Submitted by DernKala1975 t3_122p7c1 in massachusetts
My mother received a letter that everyone in her apartment building will be required to declaw their cats and provide proof - a vet’s signature - that their cat has been declawed. From a quick search it seems Mass has not yet made elective declawing illegal as some other states have. We absolutely do not want to have the cat declawed. Any resources or suggestions are welcome. This is in Northampton.
Edit: First off I’m overwhelmed by the response and just very appreciative of this online community. My mother has a lease that allows her cat but she’s been there over a year so is now on a month to month. The “updated pet policy” states “this agreement amends the occupancy agreement and/or lease”. I have no idea whether this is legal but we will be contacting a housing attorney to find out.
For those that have asked: the building is owned and operated by a huge management company called The Community Builders Inc. I had no idea how big they were but googled it and they apparently “own and manage over 14,000 apartment homes” and they have apartments all over the East Coast. So yes it’s surprising this would happen in Northampton but this management company is not local.