It's early September already, and I can't really believe it. It seems like each year goes by faster than the last one, doesn't it?

This morning while I was having my coffee and thinking about how close we are to fall, one of my cats climbed up on my lap. Already musing about the passage of time, I realized that this cat was born in September, and he'll be 8 years old this year. How could it already be eight years since I brought this fur-ball home? I felt a pang in my heart, knowing that cats are with us for such a relatively short time.

That's one of the reasons I oppose declaw surgeries. I want my cats to have the best possible lives for as long or as short of a time as I have with them. Declawing is an amputation: it removes each of the toes up to the first joint. Poor kitties! They have to walk on those amputation sites as soon as they recover from surgery. Can you imagine?

That's not all, either. Cats can have pain from declaws for the rest of their lives. Infections, arthritis, and balance problems are just a few of the common complications that cats can suffer from when they are declawed. If you want to learn more about declawing, I wrote this article for people to read and share: "Declawing Cats: Alternatives to a Painful Procedure."

We only have a certain amount of time with our cats. Truly, I hope my 8-year-old buddy lives to be 30, but 14-18 is more average. I will fill that time with as much love, play, and snuggle time as I can.

As you know, I operate PurrfectPost.com because I want people to have viable alternatives to declawing cats. I hope you'll join me and take up my motto for living with cats:

No painful paws in my home: only playful paws here.