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the raging debate that threatened to tear apart the ultramicroscopic household ended this morning with a trip to the vets office.
one of our furry children is shredding both the furniture and our marital relationship. i accept this behavior as the way of the feline. wife claimed that de-clawing was an option. I have been meticulously super gluing tiny rubber tips (soft claws) on her claws as a last ditch effort to avoid de-clawing.
wife scheduled the drop off appointment with the vet for this morning. due to other family commitments and such, the undertaking of this evil task feel upon me. execution of a plan with which i am not fully onboard. i am consumed with guilt. driving to the vet's office, i remembered the soon to be broken promise made to the adoption agency that we would not de-claw her.
at the office, other pet owners held leashes and travel boxes. i sat down on a bench with my travel box. a woman with a similar box sat down next to me. she peered through the silver dollar size holes at my cat.
cat lady: "is that a himalayan?"
animal cruelty guy (me): "yes"
cat lady: "hmmmm, did you adopt her recently?"
animal cruelty guy: "yes, a month or so ago."
cat lady: "was her name layla when you adopted her?"
animal cruelty guy: "yea,...how did..."
cat lady: "oh! i was her foster mom! is she sick?!"
animal cruelty, liar guy: "oh no, just bringing her in for healthy stuff"
cat lady: "oh..."
the nurse called my name, rescuing me from the awkward conversation.
loud nurse: "let's see, de-clawing today, right?"
mumbling animal cruelty guy (me): "um, yeah."
glancing back at her notes, loud nurse notices the request for all four paws to be de-clawed and asks again to make sure her notes are correct. she asks a third time, seemingly louder, reminding me the procedure is not reversible.
i stare straight ahead. i can feel cat lady behind my back making the international hand gesture for "shame on you". waves of shame flow from her pointer finger and crash into my back.
i fully expect the cat lady to storm my home backed by cps (cat protective services) officers demanding custody of my clawless cat.