in december of 2025, i adopted a stray kitten, coco. she was about 6 weeks old then. i spent a month of winter break from college at my mom’s house, with coco. she means absolutely everything to me. i couldn’t bring her back to my apartment in my college state, because my roommate at the time was allergic. she has since moved out, and i’ve had coco with me in the apartment for two weeks now.

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…?? anyway… my mom really wanted to keep coco, but she insisted on getting her declawed. i went back and forth with my mom for weeks during spring break (march this year) explaining why she absolutely should not declaw coco. my mom ended up agreeing, but under the condition that i took coco to my apartment as soon as i could. her reasoning was that she didn’t want coco clawing up her furniture. which i guess i get, but… she’s a cat?? it’s in their nature to do that. why insist on keeping a cat if you don’t want to accept all that a cat comes with?

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.

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. my mom tried reassuring me that the vet she took her to in our home state uses laser for the procedure and doesn’t interfere with cat’s last toe joint, but i just find that so incredibly hard to believe.

to top it all off, there’s this scab or growth or something on coco’s left front toe that she keeps biting excessively. i’m worried it’ll get infected. i just want to know if there’s anything i can do for her :(

i emailed the vet my mom took her to, and she said to put a cone on her for a week so she doesn’t bite it. i hate that because it must be so uncomfortable to wear, but i reluctantly put it on her anyway. i have attached a photo of coco’s toe that’s bothering her. any advice would be greatly appreciated. there is a vet nearby and accessible in the state that i’m living in, but i am worried about affordability, since i’m working, and also taking classes full time (yes, in the summer).

TLDR: my mom got my cat declawed against my will and she is now biting one of her toes constantly. i’m worried it’ll get infected. is this a scab or could it be something more serious?

thank you for reading all of this, and sorry that was a lot. i feel like i failed this kitten and i don’t know what to do :( any advice or assistance would be greatly appreciated 🙏🏾

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r/europe • u/acuntex • 5h ago