# Declawed cat outdoors?



## crazyniki73 (Nov 23, 2005)

Hi there! Does anyone have a declawed cat that is allowed out? My Cat came from the SPCA already declawed( and neutered), but he is very active and a good mouser. He seems to get bored very quickly in the house and will play for hours. My cat, Mario, is very social, follows me around the house, and I would like to take him to the barn with me daily to catch mice. We have 2 neighbor cats that come in our yard and would be concerned about a chance encounter but they usually run at any noise from the house because of the dogs. Can they still defend themseves reasonably well against another cat with claws? I have no experience in declawed cats or cat fights, so any input would be apreiciated.Thanks!


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## danoon (Dec 20, 2006)

Personally, we don't let ours out. When you take away their defensive weapon I don't think you should let them out. They can still jump but can't climb to get away. If you're sure no dog or other creature can get to it I guess it would be ok. It could get a little scratched up by another cat but when the real fight starts they use their back feet more anyway. Thats just my opinion though and we are in the city which makes a difference as there always strange dogs wandering the neighborhood.. and some weird kids I might add.


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## Pyrenees (Oct 23, 2004)

Unless you really, really think it is necessay...it would probably be best to avoid it. If he still has his back claws, he might do OK in a catfight as it is the teeth and the back claws that do most of the slicing and dicing whereas the fronts are mainly used to hold one. If all four paws are declawed, it is an even bigger risk as he will have totally lost his ability to climb should he get in lifethreateing situation that requires rapid escape. Cats can get used to be indoor animals and if he came to you declawed, he was probably an indoor cat to begin with.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

We let our declawed cat, Casper, outside. However, he's 17 years old and never wanders away from the house unless we're with him. Also, we have six other cats and nine dogs who keep other animals away.

I would also advise against letting him outside by himself.


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## Idahoe (Feb 4, 2006)

No, please don't no matter how the kitty begs! I declawed Ferdinand, he was heck on furniture, the same old story . . . I never even thought about him going outside, and sure enough, two dogs off leash cornered him in a fence corner he couldn't climb. He survived the injuries (punctured lungs and a lot of bites and bruising). The vet admonished me (I still cringe at the memory) and I still can't believe I was that stupid. Luckily, he lived a long, furry life INDOORS thereafter.


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## GoldenMom (Jan 2, 2005)

My declawed cats are totally indoors. Get a barn cat for the barn if you want mouse control. I doubt a mostly indoor cat could make much of a dent only going out to visit the barn when you go out.


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## Corky (May 11, 2002)

My vet will not declaw a cat that might be let outside.
I have two in the house and they love to try any trick to get out.
Sometimes it works too. We have been able to get them back in quickly so far but we live in the woods so I worry till we have them back inside.
They don't like the feel of the ground on their feet so we leave the shop door open and they soon go in there where they are trapped.


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## airotciv (Mar 6, 2005)

I had Bomb, that came to us declawed, which I would never do, but through the death of a friends/friend I took Bomb. Yes I let him out during the day, he stayed in at night. The cat fights seem to happen at night, and our dogs are out during the day so other cats don't come around. He died of Diabetes a few years ago. 4 years of shots twice a day (he was 8). I think he was happy during the day, mousing in the barns. He was a hunter, and very good at it. One of my best hunters, I miss him and think he would not have been happy if not let out, But you have to remember he is declawed and have to beaware of that and the threats that are out there. But if it seems safe, I would let him out.


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## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

I would never allow him out. If he were to be cornered by a dog or something, he can't just scratch the nose and dash away. With or without claws, the danger to an outside kitty is too great' they may drink something poisonous, be run over, stolen, bitten by a rabid animal, wind up doggy/coyote supper, just no telling.

Many of you say that in a fight, cats mainly just hold on with their front claws and bite and kick the tar out of each other with their backs. This may be true, but I have two tomcats. They have accidentally been out in the house together twice, and each time, instead of just holding with their front claws, they ripped at the backs of each others necks and ears. Louie got Atlas just over the eye, Atlas is lucky Louie missed by the hair that he did. Scary, scary stuff.
Now, sometimes one of the others will get their tail in a twist, and either the girls or the altered male might get into it, but they just grab and hold, not the scary ripping stuff. Should your cat be allowed out and run into a tom in a bad mood... not pretty.


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## airotciv (Mar 6, 2005)

jen74145 said:


> I would never allow him out. If he were to be cornered by a dog or something, he can't just scratch the nose and dash away. With or without claws, the danger to an outside kitty is too great' they may drink something poisonous, be run over, stolen, bitten by a rabid animal, wind up doggy/coyote supper, just no telling.
> 
> Many of you say that in a fight, cats mainly just hold on with their front claws and bite and kick the tar out of each other with their backs. This may be true, but I have two tomcats. They have accidentally been out in the house together twice, and each time, instead of just holding with their front claws, they ripped at the backs of each others necks and ears. Louie got Atlas just over the eye, Atlas is lucky Louie missed by the hair that he did. Scary, scary stuff.
> Now, sometimes one of the others will get their tail in a twist, and either the girls or the altered male might get into it, but they just grab and hold, not the scary ripping stuff. Should your cat be allowed out and run into a tom in a bad mood... not pretty.


Drink poison, be run over, stolen, bitten, as I read this post you have outside tomcats. We won't go in to that. So your cats are at danger from all of these things. So are mine, but I live on a farm and try to make sure my animals are safe. You can not always make this happen, but If I kept my goats/ducks in the barn all day they would be safe, but that is not the life this they would want. We take chances everyday. Thats life.


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## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

airotciv said:


> Drink poison, be run over, stolen, bitten, as I read this post you have outside tomcats. We won't go in to that. So your cats are at danger from all of these things. So are mine, but I live on a farm and try to make sure my animals are safe. You can not always make this happen, but If I kept my goats/ducks in the barn all day they would be safe, but that is not the life this they would want. We take chances everyday. Thats life.


Err... where did you get that I have outside tomcats? All mine are indoors... pets are indoors (though the dogs spend a good deal of tieme outside); livestock (the ducks, our hens and whatnot) are out. I get REALLY peeved when working in my garden only to find that the neighbor's cat has decided my broccoli plants make a nice litterbox, or when he hangs out under our bedroom window, singing to our girls and infuriating our boys. :flame: If she thinks he must be outside, she can build a run for him and keep him OUT OF MY GARDEN! Anywho.
We have harness trained ours, and occasionally we'll take a couple of them out to play on their leashes. Alot of my anti-outside-kitties thing comes from seeing what happens to a cat who runs afoul of a dog... poor cat. Not worht the risk in my book.
BTW, I understand the need for barncats. I don't LIKE it, but I get it. A feral cat with a barn for it's home is doing alot better than a feral living at a rest stop, anyway.


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## airotciv (Mar 6, 2005)

jen74145 said:


> Err... where did you get that I have outside tomcats? All mine are indoors... pets are indoors (though the dogs spend a good deal of tieme outside); livestock (the ducks, our hens and whatnot) are out. I get REALLY peeved when working in my garden only to find that the neighbor's cat has decided my broccoli plants make a nice litterbox, or when he hangs out under our bedroom window, singing to our girls and infuriating our boys. :flame: If she thinks he must be outside, she can build a run for him and keep him OUT OF MY GARDEN! Anywho.
> We have harness trained ours, and occasionally we'll take a couple of them out to play on their leashes. Alot of my anti-outside-kitties thing comes from seeing what happens to a cat who runs afoul of a dog... poor cat. Not worht the risk in my book.
> BTW, I understand the need for barncats. I don't LIKE it, but I get it. A feral cat with a barn for it's home is doing alot better than a feral living at a rest stop, anyway.


Sorry, I read this post as you have outside cats, I understand your problem with cats in the garden. So you are really tick at the cats that get in your garden?. Sorry, I was just saying that the nearest person to me is 1/4 mile away. And we do not keep are goats/ducks/dogs or cats locked up in the house/barn as long as things are safe. Sorry again.


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## Rowenna7 (Dec 22, 2005)

When I was a teenager, I had a declawed cat that has spent time outside, did fine for a while. We ended up getting an outside dog who had a reputation for not liking cats...so we converted her to an inside only cat. My dad decided that we were nuts, insisted the cat would be just fine outside, and let her out when I wasn't around to stop him. The dog killed her. I won't personally declaw a cat, both of my current cats are strictly indoor cats and will stay that way because they were declawed before I got them.


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## maralyn (Dec 30, 2006)

My male cat has never wanted to go outside in his life he is 4 now and not declawed, however, our furniture suffers badly. I cut the tips of his tails periodically. Sometimes I wish he was declawed as he still can't grasp the idea of retracting his claws. But he is a beautiful boy with not a mean bone in his body. He never growls, hisses, or attempts to scratch you, just lays floppy in your arms and loves to be cuddled. My kids can dress him up and he just takes it in his stride, even grooming our pet poodle and playing with her and her toys.


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## just ducky! (Nov 12, 2006)

We have an old cat that is declawed but she still has her back claws and she lived outside almost full time for a few years when we lived in NY, Now we are in Va and we usally bring her in at night because of all the dogs that run around down here. She is an awesome mouser and brings us presents all the time. I think she will be fine if you let her run around outside durring the day and bring her back in at night.


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## DenverGirlie (Dec 22, 2005)

I have two cats that are declawed in front. They come and go inside and out during the day, but inside always at night. Granted we live in the "city" so not many predators around other than another cat. I make sure they always have a way back into the house, we have a doggie door basically and lets them run from anything that is scary.

However, if we didn't live in the city I wouldn't let them outside, city life is totally different than country life.

A bit off topic thou... my one cat is an amazing mouser even within out his claws. In factg he much better with catching birds than mouses, but it's just amazing to me how many birds he manages to catch in a year.


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## jerzeygurl (Jan 21, 2005)

have 2 declawed neutered males that have been outside for 4 years now.


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## faithgoeson (Dec 15, 2006)

There are cat runs you can purchase that will keep him safe if he wants to go outside. Google cat inclosures, and you'll see tons. You could even make your own. This would help him get outside, but not hurt him by not being able to claw himself out of danger. If you're out with him, he'll probably be okay is there's no stray dogs around. I wouldn't let mine out if they were declawed, but that's just me being a mother hen. Cats do use their fur and hisses to protect themselves as well, so claws aren't the only thing they have at least.


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## airotciv (Mar 6, 2005)

After posting, It made my think of poor Bomb. We had a cat door. We keep are cats/dogs in the house at night. Others in the barns. One night I hear the growling in the livingroom. I get up to find a raccoon in the house, that is now dragging the cat off the couch. By the time I got the raccoon off of him he had 57 puncher wounds. Remember to lock that cat door, or your cats aren't safe even in the house.


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