There is little doubt that Mister Mittens is destined to become a house cat and I'm going to have her spayed in a month or so once the kittens are weaned and gone.

Please understand that my wife comes from a "dog" family ( me too) and we have had two here that lasted for an incredible 19 years and 15 years. Neither of us know a damned thing about cats.

Should I have her declawed? I mean, she's got to catch some fresh air sometime and I don't want her defenseless if she gets caught up in a jam. She's already been swatted a few times for working her claws in the house where they don't need to be.

I am still amazed at the athleticism of cats. This thing jumped onto the back of my office chair this morning, balanced herself and then started pawing the back of my head (claws in).

Once as a little boy I picked up a young cat because I liked animals. I will never forget those 4 thin lines down my arm that bled some.

And I wll never forget Frog getting loose on some Saturday mornings and bringing dead cats home in his jaws for my father. That dog was a horror. One time I got tackled as the ballrunner in a sandlot football game and Frog backed out of his choker chain (Mom was walking him) and he came on the gallop to tear apart every kid on the other team. Thank Christ nobody sued anybody in those days.

I just want to do the right thing for Mister Mittens. So far she has only playfully swatted me and her claws have not been meant to dig in but when they come out I take notice. She's a young wild street cat and a promiscuous young whore but she understands that there is a lot of love at my house and is very trusting while on the dole.

Declawing a cat is the equivalent of cutting your fingers off at the knuckle. It is brutal and barbaric and can severely traumatize the animal for life.

Cutting a cat's nails is a rather simple procedure, press on the paw lightly and the claw will come up. Where you see red, don't cut. A trim every two weeks will do the trick.

I keep a spray bottle handy as well, when the cat is jumping on or scratching something they shouldn't, a quick spray gives them the hint to get away. Eventually, they learn the boundaries for fear of getting wet.

You can also buy caps for the claws that glue on.

I don't advocate letting cats go outside, but Mittens is going to be an outdoor cat I'm sure. If you let it out and it decides to not come home, without it's claws, it will have no way to survive.

I thought about that, Keith. You can't let a Marine out anywhere alone without his rifle and I wouldn't let the cat out without her claws.

Keith is right. Leave the claws on. You may have to invest in a scratching post where she can take care of her scratching vice.

The claws stay on. It'd be like disarming a teenaged Marine rifleman and I won't do it.

The amazing thing about Mister Mittens is that when she extends the claws her paws go twice the size.

God and Mother Nature provide every creature with a defense - it could be size or speed or teeth or brains or camouflage or claws or stealth or something else. But there is always something there to give the creature a chance when threatened. I can't take that away but her ability to drop more kittens is going.

Fast frisky whores are a wonderful thing but not at my age and not with that species.

DO NOT declaw the cat! Just get her nails clipped by a vet every 6 months or so if necessary

Good advice from all...no declawing.


Cats are territorial, and likely if the cat goes out she will stay around the property. Even so, you cannot leave kitty w/o claws.

In my childhood family we had a sheppard/terrier mix dog called "Major". Major's sole purpose as he saw it was to "be on guard". Major was a very,very tough dog. We also had three cats...a mom /Siamese and two 1/2 Siamese brothers.(another tale). The dog and cats avoid each other in the house...for several years. When outside, the dog was kept "confined"....dog house...tied on the porch...tied in side yard. The cats liked to sun themselves outside and roamed around the property.

One night, the family had finished dinner and we were in the den. A horrible, horrible, blood-chilling scream came from the kitchen.
I was the first in. The dog had the cat on it's back with the cat's neck in his jaws. In a last desperate move the cat raked his claws over the dogs face...like Zorro. Missed eyes, nose, etc...but the dog had those "zorro scars for the rest of his (14 yr old) life.

My point...the dog was the aggressor and would have killed the cat, if the cat had no claws. Your kitty sounds good natured.
And cats like that rarely scratch people unless threatened somehow, or they're "neurotic cats".

Do not declaw that cat. Get a spray bottle of water and squirt her when she tries them out on the furniture. Also get her a track ball. See video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7e4LZrbeNk
Sprinkle a little catnip on the cardboard insert and they'll love it. Once you declaw a cat they are helpless outside.

Declaw out. I'm set on that.