2018 City the Kitty’s American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) CAT FRIENDLY Practice Declawing Study
Of the 156 Cat Friendly Practices in this study in Alabama, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Texas, 133 perform declaws and 23 don’t.
85% of the 156 Cat Friendly Practices in my study declaw cats.
I reached out to these 36 veterinary practices in Michigan to ask them if they were interested in helping us educate the public and their clients in their area about declawing and about the humane alternatives.
I received only 4 replies and none of them were interested in helping us.
I made a mistake.
It was an honest mistake and wasn’t meant to deceive anyone.
A supporter that I trust, who has sent me many things over the years, sent me a video of a kitty who appeared to be declawed and was laying in a chair with a towel around his head and his feet in a bowl of water. His paws were wrapped in what appeared to be bandages but the cat wasn’t declawed. He was just sedated so that it could have its matted hair trimmed.
A declawing veterinarian in Michigan was the impetus in stripping a little cat’s first amendment right to free speech for 5 months. For the first time in history, the ACLU stepped in to help a cat get his first amendment right to free speech back.
“First, let us reflect on the fact that the US is one of the few remaining modern countries that still allows this practice. It has actually been outlawed in most other countries, because of the physical and psychological effects it has on the animal. In most European countries, and Australia, you would actually lose your license to practice vet medicine if you were to perform this surgery, where it is uniformly viewed as unethical and inhumane.
The California Veterinary Medical Association stopped the 2018 anti-declawing bill. Canadian veterinarians in British Columbia voted to ban declawing in May 2018.
Please join City the Kitty in solidarity with The Animals’ Battalion and The Paw Project for our “Do No Harm” anti-declaw rally in Cypress, CA in front of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association at 5576 Corporate Ave, Cypress, CA on May 4th, 2018.
The NYSVMS is the veterinary association that keeps stopping the anti-declawing legislation in New York. They want their vets to be able to keep performing this inhumane, mutilating, and unnecessary procedure. Declawing is a big money maker for vets in America, including in New York.
The NYSVMS is having a veterinary conference in Tarrytown, NY in May 2018 and have sponsors who probably don’t know what the NYSVMS is doing to stop us from banning a very inhumane and unnecessary amputation procedure that is done to millions of innocent cats in New York state and America each year.
I think these sponsors, TD Bank, Boehringer Ingelheim, Simmons, Monarch Business Consulting, and Best Pet Rx should know that the NYSVMS passionately supports keeping this barbaric toe bone and claw amputation procedure legal.
I sent all of them an email and so far only TD Bank responded. (Emails are at the end of this story.)
Please send respectful and educational notes to each of these sponsors so that they know about the sneaky NYSVMS’s actions to keep this inhumane procedure going in New York state. We know all these companies have worked hard to have a trustworthy and good reputation for their businesses. If you get a response from any of them, please send it to me at citythekitty@gmail.com Remember to take a screenshot of your comment as documentation. #TAKETHEHIGHROAD
We would hate to see their good reputations damaged by supporting the NYSVMS.
It’s concerning that this New Kitten FAQ information is being used by many veterinarians and even government websites in America.
It’s also shocking that even the CAT FRIENDLY practice in Michigan, where the 2017 AAFP Cat Friendly President works, has this info on their website.
HERE IS WHAT THE INFO SAYS- “Surgical declawing is the removal of the nail at its base. This is done under general anesthesia and there is very little post-surgical discomfort, especially when it is performed on a kitten. Contrary to the belief of some, this surgery does not cause lameness or psychological damage. Actually, a declawed cat will not realize the claws are gone and will continue to “sharpen” the claws as normal without inflicting damage to your furniture. This surgery can be done as early as 12 weeks of age or anytime thereafter. It can also be done the same time as spaying or neutering. Once declawed, your cat should always live indoors since the ability to defend itself is compromised.”
Interviewer; Our next question is from Larry, he writes, “My wife wants to get our cat declawed but I heard it’s inhumane”, is it safe to do this or should we leave it as it is?
Dr Nelson; Big discussion I’ll give you a kind of just a thumbprint of both sides some people consider it amputation & you’ll hear all kinds of extreme descriptions of it that are completely wrong & then there are other people that say ahh it’s just like trimming their nails, that’s wrong too.
Not every cat should be declawed but a lot of them have to be because they’re indoor cats & the older people don’t want to be scratched & the don’t want their house ruined & things like this. I’m Just gonna say discuss it with your veterinarian, he or she is the expert in it. There is some discomfort but it’s fairly brief, but not every cat, unless they’re having a problem should be declawed either.
Interviewer; Especially if your cat goes outside at all, it takes away some defenses.
Dr Nelson; Even declawed cats can climb trees & things like this but does take away on their defense, just don’t let them outside.
