Nailed it!

I’m very thankful I wasn’t born in the Dark Ages, when humans thought nothing of “declawing” their cats. Fortunately, I came along during the Age of Enlightenment, when it became widely known that declawing involved amputation of a portion of our “toes” and is in fact a cruel practice. Most shelters now will not let you adopt a cat if you intend to declaw it.

My predecessor was declawed, and so when my mamas got ready to adopt me, they fretted that I would leave their furniture in tatters. If you look carefully at that chair in the photo at the top of this blog, you’ll probably wonder why they cared. It’s not exactly like their place is ready for a Better Homes & Gardens photo shoot. But OK, I get it that no one wants their stuff ruined.

After searching online for ways to save their precious belongings from my expected Reign of Terror, my mamas found what they thought was a perfect solution: a product called Soft Paws, which are soft vinyl caps that are glued onto cats’ nails and minimize damage from scratching. Yes, I said glued! If that sounds almost as barbaric as amputation, it really isn’t. The caps are designed to fall off in four to six weeks as the nails grow.

At first Those Two treated them as a fashion accessory, changing colors with the seasons or holidays (I’m sporting my Halloween orange here). I didn’t really mind the caps, since I could still satisfy my natural urge to scratch everything in sight. And I’m strictly an indoor cat, so I didn’t have to worry about ridicule from my peers in the wild.

After a few months, though, I began shedding the caps more quickly than the company had advertised, and Those Two grew tired of having to reapply them. One day, they simply stopped putting them on me.

I’d like to think part of it was that they had grown to trust me, and realized I was not a four-legged shredding machine. As in any new relationship, it took time for trust to grow.

I prefer my nails uncapped and natural, and I mostly leave the furniture alone. I’m hoping Those Two haven’t noticed that carpet shopping might be in their not-too-distant future.