I received this note from Diana about the two declawed cats that she rescued.
Dear City, March 20, 2017
A frequent justification for declawing is that the cat would otherwise be banished from the home and that the procedure is a small price to pay for the kitty to live out its life in a safe and nurturing environment.
Sounds good, but it’s complete BUNK! Anyone who would subject their cat to the pain, disfigurement, and lifetime of misery resulting from a declaw procedure would discard them without a second thought.
Over the last several years I’ve rescued several kitties rejected by owners who had them declawed. Here is just one of those stories:
I spotted a small blue tabby in my front yard late one evening. He looked frightened and hungry, and when I knelt down to give him food he put his paws on my back and began to knead. I realized immediately that he had no claws and told my husband that we had to bring the kitty inside right away. The next day I contacted a neighborhood source who explained that no one had seen either of the TWO cats that were deposited at a neighbor’s home by her son’s girlfriend.
The couple moved into a new condo where cats were not allowed, so they decided to drop the two kitties off at his mom’s house. Not IN the house, mind you, but AT the house.
Two declawed cats that lived indoors their whole lives were deposited in the front yard of a stranger’s house.
I tracked down the owner of the kitties who claimed to be distraught over having to eject two frightened cats from her car in an unfamiliar place. “I drove away in tears,” she insisted.
It should be no surprise to anyone that someone who would inflict the misery of a declaw procedure on a kitty, would also abandon it in such a callous fashion.
Needless to say, I took in the blue tabby, named Zachary, and the big tuxedo, called Maximilian both of whom lived happily ever after — in spite of the lingering pain and disability of having had their toes removed…by the very person who literally kicked them to the curb.
Diana, Zachary, and Maximilian
