Just discovered soft paws are a thing, are they cruel?

[PasstheBucket89]

My son mentioned it as something he'd seen on a YouTube video, and i had a look on Amazon just to see what they are?
My cats a mega scratcher and course had no interest in the scratcher , its obviously no where near as cruel as declawing id sooner rehome than that tbh.
I get the idea behind them but i wonder if anyone has used them, and if its considered cruel?

Yes they are cruel

It means that they can't fully retract their claws -like someone pulling on your finger and toenails 24/7

thank you,, i did wonder, i get the ethos behind them but in practice could cause distress

As pp said. What sort of scratcher do you have? They need to be really big so a cat can stretch up to use, such as this www.petplanet.co.uk/p17848/smartcat_ultimate_scratching_post.aspx?ptm_source=google&ptm_medium=shopping&ptm_campaign=under10_62798&campaign=9791169979&adgroup=97998281017&keyword=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsNeW57zZ7AIVGO7tCh19gw7zEAQYAiABEgLVofD_BwE

Ide never heard of them before. They sound like cat gloves but not something I would do personally.

Oh god just Googled them how awful!

its a cat tree, ive got, she only reserves scratching for the sofa, stairs and bed
i only was made aware of them yesterday,

Have you tried the corrugated cardboard box scratchers that they stand on?

Like a combination of gloves and a fashion manicure

I don't think they're really cruel per se, but if you were my friend and showed me your 'manicured' cat I'd be a bit Having said that, some cats won't even wear a collar, so yours may hate them.

Is he/she an indoor cat, or goes outside? I really believe cats need their paws for climbing - especially if they have to escape a chasing dog or a territorial cat. They couldn't jump a fence in those things.

Claws not paws!

Shes a mixture only really likes going outside at night shes very nocturnal although a bit more 'awake' atm with kids being off.
@Sparklfairy yeah i know what u mean i wouldn't say its overtly cruel but questionable at least.

Same as mine then - goes outside at night. I know there's no way mine would wear those ruin her street cred

We stopped her scratching by clapping 3 or 4 times when she scratched stuff we didn't want (stair carpet), and have a catnip spray which we use to encourage her to play with/scratch things we're okay with.

Do you cut her claws regularly? I cut my cat's all the time as I get fed up of being clawed constantly, he's too dopey to retract his claws most of the time. I cut them as short as possible to save me and the furniture

Cats hate oranges. Put orange scented things on furniture you don’t want them to touch. Obviously don’t go overboard with it.