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Archive for November, 2008
We have three cats. One is a troublemaker, one is lazy and fat, and our newest (an orange Persian) is extremely cute and is secretly a vicious hunter. They are all unique and lovable in their own way, and I can’t imagine not having them around… but, as anyone who has ever owned a cat knows, they love to sharpen their claws. The corners of our couches are proof that our cats aren’t conscientious about where they sharpen their claws, despite a plethora of cat-scratching-specific items we have placed around the house. Until moving into our new house, we have managed to battle the misplaced scratching pretty successfully (if you ignore the damaged couches) - but we now have a staircase, the newest exciting cat-endorsed scratching post. No matter what we do to convince them otherwise, our cats love scratching the carpet on the stairs, and it is extremely frustrating. Our most recent attempt to stop the destruction of the stair-case carpeting is a product we found at Petsmart: Soft Claws, nail caps for cats.
What are Soft Claws?
Soft Claws are small, round-tipped, claw-shaped covers designed to be glued over your cat’s claw - removing their ability to use the sharp nails underneath for destruction. They are touted as a great alternative to de-clawing, and they don’t hinder a cat’s normal detraction of their claws into their paws. I picked up a pack of 40 clear Soft Claws at the pet store for about $22 (they also come in pink, purple, blue, and red). They also have a variety of sizes, based on the weight of your cat. With 4 destructive claws on each paw, the pack of 40 claw-covers is plenty to cover all 3 of our cat’s claws, with enough left over for replacements later. The package also came with two small re-usable bottles of adhesive, for gluing the caps onto claws.
The Application Process
Of course, the big challenge with a product like Soft Claws is to enlist the cooperation of your cat in order to glue the covers onto their nails. As you can imagine, most cats don’t really like the idea of you fondling their paws, and jamming pieces of glue-covered plastic onto their claws, especially if they are as grumpy as our first cat, Ebony. The application of the Soft Claw nail caps is certainly not as easy and calm as the photos on the packaging would make it appear, unless you have previously drugged your cat, or they are incredibly mellow. Ebony absolutely hated being held, and we had to wrap her in a towel in order to control her movements during the process. She whined constantly, struggled, scratched, and did everything she could to make it impossible for us to glue the caps to her claws. After she gave up some of her fight, we were able to get one paw covered, but by that point we were exhausted, and we let her go.
Application on the other cats wasn’t as bad, but definitely wasn’t easy, and therefore we only did one paw for each, the first time around. Our troublemaker, Cyrus, spent a great deal of time after we finished with his paw, licking his claws, and attempting to remove the caps - which he did quite successfully. I believe that 1 out of 4 of Cyrus’ caps came off in the first 2-3 days. We later found one of the removed caps on the floor, split down the middle. This basically proves that if your cat has the drive to remove these caps, they can and will. Thankfully, our most ferocious stair-scratcher, Ebony, does not have the drive to remove her caps, and they are still in place. Also, I should note, our cats were very angry with us for at least two days after our attack, apparently they don’t easily forgive unwarranted harrassment. Now we just need to build up the courage and energy to tackle everyone’s second paw (and the re-application of most of Cyrus’ first paw - maybe more glue this time?).
Summary
As I’ve explained, so far we have had mixed results with the staying power of this product, and the application process can be a nightmare depending on your cat’s personality. Soft Claws are also quite expensive when you consider what you get: two tubes of glue, and 40 tiny bits of plastic. Given the destruction they are capable of preventing, though, they are probably worth the money and the hassle for most people. Just covering Ebony’s first paw has caused her to not scratch as often as she used to, and I am sure that at least with her, the second paw will be a success as well - so we have had a partial victory. Also, when they stay on, Soft Claws appear to work very well for their purpose.
Have you tried Soft Claws before? What do you do to prevent your cats from scratching? Do you have any other product suggestions for us to try?
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A good, quick read. While it may be a young adult novel slightly geared towards teenage girls, I enjoyed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Firstly, it is set in a 1984-ish post-apocalyptic world, and it just so happens that I love all kinds of post-apocalyptic fiction. Secondly, it is written in an engaging, fast-paced, and addicting style.
Ignoring the romance sub-plot, The Hunger Games presents itself as a graphic and bloody adventure, following the bad-ass heroine Katniss Everdeen through her survival of the yearly ‘Hunger Games’ - a no-rules, televised contest reminiscent of ancient Roman gladiator battles, with a helping of nature survival thrown in for good measure. While some people may not appreciate the violence and conflict, they define the book, and set it apart from most of the nonsense that is usually found in the young adult novel category - I would say that it barely fits into the young adult categorization.
One thing I didn’t like about The Hunger Games is something I found out in the last chapter - the story doesn’t end with this book, and it is rather the first in a planned trilogy. It’s hard to be patient, especially with such engaging writing, and a semi-cliffhanger ending. Thankfully, this is merely a trilogy, and doesn’t require the patience that the Harry Potter series did. Another thing that detracts from the story for me, but probably not for most people, is a lack of explaination for many of the technological accomplishments described in the book, such as unseen television cameras and microphones located wherever necessary, and seemingly magical supplies capsules that float down directly to the games’ contestants locations (I was reminded of the supplies that show up exactly when you need them in a lot of shooter video games). Thankfully, the writing more than makes up for these nit-picky shortcomings, and I dare say that nearly anyone will find The Hunger Games an enjoyable read.
4.5/5
Have you read The Hunger Games? What did you think? Have you read any of Suzanne Collins’ other books? Would you recommend any of them to me? How about any good post-apocolyptic fiction?
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