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So, the earlier this spring I had to put down my two cats. They were 14 and 15 and lived healthy, happy lives. They were also both declawed and mostly indoor cats- which means they has access to our fenced backyard and without claws were not able to climb out. I got a kitten a month ago and we've just had to deal with her growing interest in the backyard. For a while she was always under direct supervision and didn't notice the doggy door. Now that she's larger and more confidant she's given the run of the house when people are home. But we have been locking the doggy door when she's out. This has caused stress for the dogs and some accidents. My father has been pushing for declawing. My other cats had no issues but I'm worried that the kitten might. And, just knowing the truth about declawing makes me really sad. I do not want to, but I do not want her escaping the yard and getting into trouble that way. We live by busy roads, the interstate, and there have been coyote sightings in the past. I can keep her locked in my room at night but not when I'm at work all day. So, would soft paws or other nail caps work? Are cats able to reliably climb with them? She's just 3 months old now and couldn't jump that high so it's just the climbing I'm worried about. The trees we have do not have branches any lower than 6 feet so she'd have to claw up the trunks. And they are birches so they are flatter than many other trees.  
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Jul 18, 2017 04:50
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 16:29 |
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There are electric doggy doors that only lets the dogs out and not the cats. Random one I found online: http://www.petsafe.net/doors/electronic-doors Anything is better than chopping off kitten toes. If for whatever reason you must have a cat with no toes, find the kitten a good home and adopt a shelter cat that is already declawed.
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Jul 19, 2017 00:11
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My orange kitty was declawed before I got her. Even though she's much older than your kitten and pretty tubby, I watched her straight up scale a featureless 7' wooden fence a few weeks ago. Getting your kitten declawed won't just be awful and unnecessary for her - it won't solve your problem. I think the selective doggy door is a great idea.
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Jul 23, 2017 03:56
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E2: ^^^^ And you're loving stupid too. Or you could keep your cat inside where it doesn't have to defend itself with loving softpaw caps on it's claws. Jesus christ. E: Let me tell you further why you're an idiot- -you not only want to take away the cat's ability to climb and hide from a predator or anything that comes to kill it's delicious 3 month old kitten life (hint hint: birds of prey love kitten. it's a delicacy), you also -lock the house up so it can't possibly get in to get away from anything-. Sink or swim, little fucker! Let me tie 50 pounds of lead to you first so it's fair! -somehow you had a couple of cats that didn't die even though they were left outside alone a lot and declawed. Quit pushing your luck. -"I can keep my cat in at night but not during the day" no actually you can keep your cat in all the time. It's really easy. And you aren't killing it's cat murder culture or whatever stupid poo poo is in your head. Your cat can get the same experience inside as it does outside. -Did you know cats can dig because cats can dig right the hell out from under your fence and go get turned into a pancake on your nearby roads because you're just throwing her outside and going "lol bye kitty!". -If your bone just won't be satiated until you throw some three month old kitten outside to fend for itself for hours at a time, have you considered cutting down the trees and at least giving the poor stupid thing a flicker of a chance of survival if something comes to eat it? Coyotes don't just gently caress off during the day, dude. Especially sick ones, and sick coyotes are super common. Your cat's gonna get eaten because you're a terrible owner. Some goddamn moron's gonna come in and flip their dick outta their pants and smear it all over this thread screaming "I HAD 400 DECLAWED BLIND RETARDED CATS THAT HAD NO LEGS AND THEY ALL LIVED OUTSIDE ALL THEIR LIVES AND THEY WERE FINE THEY LIVED TO BE 379" and they can get hosed too. Fluffy Bunnies fucked around with this message at 14:18 on Jul 26, 2017 |
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Jul 26, 2017 14:08
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:-you not only want to take away the cat's ability to climb and hide from a predator or anything that comes to kill it's delicious 3 month old kitten life (hint hint: birds of prey love kitten. it's a delicacy), you also -lock the house up so it can't possibly get in to get away from anything-. Sink or swim, little fucker! Let me tie 50 pounds of lead to you first so it's fair! For example: hawk catching a youngish cat. NWS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddJtjaNueLs
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Jul 26, 2017 16:07
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You don't need to let your cats outside. They're not wild animals they're domestic cats. They'll be better off inside away from coyotes and cars and parasites and all the other things that kill outdoor cats everyday. Not to mention your local bird populations will thank you. Don't be stupid dude. Let the poor kitten keep its claws and have a nice life indoors. E: maybe get rid of your doggy door and just let the dog out when it needs to go out if you can't keep the cat away from it. Saranya fucked around with this message at 16:34 on Jul 26, 2017 |
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Jul 26, 2017 16:25
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I'm very sorry for your losses, this fish.  Your new kitten is absolutely adorable. Fluffy Bunnies possesses an impressive lack of tact but, for the sake of said adorable kitten, I hope that you'll consider the points she's made. Outdoors cats are not good for any number of reasons -- my own soapbox is the damage they wreak on local ecosystems and the wild bird populations that they have devastated. An indoors cat is best for the environment, for its own well-being, and for your peace of mind. If removing the doggy-door altogether, and simply letting the dogs outside yourself when they need to go, is an option, that is the one I would pick.
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Jul 26, 2017 19:21
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Do not declaw the kitten. Do not let the kitten outside. The kitten will be quite happy living inside where there are no predators that can harm it. Get some toys, a cat tree, and a scratching post and kitten will have plenty of entertainment.
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Jul 26, 2017 19:46
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LITERALLY A BIRD posted:Fluffy Bunnies possesses an impressive lack of tact Give me a loan so I can buy some fucks, birb
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Jul 26, 2017 19:49
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It sounds like you have a choice between figuring out a new situation with regards to your dogs going outside, or having your cat go through an unnecessary amputation for convenience. I know that's a moralistic way to put it, but it's what you got laid out in front of you. The easiest thing would be going with the earlier suggestion of the automated doggy door that uses rfid chips (like this one). Your alternative would be re-training your dogs to let you know when they need to go out so you can let them out. Also, as an owner of a cat who is fully declawed (I adopted him that way), let me tell you that not having claws does not prevent cats from getting into (or out of) places you don't want them to be. They can still jump and climb very high, and a determined cat will get out of a fenced yard, claws or no claws. Your best bet is simply to keep him indoors entirely.
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Jul 27, 2017 01:28
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If OP is anything like my family, all arguments in favour of keeping kitten indoors will be overruled by "ew then I would have to clean a litterbox" and "but then I'd have to stand up sometimes to let the dog out" and those are both unacceptable.
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Jul 27, 2017 06:38
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:E2: ^^^^ And you're loving stupid too. Really not sure why I feel compelled to defend myself against fluffy bunnies, but this cat is hardly an outside cat. She gets to go out for small supervised walks in the backyard occasionally. She's trained to wear this ridiculous coat with a bell on it, and she sits in the grass and purrs while I do yard work. When it's time to go in, I shake the treat bag and she follows me in.  The one time she slipped out the door without her coat, I rang the bell and she ran right back in so I could put her coat on. So, while I fully admit that any outside time carries some risk, I don't think this a particularly dangerous situation.
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Jul 29, 2017 17:54
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listrada posted:Really not sure why I feel compelled to defend myself against fluffy bunnies, but this cat is hardly an outside cat. She gets to go out for small supervised walks in the backyard occasionally. She's trained to wear this ridiculous coat with a bell on it, and she sits in the grass and purrs while I do yard work. When it's time to go in, I shake the treat bag and she follows me in. you seen that video where the lady's walking some dogs and straight up rips a cat apart that's just chilling in the driveway on it's own property or the 975,000,000,000 other times that actual wildlife, not angry pets, murder cats. Because gosh I mean I could link you a trillion that you could never react fast enough to help.
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Jul 29, 2017 18:32
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:you seen that video where the lady's walking some dogs and straight up rips a cat apart that's just chilling in the driveway on it's own property or the 975,000,000,000 other times that actual wildlife, not angry pets, murder cats. Because gosh I mean I could link you a trillion that you could never react fast enough to help. Sure. I agree with you. In my very specific situation, the backyard is smallish and edged by (basically fenced in by) a few acres of tall grass/prairie land owned by the city with zero public access. The yard is small and isolated enough while still being close enough to the city that medium/large wildlife don't visit, or at least they don't while a human is present (i.e., the only time the cat is ever outside). The front yard, with the sidewalk and miscellaneous dogs getting walked, is totally separated from the backyard by the tall, solid fence I mentioned. If I was in a more urban or a more rural area, or if the property was laid out differently or if the fence had visual gaps in it, or if I didn't know my specific animal as much as I do, or if the cat was interested at all in wandering more than 5' from my side or ever showed interest in hunting, she wouldn't get to go outside at all. I calculated this specific risk, and it's low.
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Jul 29, 2017 19:58
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 16:29 |
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It's a low risk leaving my oven on when I leave the house too but I don't do it because I don't want yet another house fire to deal with
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Jul 29, 2017 21:09
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