'The fury I feel towards whoever did that to her is immeasurable': Person finds a declawed, sick and neglected 10-year-old black cat wandering around a middle school, takes her in and gives her a second chance at the life she deserves

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Jul 1, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

We did not realize that this was still something that needed to be said but: declawing cats is bad. It's cruel and awful and will have negative effects on the cat's life until the end of its life. And anyone who wants to declaw a cat… should first be sat down and have it explained to them properly. Once they understand what declawing actually means, if they still want to do it to their cat, then they do not deserve to have a cat. 

And whoever had this beautiful 10-year-old cat beforehand certainly did not deserve her. The poor cat was declawed in all four paws and now has a myriad of health issues, at least some of which are probably related to the declawing. The sweet kitty was found wandering in a middle school, sick, abandoned, in pain. And maybe it's sad that she was all alone in that middle school for god knows how long, but at least the family who has her now is one that actually deserves her. 

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  • 01

    "Just rescued this declawed void off the street (F whoever did that to her). She was found wandering a school. Need help naming her!"

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    via lotrandwho
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    We are also of course taking her to the vet today to get a full evaluation done before starting the introduction process to our two other cats. I now have 2 voids!
    via lotrandwho
  • 04

    "Update on the declawed kitty found wandering a school"

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  • 05
    I just wanted to thank you all so much for your name suggestions and kind words. There were SO many good names, and I appreciate them all! We ended up going with "Pepper". I know it's not super unique but she seems to respond to this name the most and it suits her quite well!
    via lotrandwho
  • 06
    In case any of you were curious, I wanted to provide an update on her condition. This kitty was found wandering a middle school. No one claimed her after waiting for about a week of posting her on social media.
    via lotrandwho
  • 07
    She is very scrawny and has obvious health issues such as labored breathing and being underweight. We took her to the vet within 24 hours and did a full work up. Bloodwork, x-rays, parasite screenings, everything. No microchip. All FOUR paws are declawed (the fury I feel towards whoever did that to her is immeasurable) and I genuinely don't know how she survived outside.
    via lotrandwho
  • 08
    UC
    via lotrandwho

  • Fury. Fury is the right word here. No one should do this to their cat. Declawing a cat is cruel. And really, sad as it is that she's in this condition, it's definitely better for her, in the long term, to be with a family who will actually care about her. 

  • 09
    They estimated she's around 10, but she could be older. There's no way to truly tell. I have an eight year old cat who seems like a kitten in comparison to her so I have a feeling she's well over the age of 10.
    via lotrandwho
  • 10
    I was bracing myself for the worst for her test results because who knows what this cat went through. Thankfully, she tested negative for the worst things such as FIV.
    via lotrandwho
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    However, she does have hyperthyroidism and it is significant and her thyroid levels indicate that it probably went untreated her whole life and is most likely the source of her breathing issues. She has to be given a lifetime medicine every twelve hours for it (felimazole). Luckily, she's such a sweet and docile cat and it's not too bad giving her the meds. I hate doing it to her but she seems to forgive me right away.
    via lotrandwho
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    She also most likely has an upper respiratory infection (URI) OR asthma. It was hard to determine from the x-ray. For now they gave her antibiotics and we are keeping her quarantined in one room for 2 weeks because we have two other cats.
    via lotrandwho
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    It is hard keeping her in this room, but luckily I work from home, so I get to hang out with her all day (while making sure my original kitties are still getting plenty of attention of course!). I'm taking her back to the vet in a month to get another X-ray and bld work done to see how her lungs and thyroid levels are doing. Hopefully she will have gained some weight by that time from the medication.
    via lotrandwho
  • 15
    Lastly, she has some spinal arthritis. Maybe this is because she's declawed, we don't know. She still has the instinct to scratch things which is pretty heartbreaking to watch.
    via lotrandwho
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    I have never cared for an older cat before, both of my cats I've had since they were kittens. This is kinda new to me and what I'm having the hardest time with is trying not to ball my eyes out all the time wishing I could've found this baby earlier in life and saved her from these health issues.
    via lotrandwho
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    But no point to dwell on that now because I have her now, and no matter what happens she will spend the rest of her days in comfort and feeling nothing but love from us! I just can't wait until the quarantine period is over so we can finally start the introduction process with our other cats, and so she can explore the whole house (she's very eager to).
    via lotrandwho
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  • Thank you for not giving up on her. We're sure that not many people would have done for her everything that you have done, because it's a lot. And you deserve to know that there are so many people out there who appreciate what you have done and are thankful for it. 

  • 19
    She's only been with me for a couple days but her coat is already looking and feeling so much better (it's nice and soft and doesn't have that greasy feeling anymore). I'm so excited to see her hopefully gain weight and more confidence!
    via lotrandwho
  • 20
    Anyway, just wanted to provide you guys with an update and say thank you again for the kind words and name suggestions. Pepper says thank you as well
    via lotrandwho
  • 21
    TL;DR The declawed kitty I rescued off the streets was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, spinal arthritis and URI. She's being treated with meds now and doing great. We named her Pepper!
    via lotrandwho

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