Just because you have a cat doesn’t mean you are condemned to a life of torn-up furniture and carpets. If you’ve already decided not to declaw your cat, or you are just considering the alternatives to declawing, please read on to learn more about the various options available.

Trimming your cat’s nails

This is a procedure that can be done at home or at a veterinarian/groomer’s office. Most people have the best luck with this if they start doing it regularly when the cat is at a young age and at a time of day when the cat is very relaxed. Simply hold the cat’s paw very firmly and press on the center pad to extend the claws. Then clip off the tip of the nail, but be very careful not to clip the pink part (the quick). This does happen on accident from time to time and will cause pain and bleeding. Be sure to have styptic powder on hand to quickly stop the bleeding.

Nail Trimming Necessities:

Finishing Touch Guillotine Nail Clipper for Cats (Guillotine Clipper)


JW Pet Nail Clipper for Cats (3.5″ Length)


Four Paws Quick Blood Stopper Styptic Powder (0.5 oz.)

Cat Nail Covers

Much, much safer than trimming your cats nails, Soft Paws and Soft Claws are two brands of nail covers that are the best alternative to declawing. They are vinyl nail caps that are applied to your cat’s claws with a non-toxic glue. Once applied, the caps stay on your cat’s claws for about 4-6 weeks, and they come off when your cat naturally sheds the outer layer of its claw. A kit of 40 usually costs anywhere from $13 to $20 and will last 4-6 months depending on how often your cat normally sheds his nails. You should only need to apply the Soft Paws or Soft Claws only to the front paws.

They also come in 4 different sizes, for a perfect fit with your special kitty:

Soft Claws Nail Caps for Cats Take Home Kit (Kitten; Natural)


Soft Claws Nail Caps for Cats Take Home Kit (Small; Natural)


Soft Claws Nail Caps for Cats Take Home Kit (Medium; Natural)


Soft Claws Nail Caps for Cats Take Home Kit (Large; Natural)

Scratching Posts

The traditional cat scratching post can work great for your kitty’s needs. The best scratching posts are as tall as your cat can stretch, and are made of a sturdy material that does not slide around, tilt, or give way when the cat leans or tries to hang from it.

Sisal Scratching Post — Cats love to scratch on rough materials, and Sisal fits the bill perfectly. If your cat is having trouble telling the difference between your carpet scratching post and the carpet that is on the floor, then switching to a sisal scratching post might do the trick. When you get a new sisal cat scratching post, be sure to show it to your cat by running your fingernails up and down along the sisal material. The sound is actually very attractive to a cat and many will try to imitate the sound almost immediately by trying to scratch on the sisal as well. The rough material combined with the great stretch they can get by pulling their nails against the sisal, as well as the attractive sound, all combine to make a great experience for your cat. Some cat scratching problems are entirely solved by providing a sisal scratcher for the cat to use. This material is the 5-star favorite at the Catnabbit household and completely eliminated the furniture/carpet scratching problem at our home.

Examples:

Pet Sisal Mania Cat Toy Exerciser (12″ X 19″H)


Green Duck Deluxe Sisal Slanted Cat Post (21″H; Beige; Posts)


Green Duck Cat Tunnel with Platform and Sisal Post (17″W X 17″D X 36″H; Assorted; Posts)

How to build a sisal wrapped cat scratching post — Here’s an article about how to build a scratching post if you are the handy type!

Cardboard Cat Scratchers – Usually placed on an incline instead of the traditional vertical scratching post, cardboard cat scratchers are another excellent pick. These scratchers are attractive to cats because of the rough feel of the carboard against their paws as well as the ability to sprinkle fresh catnip inside the holes of the carboard. Since the holes are wide enough for the catnip scent to rise out between them, cats go crazy about the smell and try to tear up the cardboard to try and get to the catnip. Cardboard also appears to be comfortable for some cats to sleep on. The Catnabbit cats enjoy taking a nap on the incline of their cardboard scratcher. How often do you see your cats trying to take a nap on a cardboard box? The scent or feel of the cardboard must be attractive to them. A drawback of cardboard for a cat scratching post is that it does not withstand that much damage and needs to be replaced frequently. However, cardboard scratchers usually disassemble easily so that you can slide in an inexpensive replacement scratching board. Overall, these are a great solution for some households but not all.

Examples:

Classy Kitty Slanted Cat Post with Cardboard Scratcher (17″W X 17″D X 29″H; Assorted; Cup; Posts)


Cosmic Catnip Alpine Scratcher (8″W X 10″D X 19″H; Scratcher)


Cosmic Catnip Alpine Scratcher Replacement Kit (20″W X 7.25″D X 3.5″H; Replacement)

Carpet Cat Scratchers – This old standby still hasn’t gone out of style, and for a good reason — they do work. Cats love to scratch on carpet, and they love to scratch vertically, so the combination of the two works out great for a cat. Will this work out well for the human? Well, the down side is that sometimes its hard for a cat to tell the difference between the carpet cat scratching post that they are supposed to scratch, and the carpet on the floor that they aren’t supposed to scratch. This is especially the case in situations where homeowners have selected a scratching post that matches the carpet texture (and sometimes the color, although cats are not able to see all of the same colors as humans). On the plus side, Carpeted cat scratchers last longer than cardboard and they are less expensive than sisal in some cases (not all). While sisal is the most attractive to the cat, a carpeted cat scratcher might be a good compromise for those who are on a budget.

Examples:

Green Duck Deluxe Round Carpet Scratching Post (14″W X 14″D X 27.5″H; Assorted; Round; Posts)


Green Duck Scratching Post (12″W X 12″D X 20″H; Assorted; Posts)

Cat Tree Furniture — Also called a cat house, cat tree house, or kitty condo, a cat tree is a magnificent gift for your cat and can sometimes be a great compliment to the existing furniture in your household. While some cat trees are downright hard on the eyes, most are constructed with both the human and cat in mind and are a beautiful addition to any home. The best ones have several tiers of activities for your cat such as sisal posts, toys hanging from ropes, benches to sleep on and holes to hide in. The drawback is that they are very expensive, and they are bound to get torn up. If you are not faint of heart (or wallet) then a kitty jungle gym may be something you would want to get for that special feline in your life.

Claw Pals Quality Cat Furniture Cat Tree (33″; Trees)


Green Duck Cat Tree with Tunnel (Base & Large Shelf- 21″ X 25″ 62″H; Beige)


Green Duck Half Moon Multi-Level Cat Tree (Base- 21″ X 21″ 40″H; Light Blue; Trees)

Sticky Paws

Sticky Paws is a two-sided adhesive material that you can attach to furniture, drapes, windows, or other surfaces that your cat likes to scratch. It comes in two types - strips and sheets. The premise here is that your cat will dislike the feeling of his paws sticking to the adhesive, and ultimately begin to avoid the places that have the adhesive. In some cases, you can discontinue using Sticky Paws after the cat learns not to scratch in the undesirable location. If you do this, be sure to have an alternative scratching place for your cat to scratch because the cat still needs to be able to stretch out his claws!

Sticky Paws For Furniture (12″ X 2″ ; Clear; For Furniture)

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