Cat Chat 2

[Sixx O'Clock]

Do any of you have any strong opinions on nail/claw covers/caps?
I will be getting a cat while living in a rented apartment, and I don't really want to have to deal with the repercussions of cat scratching/damages (I have gotten burned on it before, It was completely bogus, but I just don't want to deal with it again)
I am completely against de-clawing, but I have seen quite a few mixed messages on the claw covers.

I personally see nothing wrong with claw caps. They aren't permanent and I haven't seen any discomfort in the cats they're used on. I think a common misconception with them is that people think the caps force the cat to keep their claws extended all the time, when that isn't the case. It just looks that way because the caps add a bit of length.
If you're looking for other alternatives, though, there are other methods to control a cat's scratching habit. You can buy cardboard scratching pads for pretty cheap, and they last a while. There are also these sticky strips that you can put on the corners of walls and furniture. Cats don't like having sticky paws, so they won't touch them. And of course there's no-scratch spray. Cats generally don't like the smell of harsh citrus, which is what the spray smells like, so you can spray it on anything you don't want your cat clawing up.

[non]

so happy i can take her! i think. we've set up a nice room and stuff.. but one of my relatives is ill (not infectious..) and he may not be able to tolerate cats... the suspense!

[Rachley]

Thank you for your replies, Desperado and flyteck. He has an appointment on Thursday to look further into this. We got him last year, near the end of December. Actually, when we first got him, it was very difficult to trim his claws. So we let the vet do it. It took 3 people to get the job done, but we took him back recently and It only took 1 person. He was behaving well the entire time. He doesn't even scratch up the other cats anymore, so he's gotten better overall. But he's still stressing out our older cat in particular, so that's the issue. Our older cat is very easily overstimulated, so he could have a chemical imbalance as well. Sometimes, if another cat jumps out at him or someone pets him on the back, he will go off and groom himself very fast for a minute or so.

[Sixx O'Clock]

Thank you for your replies, Desperado and flyteck. He has an appointment on Thursday to look further into this. We got him last year, near the end of December. Actually, when we first got him, it was very difficult to trim his claws. So we let the vet do it. It took 3 people to get the job done, but we took him back recently and It only took 1 person. He was behaving well the entire time. He doesn't even scratch up the other cats anymore, so he's gotten better overall. But he's still stressing out our older cat in particular, so that's the issue. Our older cat is very easily overstimulated, so he could have a chemical imbalance as well. Sometimes, if another cat jumps out at him or someone pets him on the back, he will go off and groom himself very fast for a minute or so.

Older cats tend to be more grumpy/skittish, so it's not too surprising that your old cat acts that way. It just sounds like a part of his personality, and not so much an overstimulation thing. Even my cat, who is only about 3 years old, acts that way when she's startled. It's sort of like they're saying "I meant to do that". Lol

[fluffycat6]

Do any of you have any strong opinions on nail/claw covers/caps?
I will be getting a cat while living in a rented apartment, and I don't really want to have to deal with the repercussions of cat scratching/damages (I have gotten burned on it before, It was completely bogus, but I just don't want to deal with it again)
I am completely against de-clawing, but I have seen quite a few mixed messages on the claw covers.

For most people they seem to work, but my friend got these for her cat and they didn't work for her. She said that every time one of them came off, he would just keep scratching, so their furniture still got damaged, and they didn't stick on very well so they fell off often. If you do get them, make sure to trim the cat's claws often because they can't wear them down on their own

[Rachley]

Older cats tend to be more grumpy/skittish, so it's not too surprising that your old cat acts that way. It just sounds like a part of his personality, and not so much an overstimulation thing. Even my cat, who is only about 3 years old, acts that way when she's startled. It's sort of like they're saying "I meant to do that". Lol

Lol that's true, my cat has always been that way as well. But it has increased over the years. After our other cat passed away, he was constantly on edge. And during his nightly play session, he would run to attack his toy, but consistently stop to lick his twitching fur. It isn't quite as frequent anymore, but it still happens at least once per day for whatever reason. It also happens when someone even touches his back when he isn't cuddly, or even if something brushes against his fur. He might just have a stress problem.

[Saphira344]

Not a vet question but one I would like to know about. Lily my cat uset to sleep on my bed beside my pillow，but lately she's been sleeping in the front room on the chair I normally sit on unless I close the hallway gate we have to keep mums dog out of the hallway，though when My dog opens it she will normally leave my room if awake and go sleep on the chair. She purrs and is all affectionate when she's with me on my bed so I can't understand why she keeps ditching me First chance she gets?
A few months back I started feeding her in my room but she never acted this way before now and it's been happening for about a week. She's only 3 yeads old. I fear it might be Becuse I started feeding Her when I go to bed so i can close her in instead of when I feed the dogs but I started doing that only a few days after she started to act this way so I don't think that's it. It might have something to do with when I had my friend sleep over Becuse I remember she stoped sleeping on my bed until I started to close the gate with her in the hallway but that was a few weeks back!
So I was hoping maybe one of you might know what's up with her，Becuse I honstly don't know what to search in Google to find the answer.

Oh and she's de-sexed.

[Sixx O'Clock]

Not a vet question but one I would like to know about. Lily my cat uset to sleep on my bed beside my pillow，but lately she's been sleeping in the front room on the chair I normally sit on unless I close the hallway gate we have to keep mums dog out of the hallway，though when My dog opens it she will normally leave my room if awake and go sleep on the chair. She purrs and is all affectionate when she's with me on my bed so I can't understand why she keeps ditching me First chance she gets?
A few months back I started feeding her in my room but she never acted this way before now and it's been happening for about a week. She's only 3 yeads old. I fear it might be Becuse I started feeding Her when I go to bed so i can close her in instead of when I feed the dogs but I started doing that only a few days after she started to act this way so I don't think that's it. It might have something to do with when I had my friend sleep over Becuse I remember she stoped sleeping on my bed until I started to close the gate with her in the hallway but that was a few weeks back!
So I was hoping maybe one of you might know what's up with her，Becuse I honstly don't know what to search in Google to find the answer.

Oh and she's de-sexed.

There's not really one definitive answer to this, I'm afraid. But I do have a few theories as to why she stopped sleeping with you:
1. Your room is too cold for her. Cats prefer higher temperatures than us humans do. That's why they sunbathe and lay close to heaters if they're on. I'm not sure where you're located, but since it is starting to get cold in a lot of places, she may be seeking somewhere warmer to sleep.
2. Your cat is just developing different habits. I have a cat that I raised from kittenhood, and she used to sleep in my bed with me all the time. As she got older though, she preferred to sleep upstairs rather than in my room downstairs. It's just how some cats are.
3. Something happened in your room/something changed that she didn't like. Cats like familiar spaces, it's where they feel safest. If things change in their safe space, they often times will find another space that seems better to them.
4. She feels trapped in your room. As we all know, cats want to be able to move freely throughout their territory. When you close off spaces to them, they become irritated and move to an area that is more open to them.

[Thalassic]

Honesty, it could be just that she wants to sleep somewhere else for some reason. We have several places around the apartment for the cats to sleep, boxes, chairs with soft blankets on them, special "beds", but they'll still choose to sleep on empty computer chairs, tables, the floor, the windowsill, behind armchairs, next to the waterbowl and just.. anywhere and everywhere. Maybe she just got bored of that place and wanted to try a different place to sleep. Nothing at all wrong with that.

[woospuss]

One of our cats Archie changes his sleeping spots on a regular basis. Sometimes he sleeps on my bed, on the towel sitting on top of the washing machine, the lounge and in summer I have often found him fast asleep in the middle of the floor on the rug or under my bed! Could all depend on where the cat feels most comfortable.

Our other cat Ruffy however, he sleeps on the end of my bed every night, regardless of how hot it is. He has his own blanket he sleeps on, and stretches out across the bed. But he will only sleep there of a night, of a day he has many places.