DEAR PET TALK: Our cherished 2-year-old cat lives indoors and loves to play, but he’s scratched a human family member three times in the face — two of which required medical attention. He’s not doing it on purpose — he’s run into seated people while climbing the furniture, and another time he was flailing to escape being picked up. We don’t want to lose him or declaw him, but we’re afraid of another injury.
– Sonia’s Husband
DEAR MR. SONIA: First, you definitely do not want to declaw a cat — ever.
An anxious cat will be frantic not to have full use of their toes and claws (declawing is removing the last joint; imagine losing the last joint of all your fingers).
Bonnie Simula, veterinary tech at Tender Heart Veterinarians in Gardner, said “some cats who are declawed get very bitey,” and that cat anxiety can be handled with anti-anxiety medication. There are pet nail caps, which a vet can put on a cat’s claws, or that an owner who is confident may do. Cats use their nails for a variety of purposes including transferring pheromones “which they emit through their paws, and which calm them.”
Pet nail caps can be purchased online, and a cat should have their nails clipped (there are special cuticle scissors for this) so that the cap snaps on. (Since responding to “Mr. Sonia” their cat has had nails clipped, and caps applied, and so far so good).
Do you have a question for Pet Talk? Email sallycragin@verizon.net. Sally Cragin is the director of Be PAWSitive: Therapy Pets and Community Education. Listen to “Pet Talk” on K-Zone with Sherman Whitman on Friday mornings.
