re: Pets. HLEP!

Quoting CourtneyC22:“ There are alot of great ideas here!! Im def going to try the stuff from Petsmart, and a crib tent we ... [snip!] ... crib sheet that i hadnt even gotten out of the package. Grrrrr. I love her to death but the stuff she does just makes me upset.”

My hubby makes hissing noises at them!   haha! And we also bat them on the head softly yet firmly with open hand b/c we noticed our older cats doing that to the new arrivals and young ones. Turns out that's how cats tell each other "Stop. I'm higher in the pecking order than you and I disapprove."

If you want to declaw her, then it's entirely up to you. My family and I have owned over 15 cats, all of them we got declawed and none of them had changed their personalities in any way. I have 2 cats right now that are declawed and they act just like they did before hand. All of themwere and the ones alive still are very happy cats.
Not all vets declaw the way everyone thinks they do, they do have a better way of doing it. I would call around and ask. Also, you can call the humane society, they usually have really good rates on declawing.
Like I said, it's up to you, don't let anyone make you feel bad for choosing to declaw.

I've heard both good and bad about the other stuff. But definitely try them out first, you may find something that works great.
good luck, hopefully you find something that stops her from scratching everything up.

this thread has a lot of good ideas that have been proven to work to help keep kitty out of the crib and off the babies stuff

http://forum.baby-gaga.com/about158349.html

All three of my cats have their claws, but when my grandmother needed her cat declawed we tried to think of something besides the actual declaw (where they remove the first joint in the paw).

Recently there is a new type of declaw out that is non-surgical and requires no stitches (and maybe a day of healing time). I think if you Google “laser declaw” you will find some information on it.

Essentially what they do is instead of cutting out the first joint of the paw (equivalent to the first bone/joint in our fingers) they use a laser to cut off the claw (below the quik) and since it is using a beam which is hot, it seals off the nerve endings, therefore eliminating any bleeding.

The claw does not grow back and its not removing any part of the actual skeletal structure.

My grandmother did get it done and her cat was better the next day and back to his old, bad self.

Just an option to think about…

Quoting CatLuvr83:“ I wonder if they also starting attacking her b/c they have to be around her all the time now? Perhaps the boys being able to go outside was concession enough to leave the girl alone...”

I believe the vet is righ about her being weaker then they are. When we lived in NC they got to go out, but we moved here in 99 and had to stop letting them out. So it's been to long for that to have caused it. I worked for the vet before getting pregnant, but had to quit (miss it). but the way declawing is done if done properly they have next to no pain ... it hurts them for about a day. The skin at the toes are pulled back like our cuticle and the first bone joint (knuckle) is cut off along with the attached nail. Then it is closed up. Done improperly and I saw a lot of this come in over there. they cut the toes open and remove the toes and part of thei pad. That is painful! But like I said I will not declaw again, even though mine is done the proper way. Now as for the humane society helping with declawing.... here in WV they are 110%+ against declawing and will NOT allow you to adopt a cat if you plan to declaw. They consider it inhumane. The vet I worked for here worked 100% with the humane society (I loved that most about the vetI worked for) and believe me I helped adopt 100's and had to refuse many as they wanted to declaw. It is a chance one takes declawing. My sisters cat NEVER went outside it was terrified. She got him declawed for his scratching behavior and he was fine. But one day when she was coming inside he for some reason bolted out the door and the neighbors dog killed him before she could even blink! She had to witness it all. Her cat jumped over the fence when the dog barked at him and the dog chased him and he could not get up the tree fast enough and the dog got him he was dead before my sister got to him. It just all happened so fast.