Soft Claws® are well known and quite heavily promoted by a lot of websites. They are seen by people as an alternative to declawing and I welcome that because we all know that declawing is completely unacceptable. However, I have some questions about the efficacy and practicalities of using Soft Claws.
How many cat owners have bought this product? I get the impression that they are less popular than the promotional material indicates, which may be because that they’re not as practical as they first seem. No doubt they fall off after a certain period of time. How long do they stay on for?
You couldn’t use them for an outdoor cat because they would prevent the cat from being able to defend himself. That would exclude the majority of the domestic cats in the UK but it would suit a lot of cats and cat owners in the USA.
How safe is this product? Do domestic cats find them uncomfortable? We don’t know the answer to that last question because we can’t ask our cat but we do know that cats are sensitive to objects placed on them and to our touch. We know that paw pads are very sensitive and therefore I would expect a cat’s paw is to be generally sensitive. Can we assume that a cat feels the same wearing this product as we would if we had the tips of our fingers covered with a plastic cap? That is probably an unfair comparison because the tips of our fingers are very sensitive to touch but if the comparison is even slightly useful we would have to assume that our cat will feel the claw caps and they will feel uncomfortable. No doubt they get used to them.
We know that the outer lair of a cat’s claw naturally sloughs off in time and we all know that the cat encourages this to happen by scratching. Obviously if the claw is encased in plastic this natural process cannot take place. How does the cat feel about that? And what does the cat owner do to deal with it?
Soft Claws nail caps are stuck on with glue. Does the glue seep into the claw and make it softer? I have no idea, but if you are applying a chemical, which glue is, to a claw which is made of keratin there may be some sort of subtle chemical reaction taking place which we don’t know about.
Has there ever been a case of a cat swallowing a claw cap? It would seem to be quite possible that this might happen. I presume the product, if swallowed, does not hurt the cat and that it will pass through the cat’s digestive system. Can we be completely reassured that this is the case?
Is the glue completely safe even if it is ingested by the cat? I presume that it must be and I also presume that the manufacturers state that it is completely safe (I have not being to the manufacturer’s site to check) but this would be a concern to me if I bought the product.
Finn Frode doesn’t think they are any good. What do you think?
No you won’t get shouted at because you are right. The manufacturers conveniently ignore that. This product prevents the natural shedding of the claw sheath. This fact alone should prevent it from being used.
Well they can’t shed the outer shards of their claws with those things on can they! The claws must grow inside them, I can’t see how it’s healthy for claws covered in glue and unable to ‘breath’
Very un-natural and unkind, I think!
But no doubt I’ll get shouted down 😉
I didn’t know that. I did not realise that the claws had to be trimmed before you put the caps on. That being the case it is completely pointless to put the caps on because as you say the cat caretaker can trim her cat’s claws once a month. Bizarre.
Thanks Ahsan. It is appreciated.
I hate nail caps but they are better than declawing because once the cats toe ends have been amputated, they have gone forever. I have asked many times about these and had the same reply that cats can still retract their claws and still scratch with them on. But how? I don’t see how they can. They can’t dig their claws in to exercise their muscles, they can’t dig them in to climb or balance and surely it must be unpleasant for them grooming themselves with them on! I have heard of them coming off sometimes, so what if a cat swallows one? Apparently they have to be changed monthly and the cats claws clipped before putting new ones on, so why on earth can’t people just clip the sharp ends off their cats claws if they must protect themselves and their precious furniture? I hate it that some people can’t see the beauty of cats claws and know they deserve to use them as Nature intended! If anyone is scared of a little scratch then they shouldn’t have a cat around, cats come with claws because they need to use them. I hate it that anyone can get a cat and do whatever they like to the poor creature.
Don’t like claws, then don’t get a cat!
The second paragraph of your comments is the conclusion what I mean to say, 😀 thank you so much, and really love you when you explain it more deeply and clearly <3 Michael