Category: Declawing in America

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Story published on May 21, 2021

How can we improve mental well-being in the veterinary profession, especially related to moral distress and ethical trauma?

Ban and end declawing.

As you will see below, declawing causes moral distress and negatively affects the mental health and well-being of many veterinary professionals.

Amputating 10 Cat Toes Is No More Painful Than A Neuter – NJVMA SpokesVet

When cats start walking on their balls then we will start believing the NJVMA’s spokesvet Dr Yurkus and his animal hospital that declawing isn’t more painful than neutering.

Meanwhile, the American Association of Feline Practitioners’ policy on declawing states:

“Physically, regardless of the method used, onychectomy causes a higher level of pain than spays and neuters. Patients may experience both adaptive and maladaptive pain; in addition to inflammatory pain, there is the potential to develop long-term neuropathic or central pain if the pain is inadequately managed during the perioperative and healing periods.” [AAFP Policy Statement on Declawing, 2007.]

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The Painful Truth About Declawing

To put these all this in perspective, there are, more or less, 80 million pet cats in the U.S. At least 20% are declawed (estimates range from 20-45%), which is 16,000,000 cats. If even only 5% have long-term painful complications (and the number is likely far higher), that’s still 800,000 cats with known chronic pain, obvious pain.
How many is too many to suffer?
Clearly, veterinarians as a profession have failed to keep up with modern medicine, failed to govern themselves, and failed to understand the universal, serious, and potentially lifetime pain they are causing cats by declawing. Sadly, there is no mechanism to enforce changes in the profession.
Therefore, legislation is necessary to stop the cruel and unnecessary practice of declawing.

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Kids Know Right From Wrong

I received a note from a young person the other day.
It started with, “My mom got my cat declawed today and I feel sick.”
My heart dropped as I kept reading the sad note.

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Dear Santa Claws, All I Want For Christmas

Dear leaders with Cornell Feline Health Center, Purina, and New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association. Please do the right thing and help us end this very inhumane and unnecessary procedure. Declawing should never be an option because there are always humane alternatives. If you really want to be true advocates for animals, you will stop looking the other way to this horrific torture that is being done to around 2 million cats in America. Profiting from any kind of animal cruelty is wrong, and is especially egregious if you don’t do anything to help end it.

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Do The Right Thing Cornell Feline Health Center

Regarding Mrs Rhoda Hogan’s $125,500 bequest to Cornell. Cornell said that they used $100,000 to make 6 short videos. Cornell said that $25,500 has been sitting in a Feline Health Center account all these years and say their, “current leadership intends to use the funds to support novel public outreach efforts to encourage non-surgical alternatives to declawing. They are actively evaluating the most effective means for carrying out this plan.”

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NJVMA Spokesvet Dr Mike Yurkus Defends Cat Declawing With Big Fat Lies To Legislators

Dr Mike Yurkus, NJVMA board member, said, “It is incorrect that the last bone of the finger is removed. It is the nail bed. The claw bed is removed and the tendons are detached. Bone is not removed. We do not cut bone.”

FACT- Declawing is always the amputation of the last bone that the cat’s claw is attached to. Many of the New Jersey veterinarians, including one of the NJVMA board members practice Oradell Animal Hospital, in my study, uses the old school clipper method, which often cuts just part of the bone off and the cats are left with painful bone chips in their paws.

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Love All Cats And Don’t Declaw Them

Dr Mike Yurkus statement in the NJVMA Testimony at Assembly Committee Hearing 11/14/2016, “The discomfort level is no more than in a neuter than it is in the declaws that are done properly.”

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INVESTIGATIVE STUDY WITH 110 RANDOM VETERINARY PRACTICES IN NEW JERSEY

Of the 97 vets who perform declaws in this study, 72% said they do them frequently, commonly, often, routinely, or on a regular basis and more than one a month.
21% said they just do around one a month, very few or not often.
7% wouldn’t say how many they do.
Only 12% offered or suggested alternatives or asked why the cat owner wanted to declaw his or her cat.

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