The phrase “fighting like cats and dogs” didn’t come up as someone’s idea of a joke just for cartoons (Tom and Jerry comes into mind). Dogs are often territorial and will fight not just new cats but other new dogs as well. They tend to mark their territory and will fight anyone who invades their space. Cats have the same tendencies and even if they are smaller than to dogs, they will scratch and fight for their territory.

Most pet lovers who have both a cat and dog have a hard time making their pets coexist with each other. The usual response to this is separating the two pets and making sure they won’t meet. This is not really a practical solution to this problem as both pets tend to wander around the house and there will come a time when they will meet. This will also cause a lot of wasted time if you have to allot twice the time for playing with your pets. Another response would be to cage both pets but this method is frowned upon by most pet lovers. The best thing to do is to train both cat and dog to coexist peacefully. In this article is a series of steps to finding harmony between cats and dogs.

Perhaps the hardest thing for pet lovers to do is the introduction. Introducing a new pet requires both time and patience as both cats and dogs requires time to adjust to something new. Both cats and dogs take up to 30 days to adjust. It is even longer if you have older pet, but with proper retraining you can teach your old dogs and cat’s new tricks.

The first step is obedience. This is necessary especially for the dog which is usually the aggressor in this kind of situation. You have to train your dog to obey when you say “no”. This can be done by showing him some treat and every time he looks at it you say “no” you stop him from eating it. Do this every day and reward him every time he obeys.

While doing this with your dog, make sure the cat and dog are isolated from each other, allowing your cat to wander around the house. Cats love to roam and this will make her scent scattered in your home. After doing this, lock your cat in one room and let your dog wander around the house sniffing for the cat’s scent. This will make your dog acquainted to your cats smell and train the dog that the cat is part of the household.

Once you’ve done this for about a week, it’s time for them to see each other physically. This part requires that you have someone to help you. Have someone who can hold your cat safely and that knows how to react quickly and get your cat to safety if the dog is showing aggressiveness. Your part is to be able to restrain your dog and making sure that if he starts lunging for your cat, you’ll be there to stop him.

Dogs usually start barking whenever they see some other animals in their territory, hoping to scare them away. They won’t really lunge at something immediately. Once he starts barking, this is where the obedience part starts to come in. Say “no” and make him realize that the cat is also a pet.

If your dog starts to calm down when in the presence of the cat, then it’s the time to let him sniff the cat. Once your dog starts to decide not to bark at your cat you know that you’ve done the introduction part successfully.

The final step is making sure that both pets have the time to coexist. This part is usually the cat’s fault. Cats have the tendency to be aloof and stay away from the dog and other people. It’s not because they are afraid of the dog but more because it’s their nature to be alone. Be sure that your dog sees your cat as often as possible. You can allot some time nightly where you can do some activities with both your cat and dog. This will allow them to play with each other and you’ll have the confidence that they won’t start fighting when they’re unsupervised.

Cats are born with claws, the same way that humans are born with fingernails and toe nails. Cats need claws in order to mark or scratch a specific place or territory that they have been in. Humans need finger nails to, scratch themselves or others, or for opening a letter envelope. Cats basically stretch their agile bodies in order to prepare their muscles when they dig their claws deeply into wood perhaps or a tree, and then they pull back from their hold. Scratching is a basic physiological need of cats.

So do cats need to be declawed? If cat owners truly care for the welfare of their cats, they would have to think twice on declawing their cats.

Declawing, what is it?

Declawing is done by taking away all the front claws of a cat. In a way this procedure is equal to the amputation of all the finger tips of a human being. For cats this surgery is painful and, for someone who is walking on all fours, terribly unnecessary.

Though the recovery of declawed cats may only take a few weeks or so, its physical and/or psychological effects could last a cat’s lifetime.

The following are the possible results once a cat has been declawed.

Ouch, ouch and ouch

Immediately after surgery, declawed cats suffer severe pain, though it is quite impossible to gauge how much pain they are experiencing. Declawed cats could be considered as amputees. Cats usually try to go on with their cat lives even with pain unless the pain eventually becomes unbearable. Although they may look and act normal does not mean they are free from aches.

Complications after the surgery

After the surgery, declawed cats usually experience one of the following post-surgery effects: presence of abscess, feelings of lameness, claw re-growth. Based on studies performed on declawed cats, it has been found that twenty five percent of them develop various complications. The same result has been found on cats who went under tenectomy. This is also a form of surgery that is currently being offered as an alternative to declawing. It is called this because only the tendons extended on the toes are the ones amputated.

Stiffness of the joints

Cats that are declawed experience stiffness of the joints since the tendons that manipulate the toes retract because of the surgery. As time goes by, these same joints freeze and ultimately they will no longer be able to extend their toes.

It has been thought though that cats really do not miss their claws since they also “scratch” continually even if they no longer have anything to scratch with. However, this act is really the cats’ way to stretch those frozen joints.

Catarthritis

Believe it or not, research shows that declawed cats immediately shift the weight of their bodies to the back and onto the larger pad in the front of their feet, away from their toes. The result is still evident despite giving these cats strong anti-pain relievers. If such an effect continues after declawing, the cat will ultimately stress its own joints in the leg, its spine and eventually suffer from arthritis.

Cats who cannot claw, bite

Since the natural instinct of cats is to claw especially when threatened or scared, in the absence of claws cats are forced to resort to another form of defense – their teeth. Declawed cats that are aggressive naturally are more prone to biting.

Declawed cats have no “nine lives”.

There is a serious risk of death for cats that are declawed. Death could be brought on by the anesthesia they received, or any complications in surgery or hemorrhage.

Declawed cats that resort to biting run the risk of being abandoned by their owners. These cats could then be put in a shelter, and since they turn to biting, the probability of being adopted becomes slim. Usually un-adoptable cats are put to sleep or they are used to train dogs to fight usually as bait.

In summary, cats are extremely and highly trainable to be taught to use a post for scratching instead of common household furniture, rugs or curtains. Though declawing cats is one of the options a cat owner can take, it is basically an unkind and a very animal-unfriendly thing to do. It all depends on the cat owner whether Kitty is more (or less than) valuable than that expensive Italian rug. The choice is theirs.