history of declawing

Question
For a story I am writing, I need to know if cats were declawed back in the 1960's.

Answer
Sounds like an interesting story?! I do not know the answer to this. I started working at a vet hospital in 1973 and we were certainly doing it then !   I would suggest you contact the American Veterinary Medical Association and they would certainly know the answer to your question:
Headquarters AVMA:
1931 North Meacham Road, Suite 100
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Phone: 847.925.8070   Fax: 847.925.1329
E-mail: avmainfo@avma.org