Cats scratch. It is an expected behavior. Some do it more than others, but even the ones that do it rarely can still cause more damage than an owner might want. Our cats like resting and relaxing far too much to damage the living room furniture. Even the new chairs we purchased in the fall have escaped their wrath, proving a better place for sleeping than sharpening. But even the most angelic of animals have weaknesses. For our cats — particularly the grey one, Daeva — nothing should ever come between her and any of the following things: electronic cables, drapery cords, hair bands, twist ties or (as we recently discovered) portions of reachable border in our newly redecorated downstairs bathroom.
We are unaminously opposed to de-clawing our cats, so we had to find another solution that would save our sanity without harming the cats. Our answer? Lee Press-On Nails Soft Claws! Once you get over the ridiculousness (ridiculosity?) of the idea, it makes perfect sense. Don’t want the cats to damage things with their claws? Cover those claws. Simple. But … how do you manage to keep any cat still long enough to carefully adhere individual caps to each of their front claws? Put them in a bag, of course.
The process takes less time than you might imagine, and in our case, Daeva was rather resigned to the idea after a couple of claws. Also, she never gets to be on the kitchen table, so the novelty of being somewhere forbidden might’ve had a positive effect. And did you know these things come in colors? They do. Purple, actually.
In the end, Daeva was none the worse for her experience and back on good terms with her manicurist. It’s been about two hours since the application. So far, Daeva has napped, walked around, napped, had a bath and napped again — I think she’ll be fine.
Update: Now both cats know the joy of Soft Claws. Daksha seems less than thrilled.
