To stop or prevent your cat from doing any damage to you and your furniture, you need nail caps on him. Nail caps on your cat are a simple and relatively cheaper and non-surgical alternative to declawing.
You can apply them at home and are perfect for cats of all ages. They last a couple of weeks or until your cat sheds them off as he grows out new nails. But amidst this obvious benefit, the one question still stands out – do nail caps work? Let’s find out whether they do or not.
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Ways On How Nail Caps On Your Cat Could Work
To Prevent Cat Claws Damage
You need caps on your cat nails to protect your walls, doors as well as carpets and furniture and keep them in good condition. Cats naturally like to sharpen their nails. In the wild, they do it on tree backs.
Since cats are also territorial creatures, they like to leave their marks on their territory. But now, there’s an absence of trees for apparent reasons. She is your home and not in the forest or roaming free in the wild.
Therefore, your carpet and other furniture serve her just fine. She claws at door frames, carpet, walls and any other surface that catches her fancy to your detriment. This happens even after providing her with an alternative clawing surface in the house.
To curtail her scratching excesses, caps on her nail works just fine.
Saving That Trip To Your Doctor
Scratching is a natural behavior that all cats exhibit, and that includes your cat as well. But, that does not mean you should replace or have to cover your furniture more often than necessary. Neither will you nor your quests or any member of your household have to wear band-aids regularly.
Your cat’s playful swipes might have already earned you a trip to your doctor with about eight stitches to show for the visit. If you do not want the same to happen to your children or guests, caps on her nails work. This is especially true when you’re dealing with a larger cat with claws that are over an inch long.
If You Have To Go On Vacation
At times, we may have to go on vacation or be away for a while. Usually, we tend to leave our cats with a pet sitter. In this case, caps on her nails work just fine.
This is primarily if your cat is not used to being around strangers. Caps on her nails will protect your pet sitter from any accidental scratches.
Anatomy Of Your Cat
Declawing is generally considered as cruelty to animals. As such, you may not want to alter the anatomy of your cat. In this case, caps on her nails is the best way to go. This is because caps are generally harmless to her health.
One of the conventional processes of declawing is known as tendonectomy. It involves cutting off the tendon that controls the claw in each of her toes. Yes, your cat keeps her claws, but she cannot manage them or extend them to scratch. Another process of declawing is the actual amputation of the last joint of her toes. This is permanent. Caps on her nails work if you don’t want her to go through this procedure.
Lack Of Interference With Extension Or Retraction On Her Claws
It is essential to fix the nail caps right. When done right, there’s no interference with her extending or retracting her claws within the confines of the caps. It will help function usually.
She will be able to play with you and the kids without trips to the clinic. Your quests will be free from scratches, and you will not need to cover your furniture more often than necessary.
Instances When Caps On Her Cat’s Nail Do Not Work
Ingrown Claws
Naturally, the caps should fall off when your cat grows out new nails. But with certain cats, this may not be the case. Instead of the caps falling off, her claws grow or curve back into the pad with the nail caps on.
This will necessitate a trip to your vet as cutting the ingrown nails may require anesthesia. Lest you forget, cutting the ingrown nails can be painful to your cat. This invariably renders the purpose of caps on your cat’s nails useless.
Defense
When your cat cannot defend herself when attacked by other cats or dogs, caps on her nails do not work. Since her claws are capped, she’s vulnerable to attacks without her being able to defend herself as all normal cats do.
Also, she cannot hunt because without her claws out, and the prey may turn tables on her. Since cats generally like to hunt, capping your cat’s nails stops her from carrying out one of her basic instincts.
Hinders Some Basic Abilities In Your Cat
When the nail caps on your cat are not correctly done, or you did not get the right caps for her nails, the cat could have most of it natural abilities hindered. The following are some of them.
Sweat gets trapped in her foot pads. A cap on your cat is absolutely safe and harmless on her. She can wear her caps for couples of weeks, and it will not affect her health adversely.
But in reality, you know this is not the case. This is because the adhesive used to attach the caps can cause severe allergies. Sweat gets trapped in her foot pads and glands located between her fingers secret fats. As a result, dermatitis and favorable environment for pathogenic bacterial begin to develop.
The others:
- Nail caps limit her ability to stretch (extend) and retract her claws fully.
- The caps impair walking.
- She finds it hard to scratch usually.
- She also loses the ability to clean his ears and teeth using his claws.
- The cat may find it hard to hold on to slippery surfaces successfully.
- She cannot climb higher.
- She cannot break when playing games that require lots of legwork.
Conclusion
Scratching is a natural behavior exhibited by all cats. Because of constant trips to the clinic as a result of cuts from your cat, you may be considering declawing her.
However, think again. Declawing is a relatively expensive procedure, and it is PERMANENT. Since you do not want the anatomy of your cat changed, capping her claws will suffice.
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