Many Canadian veterinarians are refusing to declaw cats, saying the procedure is painful and unnecessary, but there is a simple solution for pet owners who are looking to stop their felines from scratching and clawing furniture.

Despite what the name implies, declawing is actually a series of bone amputations, sometimes referred to as de-knuckling. The cat’s tendons, nerves and ligaments are also cut off and the animal needs several days of painkillers to recover. The procedure is banned in Europe and strongly discouraged here in Canada.  

Kelowna veterinarian Dr. Marco Veenis is the President of the Society of BC Veterinarians and is one of a growing number of vets who won’t do the procedure. Instead, he recommends cat owners use a cute and colourful alternative: Soft Paws.

“[They’re] basically fake little nails that you glue over their regular nails and they have soft plastic points so they can't scratch the furniture," said Dr. Veenis.

The application of the vinyl, blunt nail caps – also marketed as Soft Claws – are glued to the claws, with the intention that the blunt end won’t be sharp enough to cause damage.

Jennifer Carr-Zingle is a cat owner who knows the damage a feisty feline can do to furniture. Her rescue cat Domino prefers to sharpen its nails on the couch rather than a six foot cat condo and scratching post. But using Soft Paws have helped.

Carr-Zingle’s cat Domino uses the plastic nail covers and is often sporting a glittery set of pink and blue claws.

"It costs about $40 to have them done, but it's totally worth it. They say they last about a month, but we get about three months out of them, so it's not really that expensive," said Carr-Zingle.

You can order Soft Paws online and put them on yourself or you can have a vet’s assistant do it for you. The Soft Paws come in several sizes and cost about $20 for a four to six month supply.

There are other ways to prevent your cat from scratching the furniture. The SPCA recommends having scratch stations around your home. There are also sprays on the market to keep cats away from furniture and pheromone sprays or catnip can be used to guide cats to an appropriate scratching post. Regular nail trims are also helpful.

For more information, visit the Soft Paws website.