Declawing Alternatives

There are several training and behavioral modification methods that can be tried prior to resorting to surgical declawing of your kitten. Please feel free to contact us for more information. We carry both the Feliway and Feliscratch products mentioned below in our hospitals.

• Provide appropriate scratching surfaces (cardboard, sisal, carpet, wood) and have them tall enough to encourage full vertical stretching and scratching or long enough for horizontal stretching and scratching.
• Place the scratching surfaces in locations that are commonly frequented by the cat and in rooms where the cat wants to scratch on something else (i.e furniture)
• Scent with catnip powder or spray to attract cats to scratchers. This will need to be done daily to keep the scent fresh.
• Try the FeliScratch product which is a pheromone based product meant to attract cats to the appropriate scratching surfaces.
• Spray Feliway pheromone spray on items that should NOT be used for scratching such as woodwork, furniture and carpet.
• Use positive reinforcement with petting and/or treats when the cat uses the scratching surface at all. Cats can be trained.
• Nail caps can be placed over nails for 4-6 weeks then replaced.
• Frequent nail trims to keep cat’s nails short and less destructive.
• Discourage use of inappropriate scratching surfaces by attaching sticky tape or tinfoil as a deterrent.