Massachusetts woman horrified after her mom allegedly declaws her cat against her will, ‘I asked her if she was joking’

A Massachusetts woman is furious and upset after her mom allegedly declawed her pet cat Coconut (aka Coco) behind her back, despite previously agreeing not to.

In a post that quickly drew thousands of comments on Reddit’s r/cats, user tired_artist29 explained that in Dec. 2025 she adopted the six-week-old stray kitten while at college, saying “she means absolutely everything to me”.

The poster then spent a month at her mom’s house, during which they had a heated debate about whether to declaw Coco. As she said: “I am INCREDIBLY anti-declawing. It’s absolutely evil and cruel, and it’s insane to me that it’s still allowed in so many states”.

However, her mom insisted that Coco be declawed, saying she didn’t want any damage to her furniture while the cat was temporarily living there.

“It’s insane to me that it’s still allowed in so many states”

This argument continued “for weeks”, though eventually her mom appeared to relent: “Mom ended up agreeing, but under the condition that I took Coco to my apartment as soon as I could.” All seemed well, then the bombshell dropped:

“My mom dropped Coco off two weeks ago, and my partner and I were moving her stuff out of my mom’s car into my apartment. During that, that’s when my mom said “Don’t be mad, but I got her declawed.””

This did not go down well, with the poster saying they were left upset, frustrated, angry, sad and feeling betrayed:

“I literally looked at her like she was crazy, and I asked her if she was joking. She said she wasn’t joking, that she got her front claws declawed. I broke down in tears out of anger and frustration, because I felt betrayed that my mom went against her word and got Coco declawed. But above all else, I just felt so, so sad. She’s only 8 months old, she’s just a baby… and she’s probably confused and in so much pain.”

The American Veterinary Medical Association says cats shouldn’t be declawed unless absolutely medically necessary:

“The amputation or other surgical alteration of the distal digits is an acutely painful procedure and may result in chronic pain, maladaptive behavior, disability, and significant mutilation.”

They also point out that there are now multiple alternatives to declawing, like nail caps, nail trims, and providing “appropriate scratching surfaces”.

To that end, it has been banned or heavily restricted in several states (e.g., New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island) and faces intense opposition and campaigns to ban it where it is still legal.

And as for the responses to this story from cat lovers? Perhaps the general mood can be summarized in a single reply: “I would legitimately also be suing her for pain and suffering as well as all subsequent vet bills, and making her life hell for quite a while in any way I could think of. This is cat torture. Love my cats more than I’d love anyone who would consider doing something so cruel.”