Pat wrote:
EvelynVogtGamble wrote
there was no question of "finding a home" especially after I unexpectedly
had to pay for a spay when the abandoned cat came in heat, despite having
been declawed

AFAIK, declawing does not prevent a cat from coming into heat!

No, of course not! (However, with vets willing to de-claw, spaying or
neutering usually go hand-in-hand with the package.)