I Declawed My First Cat and Never Did It Again

She was almost human to me…

Bela was the ugliest cat in the farm. Nobody wanted her even if she was being given away for free.

I took her.

This teeny weenie tortoiseshell Persian had a running nose and teary, very sad eyes.

In an instant I named her Bela. I held her straight to my face and promised to transform her from a tiny malnourished looking kitty to a beautiful feline princess.

Thus began my 6 years journey with Bela!

Bela was not alone. She had company, my 4 year old Chihuahua Batman (+). Their friendship was just as instant. Bela and Batman disproved the popular belief that cats and dogs are mortal enemies. They can actually co-exist peacefully (most of the time that is).

Bela would do what most felines do and more. She would join me for breakfast, lunch and dinner and drink from my water glass even before I did.

She would hold my feet firm on the ground when she knew it was time for me to leave; she would catnap beside me all the time with her two front claws covering her eyes to lessen illumination, just like a human.

Her first fall.

From our 4th floor apartment, she was rolling in the concrete slab outside the window where she enjoyed having catnaps. She rolled over a little too much and unfortunately (or must I say fortunately) Bela fell directly on an exposed arrow-shaped steel bar on the ground floor that penetrated the side of her front neck and exited at the back. The steel bar was holding her firm preventing her from making any move.

For a while I thought she was dead because she was totally quiet. I did not hear a single cry of anguish from her. But her eyes were wide open. This deadly steel bar is what ironically saved her life!

I pulled her out quickly with a towel, checked her wounds and rushed her to the veterinarian.

Bela survived her first fall.

When Bela was 5 (photo by Author)

Bringing her home after the fall, I told her ‘Bela, you only have 8 lives to live, be careful’.

Cats being cats, this falling episode happened a couple of more times with Bela surviving each fall.

The tragic day. The saddest day in my life.

Bela loved sitting by the window ledge, looking at Manila Bay’s magnificent sunsets while also enjoying the cool westerly bay breeze.

One evening after dinner, she jumped onto the ledge a little too fast and continued thru, falling to her death instantly.

The saddest confession I have to make is that Bela could still be alive today if I did not ask my veterinarian to remove her front claws when she was 6 months old, afraid she might rip up all the furniture and cause Batman’s blindness. I always had to referee their ocassional cat and dog fights which at times were a bit violent for me.

I blamed myself and lived with this guilt for a very long time. It was the most stupid thing I did in my life. And it is not an exaggeration to tell you that I would wake up in the middle of the night crying out Bela’s name.

Today I have 8 cats and 2 dogs. I have learned my painful lesson not to mess around with those front claws ever again.

These claws could mean their life or death!

My only consolation is that Bela lived 6 happy, naughty, clingy years — almost like a human. I was also able to keep my promise to transform her from the ugly, dirty kittie she was to a beautiful feline princess.