Shadow Declawed??

[Love4himies]

I don't envy you for having to go through this, Ashly, it must be eating you up inside .

I think as the cat's guardian, you should be making decisions on what is best for your cat. With the controversy of the possibility of cats being in perpetual pain and possible psychological side effects as well as the idea the cat will not be able to defend himself should he get out, declawing is never an option IMO. Just my .

[chico2]

W4R,I tried to read all the posts to get an understanding of what happened.
I know what a level-headed great mom and animal-lover you are.
If Shadow has done this twice(only)in the 4 years you've had him,it was traumatic since he happened to get them in the face and really fortunate there was no lasting damage.
Since he is otherwise great with the kids,allows them to carry him etc...those 2 instances he was not being vicious,but reacted to something that startled him.
I would try really hard to figure out what it is that triggers this,sometimes picking up another cat and that cat protests,will make a second cat react.

As you know,I've had 4 very serious instances with a momentarily crazed cat,totally different from what was happening with Shadow,though.
Nothing says this will happen again and nothing says it won't,but I would not even think of declawing a 4yr old cat,it's to me way up there with animal-cruelty and rehoming him does not sound like an option because of the kids.
Try to find a way to get his nails trimmed,it makes a huge difference,we trim Vinnies and Chicos nails,but the vet has to trim Rockys.
Hope for a good outcome for you and Shadow

[lUvMyLaB<3]

I know that you are trying hard to find a solution and that is a good thing. I have been there too... I have 3 kids also, and have always had cats around even when they were newborns, the possibility of a newborn being hurt is a scary thing, but I think there is something that can be done. I know none of my cats ever ever hurt a baby.. I have 3 kids and 2 dogs so i know that it can get hectic. Maybe before the baby comes you could take the time to teach your 9 yo to do it, that is great advice imo... Declawing can have SO MANY bad effects, pshycological if the kitty is older and may bring you more problems than you started with, then you are back to square one and the kitty would be worse off for it.. Getting a new home for the kitty would be hard on the kitty and so hard on the kids, unless you have a neighbor or close family member that would take it, and they could visit? I hope that something works for you but when you get into the routine of trimming the nails it really just takes a minute. I hope that you can work it out.. good luck!