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Soft paws

  • 30-08-2014 10:16pm
    #1
    larrlin24
    Closed Accounts Posts: 142 ✭✭


    Hi, does anyone use these? They're an American product for cats nails. An alternative to declawing them (which I'd obviously never even think of doing). I decided to buy a pair to try on one of my cats, as we've got brand new furniture and they have a habit of scratching. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with them?


Comments

  • #2
    boomerang
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭boomerang


    Can you give the cats an alternative for scratching - for example a tall scratching post per cat, cleverly located?

    To be honest I think those nail caps would be pretty aversive.


  • #3
    larrlin24
    Closed Accounts Posts: 142 ✭✭larrlin24


    I have plenty of scratching trees for them. Unfortunately the carpet and the couch are their favourite places to scratch. :(


  • #4
    boomerang
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭boomerang


    Leave it with me, I got a brilliant book lately that has tips in it for this very problem - will reply tomorrow. ;)


  • #5
    Dubl07
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,801 ✭✭✭Dubl07


    larrlin24 wrote: »
    Hi, does anyone use these? They're an American product for cats nails. An alternative to declawing them (which I'd obviously never even think of doing). I decided to buy a pair to try on one of my cats, as we've got brand new furniture and they have a habit of scratching. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with them?

    Two US relatives use them and love them. If your cats never ever ever go out of the house they're grand. If they're normal Irish cats that come and go you'd be putting them in danger.


  • #6
    larrlin24
    Closed Accounts Posts: 142 ✭✭larrlin24


    boomerang wrote: »
    Leave it with me, I got a brilliant book lately that has tips in it for this very problem - will reply tomorrow. ;)

    Great, thanks a mill :)


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  • #7
    larrlin24
    Closed Accounts Posts: 142 ✭✭larrlin24


    Dubl07 wrote: »
    Two US relatives use them and love them. If your cats never ever ever go out of the house they're grand. If they're normal Irish cats that come and go you'd be putting them in danger.

    I like to think they're normal Irish cats :P but yes they're strictly indoor. All four of them!


  • #8
    boomerang
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭boomerang


    If they're strictly indoor larrlin, do you clip their nails? This will probably help massively. You can use a regular little nail clippers for the job.


  • #9
    larrlin24
    Closed Accounts Posts: 142 ✭✭larrlin24


    boomerang wrote: »
    If they're strictly indoor larrlin, do you clip their nails? This will probably help massively. You can use a regular little nail clippers for the job.

    Yep I do. Probably not as often as I should but I just trimmed them a few days ago. Unfortunately it hasn't really helped. We just got new sofas delivered and they were trying to scratch them straight away.


  • #10
    DBB
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 9,770 Mod ✭✭✭✭DBB


    You may already have tried it, but Feliway spray help? A squirt of it on your cat trees and scratching posts might draw them to these more appropriate areas, whilst if you give the new furniture a rub with their bedding it might make it smell less like an invader!


  • #11
    Pumpkinseeds
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,635 ✭✭✭Pumpkinseeds


    Maybe a different type of scratching post would help? Some cats are vertical scratchers and others are horizontal scratchers. Cats prefer to scratch something that's solid and stable, like furniture as it doesn't move when they dig their claws in. 1 of our cats is a very big strong lad who used to love to scratch the sofas, so we got a rectangular scratching post that screws to the wall. He managed to pull it off a few weeks ago, but it had been up for over a year. :D

    I've seen cardboard scratching boxes on Amazon and Zooplus that cats love to sit on and claw. It's about making something else more appealing to scratch than the furniture/carpet. I'd try to avoid softpaws as scratching is such an important thing to a cat. They need the security of marking things with their scent.


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  • #12
    SillyMangoX
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,003 ✭✭✭SillyMangoX


    I've heard of people using soft paws and getting on great, the cat was a bit confused and walking tentavely for an hour or two but got used to them very fast. They do fall off though and need regular replacing. My cats a desperate for scratching the furniture despite the multitudes of scratching posts around the place but we don't mind thankfully,
    Old furniture! But double sided sticky tape puts them right off, just put it on the spots the usually scratch, when they go to scratch again the paws get stuck and they thoroughly disapprove! Maybe also try moving the scratching posts around a bit to get them a bit more interested. Feliway may be good for attracting their attention to the posts, cat nip better again but the best of any of those I've found is pet remedy spray. I could put a dot of it anywhere in the house and my guys will sniff if out!


  • #13
    boomerang
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭boomerang


    Lots of great info in here Larllin, I was going to paraphrase from her book but this is better. :)

    http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/category/basic-training/cat-furniture-scratching/


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