Do you like her nails?

I made a decision long ago to not get Nora declawed.  From everything I had read about the procedure, it seems pretty painful for the cat, and it can make cats more hostile, because you are taking away their defenses.  Since Nora can be temperamental at times, I do not want to run that risk.  Also, should anything ever happen that Nora escape outside for a long period of time, her claws will allow her to protect herself.  But, something has to give, because she is totally destroying our couch, which is only a year old.

In the past we had tried a temporary solution that worked well, then we stopped using it for a while.  It looked like it was time to re-institute the intervention.  They are called Soft Paws.  Soft Paws are little vinyl caps that you glue over the cat's individual nails.  The caps come in various colors, even holiday packs, and the glue is completely safe and non-toxic.  Each application lasts about a month to 6 weeks, so when you get a pack containing 40 caps, if you just put them on the front paws, that pack can last 6 months.  They stay on really well.  In fact the reason we stopped using them before was that the ones we had stayed on so well, the glue we had for new applications dried up, so when the caps did eventually fall off, we had no glue to reapply.

I will admit, the application process for us can be a bit tricky, because before we started using these, Nora was not used to getting her nails trimmed.  So she was really scared.  It is best to trim the nails before applying the caps.  Because Nora is not used to having her nails touched, she gets really anxious.  But she gets over it pretty quickly.  My advice to you is start trimming your cat's nails when it is a kitten.  In fact, they even make kitten sized Soft Paws.

Once all the caps are applied, you do have to hold your kitty for a few minutes to allow the glue to set.  And be prepared, kitty will try to chew the caps off at first.  You have to train kitty to get used to the caps.  So the first kit you get may seem to go pretty quickly if kitty chews the caps off and you must reapply often.  But kitty will get used to it, Nora sure did.  And look how pretty her nails look!

After she was finally able to get down, I will admit she did go and hide for about an hour, but by bedtime last night, she was back to cuddling up to me and loving all over me.  And now, she was able to show off her pretty new manicure at the same time!

For anyone looking for an alternative to declawing, I strongly encourage you to talk to your vet about Soft Paws, and check them out.  We just love them, don't we Nora?

P.S. They also make Soft Paws for doggies too, so if your doggie scratches things in your home, or scratches him or herself due to skin conditions, check them out!