Questions I have about Soft Claws claw caps

Soft Claws nail caps
Soft Claws nail caps. Photo by Laura.
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

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?

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42 thoughts on “Questions I have about Soft Claws claw caps”

  1. These claw caps are confusing me some now because, if the nails are trimmed before they are applied, what is the purpose of them?
    Is there something cosmetic going on?
    And, I agree that they have to be unhealthy. I wonder how many cats develop nail fungus from them.

    Reply
  2. I love your cats and kittens Dee and deeply thank you for sharing them with us. They are so pretty that I have no words to write here but only what I can say is that you are doing a superb job for them as they look very natural to me. I don’t know why people can’t understand that when we serve neglected ones, there is some one )GOD) looking to us all the time and he one day will reward us with that kind a reward which we have no idea in mind whether that is within this life or the here after, this is what I believe.

    A quote from my personal diary:” nevertheless, what people think about me or my Feral Cats, I am not going to please them by leaving the welfare of cats but carry on the welfare, I will keep pleasing my tiny friends.”

    Reply
    • Oh Ahsan, there are more… and more…
      Here are Linel, Linus, and Corker.
      Linus and Linel are brothers.
      Every one of the cats I’ve shown you came from feral colonies and live inside fulltime with me.

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      • Dee! they are really looking COOOOooool to me and really I am feeling so much deep connection with them, don’t know why I am always forwarded toward these ignored, really friendly and closed to spirit of mine.

        I am sorry for myself that I can not build a huge cage here due to my financial situations but perhaps one day all of you will see that I am successful in my mission to protect the cats from the cruel minds here.

        Right now, me and my wife wandered along the roads on my bike, and we saw FERAL dogs roaming and eating flesh on streets with blood. Don’t know where they got that raw food but as I observed(and my wife, too) that the population of cats have been reduced to nearly at the least minimum. And we are not so fool that we can not guess what has happened.

        Me and my wife knew about a colony of cats and kittens which I named (WHITE CATS COLONY). All cats and kittens were pure white from head to tail, but unfortunately with in the 10 KM drive, we could not trace that colony. It means that over 40 dogs which have been spreaded over the AREA has done their feast.

        Let me also clear that FERAL DOG of PAKISTAN is not a fatty, obsessed, healthy and active fleshy dog. It is a very thin and weak dog with many sicknesses. But we observed that these dogs, when they were released to the area, were very weak n thin but now they are very healthy and fat. They seem to be HUGE and dangerous now.

        DEE, I have begged my relatives and friends here but they have no hearts. Pakistani people only love those animals to be fed that are good for their own FOOD. i.e. goats, cows, hens, sheep and etc. the animals for slaughtering and beneficial for milk giving for human beings.

        I am not against the FERAL DOGS as perhaps anyone judges me wrong. But this is not the way to STOP the cat population. I am happy on one side that I found a friend vet who can give me discount in cat’s welfare but on the hand I am really depressed now and I went to the clinic and got relaxants. I mean tablets named LEXOTANIL 3mg. My doc is also angry with me and he has advised me to stay away from all matters of CATS & KITTENS so that my brain don’t get any negative impact. I often started speaking to my self and my wife and daughters began to be afraid, what happened to me.

        I am a cool minded man but now I feel this world is not for me. This is the extreme sense which I have gotten now a days but I am still gathering myself. I don’t know whether I will be successful to protect my own cat colony in near coming days. But I have to hope for every positive in my prayers to the lord of heavens.

        But DEE I pray millions of well wishes to you and your cats and if you don’t mind, You gotta have a huge, big HUG from me <3 <3 <3 please carry on the greatest ever work of welfare for cats. God bless you, amin 🙂

        Reply
        • Ahsan you MUST look after yourself to be able to look after those cats, you are so needed there for your very important work, just as Dee is needed where she is.
          I know the feeling of this world not being for me, something has gone very wrong, it was not supposed to be this way with animals suffering, but many people can not realise that.
          Take care of yourself, be kind to yourself and know that although Michael’s PoC family are far apart we love you and all that you do for helpless cats x

          Reply
        • Thank you, Ahsan.

          I’m certain that you will reach your goal of building the shelter.

          And, it’s really not scary talking to yourself. I do it all day long when I’m not speaking to the cats. For me, I think it’s a stress and frustration release. I’m sure that an outsider watching me might think I was crazy, especially when I laugh to myself. We all have our own ways of coping in this world.

          Reply
  3. Michael, in the kitchen scene, it’s hard to tell, but the only true gerey is Gre-grey. Those other are tigers.
    And, yes, I know which cats are related, but none in this scene are.

    Reply

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