Critter Alley

Critter Alley

Friday, November 21, 2008

Clawsified Information


So how do you like Bogey's pedicure?
Just kidding. Even I wouldn't try to give a cat a pedicure.
As most cats do, Bogey loves to scratch. Unfortunately, his scratching posts tend to be items such as my favorite chairs, the new couch, or the carpet, just to name a few. I won't declaw, but was desperate for a solution. After some research, I decided to try a product called Soft Claws (there's a similar product called Soft Paws). The product instructions say to trim the tip of the claws, then put glue in the vinyl cap and push it onto the nail. Bogey's already pretty good about letting me trim, as we compromise by clipping only a few nails at a time. That part was a cinch. Things were a bit clumsy at first with the nail gluing part, but overall that went pretty well, too. I held him a few minutes to let the glue dry, then turned him loose. At first he acted surprised. Then he started to groom his feet like crazy. I imagine it must have felt sort of like having rubber thimbles on his toes. But the caps stayed put.
Anyway, he's grown quite used to them now, and even models, as you can see. For the amusement of we humans, the caps come in every color of the rainbow. Bogey's wearing bright hunter orange. And for him that's not only fashionable, but appropriate.

For those considering whether or not to declaw, please check out the following site before you make your decision.

http://www.catscratching.com/

4 comments:

Leona said...

What a neat idea! I'll have to look into it for my cat. Mind you, she only scratches the door frames..she pretty much leaves everything else alone..oh and "her" chair. Colours, eh? hmmm..wonder what a calico cat would look like with pink nails?

Pat Wahler said...

My daughter was quick to inform me:"Remember, Bogey's a boy. No pink or purple nails for him!"

Anonymous said...

That seems like an excellent and very humane solution to the problem, Pat! I hope other people consider it. Well done you!

The Word Place said...

That is definitely a novel idea!