My friend won’t give me my cat and wants to declaw it.

Question

I got a cat, and my friend at the time got the cat's sibling. We agreed that until I got my own place, my cat could stay with her and I would help with the food and supplies. I have done so every month, as well as spent time over there taking care of my cat. I now live in a place that allows animals, and she is refusing to let me take my cat and she is going to declaw him without my consent. Does she has any ground to stand since I have been paying her and have proof?

Answer

Consider that the cat siblings are likely bonded and to separate them now may be inhumane. A person who is not an animal’s owner but is merely pet sitting/boarding cannot lawfully get another person’s cat declawed without the owner’s permission. However, sometimes when people do not have a written boarding agreement, their understanding of their verbal agreement can be quite different (for example, one person may allege the animal was boarded while the other person may say the animal was given away, abandoned, or never even owned by the person now claiming ownership). Many alternatives exist that make the risky and painful practice of declawing unnecessary. In addition to the pain associated with this procedure, cats who are declawed cannot climb as well as cats who have not been declawed so they are unable to readily escape dangerous situations.