Cat Question( Non Political )

How does one stop a cat from using its claws? I have one cat that is

Rubaiyat of Omar Bradley...

John Cowart

Alan Lichtenstein...

Thank you for the URL.

gentle and plays without using claws, while the other plays with claws.
I'm not referring to using claws on the furniture, as we don't have
that problem. Declawing is not an option.

Jean Smith...

I gave the cat upstairs 15" of Christmas tree standing on a board
for a scratching post. It provided an outlet for this behavior
deflecting it from the furniture. The cat needed no lessons. She had
her claws in it shortly after it was placed down.

California Poppy...

You can clip the cats claws which will help with the clawing.

Alan Lichtenstein...

We do clip her claws, but it doesn't change her behavior. But thanks
anyway.

Alan Lichtenstein...

it isn't the destruction, because that's not an issue. It's the
behavior that I want to modify.

Rita...

In general, the way to modify an animal's behavior is to not
reward it when it behaves in a manner you don't wish it to
and reward it when it does.

Attention and praise are the most powerful rewards, known in
behavioral psychology as positive reinforcers.

Punishment can also change behavior but may have some unwanted
side effects.

Here are a couple of articles on changing behavior in cats, and the
second reference addresses rough play specifically:

I am going to acquire a cat for a pet in the next few weeks, so I'll
perhaps need to refer back to these articles myself in the near
future.
Based on the principles given here, you might try immediately
withdrawing your attention from the cat when it is playing with you
and has its claws out. And returning to the play and praising the cat
when it pulls its claws in. And this must be done consistently.

As the article points out, punishment is another method but has side
effects, often those you would not like.

Alan Lichtenstein...

Thank you, Rita. It's the second set of circumstances that I'm
interested in. Physical destruction by clawing is not an issue. I just
want her to learn to use her claws less frequently, especially when
they're not really called for.

Rumpelstiltskin...

Good luck with your cat! I assume you're going to look
around the shelters and SPCA, and not just buy a "trophy
cat" without getting to know it a little.

GBS among others have pointed out how much more
interesting an everyday cat is likely to be than a purebred
cat. I got 250,000 hits for "George Bernard Shaw" + "cat",
so there seems no hope of my locating the passage I was
thinking of.

Rita...

I plan to buy the litter box and other stuff I will need and then
visit the animal shelter. Their website shows many nice older cats,
that is cats two or three years old, for adoption and yes, I will
choose an "everyday" cat. I am particularly fond of yellow cats
but will consider what is on offer.

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom: it is the
argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves" -- Wm. Pitt the Younger

El Castor...

Consider getting an older cat. The Humane Society finds it easy to
place bouncy kittens, but when an elderly person dies, their cat often
finds it's way to a shelter -- where it's euthanized, because no one
wants it. In fact, better than getting one older cat -- get two. When
that elderly person died, there may have been two cats, who were life
long friends, and shouldn't be separated -- a common situation. That
would be a nice thing to do, and two cats will keep each other
company, and are very little more trouble to take care of than one.
And don't let them go outside! (-8

Rita...

I would like to have two cats but one is the limit my landlord allows.
And what's more I live in a small apartment. Two cats using litter
box would be a bit much. I do not want a kitten, just a friendly
older cat.

A daughter recently adopted two cats who are brothers and they
entertain each other and she is very pleased with them. But she
has a larger place and can keep a litter box in a laundry room.

Alan Lichtenstein...

Unfortunately, I am inclined to agree with Jeff regarding older cats.
These animals, who have given their love and companionship to a person
deserve better than to be euthanized simply because there is no one take
them after their owner passes on. I suppose that is one of the
drawbacks of an older person adopting a kitten.

The shelters we deal with do not euthanize animals, and will keep them
until they themselves pass away. Unfortunately, due to space
limitations, they can't simply take every animal that a person wants to
give away. So, if you do adopt, Jeff's suggestion might be a good one.

He also suggests getting two cats. Another good idea. Cats get
lonesome, and if they have each other when you're not around, they can
occupy themselves. We had one cat when we first adopted, and after she
passed away, we adopted two. To paraphrase an old saying, two cats are
just as easy as one. But we adopted kittens, not older cats. They were
from different litters, and since they were both very young, had no
problem acclimating to both each other and to their new surroundings.
Especially because we brought them into the house at the same time.
There might be socialization and territorial problems with adopting two
older cats who have not lived with each other as individuals. Of
course, if you can get two cats under the circumstances that Jeff
describes, that would be the ideal.

We love our cats and you will as well.

"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of what he was never reasoned into."
Jonathan Swift

Rumpelstiltskin...

I'm glad you feel declawing is not an option, but I don't have
a solution. That's not much of an answer, but it's a relief to be
able to respond to a non-contentious, non-political post.

My cat uses his claws a bit, I'm not sure if he can fully retract
them. Usually it's not a problem, though a few weeks ago I
was lying in bed in a bathrobe that was partly open when my
He put his back foot down in a very strategic position, with
claws. I jumped a couple of feet in the air, which startled
him. I think he took note and will be more careful in future.

Alan Lichtenstein...

We can tolerate using the claws a bit, but she seems to use them
incessantly, when she could do without. She has no trouble fully
retracting her claws; it's a behavioral problem with her.

George Z. Bush...

One of my sons had a behavioral problem with a young dog he had acquired from a
rescue group. The problem was that the dog seemed to think it was its duty to
nip anyone who came near its new master. After expended his total fund of
knowledge on the alteration of dog behavior without success, he sprang for a
$500 fee and consulted a dog phsychologist (I mean it.....I'm perfectly serious
about it). Within a couple of hours of training (for the master rather than for
the dog), the dog had a new understanding of what the master considered to be
acceptable behavior and is no longer a menace to anyone to comes to visit.

I don't know if such a resource is available that might influence feline
behavior, but it might be worth exploring. Good luck......I don't have a cat
and my dog is too old to bother chasing anyone long enough to be able to
supplement the diet I give it.
(^+^)))))))))

(Snip)

George Z.

Declawing is not an option, even though our cats are strictly indoor
cats. Some think it's cruel. I just think it's unnatural. The Shelter
we adopted them from would not give them to us unless we agreed to both
keep them indoors and not declaw them. Since we intended to make them
indoor cats, and not declaw them, that was not a problem. I understand
that shelters are increasingly moving to setting guidelines for
adoptions which are in the pets's interests.

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom: it is the
argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves" -- Wm. Pitt the Younger