I enjoy my cats!

I enjoy sharing my home with two cats.  Years ago, I tried to adopt a cat through a humane agency temporarily set up at a local shopping mall.  The agency rejected my application because I said I would remove my cat's claws.  I said I would remove my cat's claws after hearing bad advice from a family friend.  That misinformation cost me companionship and kept me at status quo.  How might my life have been different had I been allowed to adopt a cat almost immediately after my grandmother died?  I probably would have avoided many useless romantic entanglements and lived a richer life.