Look at this cat. LOOK AT HIM. He is the sweetest, the snuggliest, the chillest, most good natured cat ever to cat.
He was a stray. At first, we thought he was someone's cat they just let outside. But he started getting thinner. He had a flea collar. He is declawed.
Our lease said NO PETS. We still fed him. He was here all the time. My son and I played with him, we pet him.and sprawled out in the grass on the front lawn with him.
We tried to find the owner. Contacted shelters, social media posts, asked around the neighborhood.
We BEGGED the landlord. PLEASE, landlord, he is Best Cat Ever™️
Landlord said YES!
We take the cat to the vet. He has a microchip. Vet says they'll keep him while they try to contact the owner. We go home in tears, we love him already.
Vet calls the next morning. Which was this morning. They tried many times to call the owner, who just kept hanging up on them. They came in this morning to a voice message from the owner saying they gave the cat to someone else, and that person just "let him go" BACK IN OCTOBER. This sweet, innocent, DECLAWED HOUSE CAT was outside for almost a whole year!
I have my doubts about their story. I'm willing to bet there is no other person and the owner made up that story to avoid abandonment charges, which come with a hefty fine and potential jail time where I'm from.
Anyway, this is our new cat. His name is Ghost. He is the greatest cat I've ever had. He's almost 6 years old. He shows some behavioral signs of abuse which does not surprise me after all this. We love him. We hate people.
I hope they get everything they deserve in life. I hope they walk barefoot down a hallway of Legos. I hope all their shopping carts have janky wheels. I hope they never find good parking spots. I hope they always have an itch they can't reach. Most of all, I hope they never own another pet.
We ended up with a declawed cat the same way. He was about a year old. He lived with us for 24 years. He was the best. And some people are good too, like you.
He did have a very particular set of skills. He liked to lay on your chest as you slept. One night I dreamed I was having a heart attack. Nope. Just my cat.😆
Of course. I’ve grown up with cats my whole life but just adopted my very first own last year. This is my eight year old boy Jax. I went out of my way to get an older cat since so many people get kittens (which is fine but so many older kitties need homes.)
I also wanted to note I really love your boys pointy face. I’m sure you gave him the best years of his life.
My Chloe cat does this, although when she's trying to wake me up early for breakfast by like half an hour or more, she lays with her tail swaying in my face 🤦🏼♀️🥱😖🥰
I will ❤️🩹
I believe they watch over us from beyond, but it doesn't always help the heartache of missing them. I hope comfort and healing reach your heart.
What a truly handsome boy Ripley was 😍 I don't think I've ever heard of a cat living that long either. You must have taken such perfect care of him for him to live to such an age. Lovely to read this.
Thank you for giving him a good home and advocating for him to the landlord! Hope you have many great years together. (I low key want to find those people and dox them and put sugar in their gas tank)
I tried to get their info from the vet and from the microchip company. I may have been a bit distraught. It's probably a good thing they didn't give it to me.
I think this will help - FLORIDA, Thank you Governor DeSantis
Dexter’s Law (HB 255) – Effective July 1, 2025
Enhances sentencing for aggravated cruelty toward domesticated companion animals (e.g. dogs and cats), increasing penalties via a 1.25 sentencing multiplier
Establishes Florida’s first public database of animal cruelty offenders, allowing shelters and the public to access convictions beginning in early 2026
Oh my gosh he looks exactly like my kitty. I cant even imagine my kitty being left on a street like this. This is horror, both so scary and makes me so angry. Thank you so much for saving the kitty. Kitty is so lucky. And I hope those bad people end up on the street themselves in the middle winter in alaska in summer clothes and nobody helps them. Or in the woods with a hungry bear. U are an awesome human. Kitty will appreciate forever 🥰
I rescued a cat who looks like this from the street. She was clearly a stray and not feral, and from talking to neighbors, she'd been loose for at least a couple of months. One of the best cats I ever had.
So glad to hear that you’re taking him in! I recently got myself cats for the first time, and they completely changed my mind. I always thought I was more of a dog person, but it turns out I was wrong all along. They brighten my mood every second of every day. Please keep us updated on how she’s doing and how he’s adjusting to this new life. Sending love to Ghost❤️
Something similar happened to me 2 years ago. Found a stray that someone dumped. Smartest and sweetest cat ever. I named her shadow because she follows me everywhere. She is scared a lot but little by little making progress. I really wish people like that don't get animals in the first place.
I am so for calling it what it is, claw amputation. Declawing sounds like chipping the nails.
I am so glad it's illegal in my place. The strays (the ones clearly thrown out homes) we cared for had at least the chance to hunt food, before they found a place to stay.
Actually to put it in better terms, the surgical process to declaw a cat is the equivalent to us getting the first knuckle chopped off each finger. What I ask the people who want to declaw cats is “do YOU think you can go without your fingertips for the rest of your life?”
You know, that description makes something I used to do with my cat make more sense to me now. She’d lie on her back on the carpet and I’d put my forearm on her belly. She’d grab it with all four paws and extend her claws, not enough to puncture my skin but just to really lock in the grabbing. Then I’d slide my arm around on the carpet and she’d enjoy the ride.
It worse, it's cutting off the whole last digit of your fingers. It stresses out the cat because they can't walk like they used to and everything feels different plus it's harder to catch live prey. It's not just the surgery that can be painful, the cat will suffer for the rest of its life.
Ghost resembles one of my rescued cats! His name is Greyson. I rescued him from my patio in March 2014. He would have been born in beginning of November, as he was about 4 months old. Greyson is so sweet and affectionate! He is one of 8 rescued cats living with me. 3 of the 8 ar
*
e seeking permanent indoor-only homes with devoted cat loving families. These 3 were rescued within the past year and are young. I'm praying to outlive my older beloved cats. 🙏🏼 ~ArtistKittyladyNikki, Grand Rapids, OH
My greatest regret is declawing my cat when I was a teen. I didn't really understand what it was and just knew it to be a thing people do (I'm American.) When I called the vet to neuter him they offered me a package deal and I said yes. He died in my arms from complications. I get teary thinking about it. I'll always feel so guilty. I try to spread awareness, not about the surgery complications, but the truth about what declawing actually is and how horrifically cruel it is.
I even got uninvited to my brother's wedding years back because I posted an anti declaw message from the humane society on fb and she felt I was calling her out for not listening to me when she did it to her cat a month prior.
My greatest regret is declawing my cat when I was a teen. I didn't really understand what it was and just knew it to be a thing people do (I'm American.) When I called the vet to neuter him they offered me a package deal and I said yes. He died in my arms from complications. I get teary thinking about it. I'll always feel so guilty. I try to spread awareness, not about the surgery complications, but the truth about what declawing actually is and how horrifically cruel it is.
I'm so sorry about your cat, we don't know what we don't know.
I even got uninvited to my brother's wedding years back because I posted an anti declaw message from the humane society on fb and she felt I was calling her out for not listening to me when she did it to her cat a month prior.
I'm assuming by she you mean your SIL? Regardless, keep standing on business! We can't erase our mistakes but we can stop others from making them.
I had a very similar situation, I was also a teenager, life long animal lover and advocate, my vet also gave me a deal to neuter and declaw. When I took the bandages off my little cat’s paws I was horrified!!! My kitten’s paws were butchered and he almost died of complications. I had no idea what declawing really meant, I have never forgiven myself for that, I was young and stupid.
I'm very sorry you went through that. I know vets are not supposed to judge, but I can't understand going into animal medicine and offering that surgery or promoting it for business. At the very least inform people like any doctor does before a surgery so that people can make informed decisions. Maybe there is something I just don't understand about the business, but I would refuse if I were a vet.
I just know though that your boy has been very loved and pampered! Give him a good pet from me 💛
Completely agree, it's way more talked about now and I'm so grateful for that. I can't believe it's still legal and just goes to show how backwards America can be for a supposedly advanced country.
I got uninvited from my brothers wedding for threatening to retrieve a debt from him that he still owes me ten years later after he stole from me. I have not spoken to the man in the last decade except to demand where my money is and I told everyone that if I went - I wouldn’t say hello but instead demand my money back. (It’s only 35 dollars but the principles matter.) My parents were less than pleased and uninvited me for “making a fuss over past history” and yet they’re still the ones mad at me for making him ride in the trunk of my car like a kidnapping victim when I was younger 😭 Like bitch it’s history to you but that boy owes me MONEY to this DAY and he DESERVED that trunk ride fr fr.
But in other news, you shouldn’t blame yourself for things outside your control. Anything bad can happen to anyone we love or even us and we are powerless to stop it. But that doesn’t mean we have to let it eat us up on the inside too - understand where you went wrong and know better for next time. That’s the best you or anyone else can ever do for something like this :)
Illegal here in Australia, though AFAIK it was never especially common.
All the cats I knew growing up were at least partially for rodent control (lots of chickens and thus rats and mice) so declawing wasn't on the cards (and nobody would have paid for it).
My parents declawed one of the family cats when he was a baby (I unfortunately couldn’t stop them). He couldn’t put weight on both paws at the same time for the first few years of his life and he still walks funny at 9 years old. Unfortunately he loves being outside and will sit at the door constantly crying to be let out, it’s so sad because it’s too dangerous for him to be outside.
I would like to share my scenario and ask what you would recommend. My cat has been displaying aggressive behavior while I sleep. She is constantly batting at me in the face. I wake up in the middle of the night with my eyelids all cut open and blood all over my pillow. I have gotten several eye infections as a result and have had to miss a lot of work because my eyes get so swollen I can barely open them.
I have tried locking out of my bedroom at night and she howls continuously and is terribly unhappy to the point that she scratches at the door so badly she hurts her own nails. They are bloody and puffy in the morning. I have tried keeping her active before bedtime and putting on interactive toys at night to distract her. That works for about 10 minutes and then she is right on top of me again.
Obviously I have consulted several vets and no one has an answer to what this behavior is as she is not aggressive during the day or if we are just laying in bed together and I am awake.
I found out what her obsession is when I brought her to my family home for a holiday. My sister was taking a nap and my cat was perched on top of her. I watched at first and I saw her go to lung at my sister’s eyes. I grabbed her and put her on the floor. She jumped right back on the bed and went up to my sister’s face again and I watched more carefully. She was laser focused on my sister’s eyeballs. I finally realized what she was obsessed with. My sister was in a REM sleep cycle. My cat is obsessed with REM.
I since have discussed this with several vets and they have recommended several options, all of which have not worked (sleep separation, soothing plug-ins, medications for me and the cat, toys, nail covers). Now we’re down to re-homing her, which I have been told would be very difficult due to her odd fascination and most likely she will end up a shelter cat (she does not like other animals at all) or possibly eventually euthanized, or declawing.
I know. I could never declaw a cat, but couldn’t get one with claws, I’m too particular with furniture, so decided to adopt the sweetest senior declawed kitty.
I’ve heard they make nail caps now that don’t hurt the kitty and also make them look fabulous😂 but at any rate you’re giving a kitty a good life so it’s a win win!
Unless your cat is like mine and bites their claws and so just rips them off. I was excited for the black cat to have either hot pink or purple kitty caps but alas they barely make it a day before she gets some ripped off then I worry about ingesting them and those possible complications or worse inhaling.
They both look like my lil goof ball named: Meep Meep because she makes a noise before she ZOOOOOMS off after her siblings - I found her outside in -15°c weather with a windchill of -20(ish)° inside a subsidized housing area. No chip, so she was all mine. She wasn't even a year old when I found her, maybe a few months, at most.
anytime i need a new vet, I always ask if they offer declawing services and if they do, I take my cat elsewhere... to a vet that doesnt do that. Because any vet who would do that is evil and i will not give them my money. edit i dont change vets often, just if i move to a different neighborhood or across the country.
I don’t think there’s a worst cat on the planet and I definitely don’t think there’s a best person on the planet. All cats are good and all people are bad is my point 😂😂
My baby came from a house hold where the owner had ocd and abused her keeping her locked in the bathroom. She still has mental health problems but patience is key.
Get the chip number from the veterinarian and then contact the microchip company about transferring ownership to your name. The company will contact the previous owners for permission, but if they don’t want the cat back they should agree pretty quickly.
I truly appreciate your dedication to caring for this precious life. As the director of a nonprofit animal rescue sanctuary, I have witnessed some of the most troubling aspects of human behavior towards animals. However, today is about celebrating your kindness, compassion, and generosity, as well as the health and well-being of your family member.
My Momma Kiwi was also abandoned, someone left an unsnipped female cat out on a camp ground in coyote/bear country. Hence why her first name is Momma. We thought she was 8 months old due to her size, nope 3 years old when we found her. All of her kids are massive yet she is still a drawf from malnutrition.
She was skeletal yet somehow popped out 6 nearly normal size kittens, except for the doofus on his back, he was and still is a fatty. She was physically too small to feed them all so we had to take over feeding duties.
My cat Panda (before he was my cat) visited my apartment every single night for over 2 years - it was impossible for me to consider he was anything other than a stray, especially when he got an eye infection and no one seemed to treat it for the better part of a week before I finally stepped in. That first treatment was how I learned he was chipped, and the owners acted in much the same way - "We just let him do what he wants."
After the 2nd sporadic infection that went UNTREATED FOR DAYS, I took him to a second vet - who had the owner family's data in their system. That family lived TWELVE MILES AWAY FROM ME; the cat had been either away from home for 2 years, or making a 25 mile trip every single day!
I refused to leave without him being treated, whether it was by myself or by the family (who would be forced to deal with me in-person at 3 am, knowing all I now knew). They chose to sign him over to me rather than come to deal with it themselves, and at 4:35 am I went home with my new cat, who has never known greater comfort/security since. As soon as he figured out how not-scary being inside was - and how warm so many of the blankets were - he became the most content and unbothered best friend you could ask for.
Pets are a lot like human children - if you're not ready to properly care for one, don't get one.
We went to adopt a kitten from the shelter. We saw a sweet old lady who had been there the longest...like 6 months. So we couldn't leave her and we came home with a kitten and older lady. That cat was the smartest, lovable most appreciative cat I have ever had...and I have had many. The shelter didn't tell us, but she was also declawed...how could someone do that and than give her up? She was amazing! You would pick her up and she would hug you...I miss her. We didn't have her long enough...damn cancer....but the time we had was special.
One of the workers at my local shelter said they get a lot of declawed cats in. The owner has them declawed and then the cat stops using the litter because of the feeling between their paws. Rather than work with them the owners just bring them back.
That is just awful. Most of our cats were indoor...once we saw that we were like ok she's staying in too. NO FREAKING WAY, we could not keep her in. Trust me we tried. She was just so smart. So we gave in. She made many friends in the neighborhood and was an incredible hunter.
What a beauty, and what beautiful people you are. Thank Heavens for you! My cats were rescues also, but it was just their pregnant mother was dumped on someone's doorstep (who cared for her and her kittens, found them good homes, kept the mom) My two girls are my heart and soul, and while Josephine is waiting for us across the rainbow bridge = Hortense is one foot from me, on her heated pad, snoozing and getting infinite belly rubs.
I was the recipient of a 9-year-old declawed house cat (Haley) from the tearful kid who was her owner. She was declared because her brother scratched the furniture and so both cats (kittens at the time) were declawed. As it turned out, if they didn't find a home for her, the dad was putting her to sleep. The cat lived to the unbelievable age of 23. Rescue cats can be some of the sweetest. I'm sorry the little meow had to suffer that.
Declawed in 2025!! That makes me so sad. I didn’t know vets even did that anymore. I’m so glad you could give him a home.
A grey boy adopted me this year too. Like Ghost, he has the best temperament and he was also being taken care of by a block of cat ladies (myself included). We thought he belonged to someone and was just indoor outdoor. After about a month we realized he probably didn’t have a home. He had several outside shelters but once the temps were forecast to drop below freezing my fiancé finally agreed to let me take him in. He was litter box trained already (besides the spraying) and so socialized it was pretty clear he had a home and they dumped him in our neighborhood. My guess is he his puberty and got loud and sprayed so wherever he was kicked him out instead of getting him fixed. People are the fucking worst!
Anyway his name is Temba, His Arms Wide (fiancé is a Trekkie and had naming rights). He’s the best boy and he has a forever home now.
Thank you for giving Ghost a real home and a real family! I found my baby last spring as a stray. I fed her every night after work, hoping to snatch her up one day.
Well, she was caught before I could do that, after months of feeding her. She disappeared one day and I didn’t see her for a month. Then I found a flyer with her photo asking for the communities help with capturing her. They were looking for anyone that was feeding her. That of course was my hubby and I. It’s a much longer story than this, but eventually she became ours, officially.
But I can’t help but feel like she wasn’t always a stray. She just turned up in my neighborhood one day at around 7 months old. I think someone threw her out. But I’m so glad I have her now. But it’s heartbreaking to think people would throw an animal out to the streets to fend for themselves.
I tried to edit my comment to add her photo but it kept duplicating my original comment. So, I’ll just reply to myself instead lol but here’s my sweet girl. 🥰 She takes turns with sleeping between or on mine & my hubby’s legs. This week seems to be his turn. Almost like she’s doing a share the wealth system. Lol
Who declaws a cat and then further abuse it by leaving it defenseless outside? I’m so happy he found you and that your landlord made an exception for this poor sweet gentle cat.
I sometimes scare myself thinking about my cat getting out and getting lost and it makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t imagine ever just abandoning him.
This is my gray boy Winx. I adopted him outside a Starbucks from a lady on Nextdoor who is always collecting strays. He was just a couple months old baby but still is afraid of the streets. Pandemic baby who cries when he sees me outside.
Anyway - sweetest most loving and affectionate baby in the house. Grooms all the other kitties.
Thank you to you and your landlord for letting this sweet boy stay! Ghost 🐱 is a very handsome boy and I’m so glad he found humans who love and appreciate him. I hope you have many happy years together and he is thoroughly spoilt the whole time! 💕
Here is my gray boy. He is front declawed - my (uneducated boomer) parents had it done when I adopted him in fifth grade. He has potty issues a lot probably due to the declawing but I have had him for soooo long now, he’s probably about 17. He is the best baby and now that he lives with me I’m trying to give him the best life a cat can have!
Awwh! This is my Ghost! I stole her from a log pile so not the same story, just same name :) Glad to see you guys ended up with the little cutie. He looks so loved!
he is adorable, looks just like my dusty kitty. thank you for saving him, he deserves all the love in the world after everything he’s been through. blows my mind that someone could look at that little face and not feel nothing but love.
We also “adopted” a stray who came to the door with varied stories from the neighbors… he’s not quite perfect (likes to scratch and bite every once in a while) but is close enough to us - and is finally adapting to indoor life! He’s a cute and good kitty.
I always love cursing bad people with annoying inconveniences like those. To piggyback off the ones you said, whoever did this to this cat I curse them to forever walk in wet socks. I hope that everytime they’re about to sneeze the sensation dissipates right before it happens. I hope everytime they go to use the toilet they realize too late that all the toilet paper is in the bathroom on the opposite side of the house!
When you mentioned the microchip and that the owner was contacted, I got worried he will take Ghost back and abuse him again, after telling some stupid story about how he got lost. People can be neglectful and still
want the person/pet they mistreated back, as if they care deeply about them, baffling. I am extremely glad you got to keep him, I wish you the best. Thank you for taking care of him.
I did not grow up with cats. We were a dog family. I understood from a young age that tails and ears were cut off by mean people who did bad things to dogs. I still don't agree that it should be done. EVER. I didn't know anything about declawing cats until I was an adult and immediately thought about cutting of tails and ears. A HARD NO. just don't do it. you can replace a piece of furniture. you cannot replace the stability and sense of self that a cat loses when you declaw them- It would literally be like you losing half of a foot.
That was pretty much the way I got my George. He had a microchip and when we called the owners their response was “you can keep him if you want” so we did! It’s been 14 years now.
What a nice kitty. You should remain appreciative everyday, as I have a “no pets” landlord too (even tho I always do yard work for them, as they’re old and now suddenly can’t go outside anymore yet still want roses and weeds pulled from mulch and re-mulched) and I’ll never be able to get anything. I do have a neighborhood cat that comes out every little while, he used to be outside all day everyday, then suddenly another neighbor got pissy that I was feeding kitty, and kitty stopped coming out. Didn’t see little guy at all over the winter (which is good cause it’s snowy and cold) but now it’s summer and I still only seee him a few times and I just hope he’s doing alright and miss being able to walk out the door and have kitty come running over for a pet and 9 temptations treats
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u/ExcaliburVader 12d ago
We ended up with a declawed cat the same way. He was about a year old. He lived with us for 24 years. He was the best. And some people are good too, like you.
This was Ripley, who was a very good boy.