I'm 20 and live at home. I'm primarily responsible for my kitten but my mom covers the vet bills. Whenever we had cats before, they were declawed and it never seemed to cause any problems but I still was uncomfortable with the idea. I told my mom before that I didn't want to declaw this cat, but now she's pushin more and more to get him declawed because sometimes he rips chairs and blankets when he is climbing. Aside from that, he doesn't really exhibit that "scratching" behavior; he doesn't use his post.
Today we took him to the vet for his last set of shots and my mom asked the vet about declawing him. Of course the vet said all his cats are declawed, that it's fine and not cruel at all, and that it's cheaper to get him declawed and neutered at the same time. Idk what to do because if I don't win this I'm going to feel like a terrible owner, but I can't guarantee my mom that he's never going to "ruin" her bedspread again (and even if I did, she wouldn't believe me). I just don't know what to do. I think of him as "my" cat, but as long as I'm financially dependent on my parents he's still the family's cat.
Today we took him to the vet for his last set of shots and my mom asked the vet about declawing him. Of course the vet said all his cats are declawed, that it's fine and not cruel at all, and that it's cheaper to get him declawed and neutered at the same time. Idk what to do because if I don't win this I'm going to feel like a terrible owner, but I can't guarantee my mom that he's never going to "ruin" her bedspread again (and even if I did, she wouldn't believe me). I just don't know what to do. I think of him as "my" cat, but as long as I'm financially dependent on my parents he's still the family's cat.