when trying to climb up onto window sills as he couldnt jump high enough so he used his claws to grip.
Now that he is bigger i have found that his claws arent as sharp... He also has a scratching tree and i trim them, but i dont think they would be able to do the damage that they did when they were really thin and sharp.
Maybe you could cover your leather couch with a throw rug or something, just until he is big enough jump-and not use his claws to jump onto things, and when his claws are a bit thicker and less prickly??
good luck with little monkey!
I don't have my kittens yet. However, I thought about getting some of the soft paws. My cousin discouraged me from that saying that they were very hard to put on and really did not help. However, it sounds as though they are helping Monkey. As said previously, that is what matters.
Hey there, thanks for all the great replies! I'll definitely have to try the shoe polish idea. You have to trim the nails before applying the soft paws, and they're still doing their job for sure. When he starts settling down and his nails thicken up a bit I'll see how he does then, but right now its a pretty easy and safe compromise