VCA Animal Hospitals Stopped Declawing Feb. 21, 2020

We believe that every pet owner has the responsibility for providing a safe and supportive home for their animal that enables appropriate expression of natural behaviors and fully integrates them into the home and family. Every medical procedure supported by our veterinary practices has been put in place with the health and wellbeing of pets in mind and, based on this, we do not support the elective declawing of any animal in our veterinary practices.
Declawing includes surgical onychectomy, digital flexor tendonectomy, and generalized phalangectomy for non-medical reasons. Feline scratching and nail sharpening are normal behaviors and the removal of nails has been shown to lead to chronic pain and, in some cases, to cause long-term behavioral issues. We believe that education of pet owners about appropriate behavioral and environmental modifications are humane alternatives to these elective procedures.
Is Dr Kelly St. Denis Powerful Enough to Make AAFP’s Cat Friendly Practices Truly Cat Friendly?

Update!!!! GREAT NEWS! December 2020, AAFP announced that they will no longer allow declawing in their CAT FRIENDLY Practices! Story published on Oct. 26, 2019. “Let’s end declawing now”- Dr Kelly St. Denis’ comment June 23, 2019 “Please stop declawing now“- Dr Kelly St. Denis’ comment in 2015. “Please don’t declaw”- Dr Kelly St […]
International Cat Care Licenses Their CAT FRIENDLY Program To An Organization That Allows Declawing

International Cat Care (ICatCare.org) and its veterinary division licenses their Cat Friendly Program to the American Association of Feline Practitioners. (AAFP)
AAFP allows declawing in their CAT FRIENDLY PRACTICES. Here’s our 2018 survey of 156 CAT FRIENDLY Practices. 85% of them declaw cats.
Why would ICatCare license their Cat Friendly Program to an organization that allows this inhumane and mutilating amputation procedure in their CAT FRIENDLY Practices?
American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) And Their Dirty Little Secret

The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) says that they are the trusted leader in feline health and welfare yet why do they want to keep the facts about declawing from the public and why do they allow their CAT FRIENDLY Practices to perform this inhumane and mutilating procedure.
American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) Confirmed That Declawing Is Their Dirty Little Secret
Declawing is a dirty little secret to which the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) gives a nod and a wink.
AAFP doesn’t want you airing their dirty little secret because it shows how hypocritical they are.
AAFP thinks they’re authorities on what’s best for cats but when it comes to declawing, they’d rather throw cats under the bus than lose their precious membership fees.
The American Association of Feline Practitioners Are Masters At Hiding The Truth

The majority of American Association of Feline Practitioners’ (AAFP) Cat Friendly Practices perform declawing.
We did a recent survey of 156 Cat Friendly Practices in 10 states and found that 85% of them declaw cats.
AAFP.
AAFP is hiding respectful comments about how declawing causes pain and behavioral issues.
Fact: 11 out of 14 vets in leadership in Michigan’s vet med association make big bucks declawing. Do cats stand a chance?

Here’s a summary of this survey.
Only three of these MichVMA veterinarians in our survey don’t perform declawing.
6 vet practices use the guillotine clipper method for declawing. Only two of the vet practice’s employees mentioned the humane options during the call.
Fewer than 4% of West Michigan vets don’t declaw and they are apparently afraid of being bullied for making the ethical decision.

Fewer than 4% of Western Michigan vets don’t declaw. We reached out to them to ask if they would write up a short paragraph as to why they don’t declaw cats but none of them replied.
Could it be that they are afraid of being bullied for making the ethical decision.
AAHA, AAFP Cat Friendly Practice, and Fear Free Veterinary Clinics and declawing.

We surveyed 13 veterinary practices to see how they address declawing. They all are affiliated with AAHA, AAFP, and Fear Free.
5 practices do not declaw cats.
How The CVMA and the California VMB Stopped The Cat Protection Bill

Multiple animal medical and welfare organizations have issued statements against declawing, including the American Association of Feline Practitioners, the American Animal Hospital Association, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, and the World Small Animal Veterinary Association. Fourteen jurisdictions have seen fit to ban the procedure. Even a major veterinary hospital chain, VCA, stopped declawing a year ago throughout Canada.
Now it is time for California to pass this important legislation and join the worldwide humane movement against declawing.