Banfield & VCA Animal Hospitals Stopped Declawing in Early 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.

Declawing Advice From An AAHA and AVMA Veterinarian

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.

He drew up the solution and euthanized that sweet declawed kitten in a matter of minutes.

The vet never mentioned the real reason for the kitten’s behavior, which was the horrible pain in her toes from that declaw surgery. He drew up the euthanasia solution and euthanized that sweet declawed kitten in a matter of minutes.

I cried for that kitten for weeks afterwards. I felt the pain, fear, and suffering every kitten and cat endured because of those declaw surgeries for the whole of my career.

Texas Coalition for ANIMAL PROTECTION Stopped Declawing Cats in 2017!

I’ve been trying to inspire Texas Coalition of Animal Protection to stop declawing since early 2015 by respectfully reaching out to them in private messages to their offices, to their Executive Director and Founder, Stacey Shumacher, and on their social media pages. But they just ignored me and blocked from on their facebook, Instagram @tcapspayneuter, and twitter @tcforap pages.

Maybe you can help me respectfully inspire them to STOP doing this inhumane and harmful procedure to lots of cats each year.

Colorado Veterinary Medical Association Fights The Declaw Ban in Denver. Here’s Why.

November 5, 2017 the Denver City Council unanimously passed the anti-declaw bill and then on November 13, 2017 the City Council unanimously approved the anti-declawing ordinance. Declawing is illegal in the city of Denver!
The Colorado Veterinary Medical Association is the only organization that fought to stop this bill so their vets can keep declawing cats.

My team of researchers did a survey of vet practices in the city of Denver after the Denver City Council voted 11-0 to ban declawing. I wanted to see how the vet practices in Denver address declawing and if word had gotten out that declawing was going to be illegal.
My researchers posed as cat owners who were checking on a price to get their cat declawed. This research was conducted from Nov. 7-9, 2017.

Denver Declawing Vet Bullies Ethical No-Declaw Vets

Here is a disturbing and sick letter that a pro-declaw American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) veterinarian sent to the AAFP and also to ethical and humane veterinary practices that have stopped doing this inhumane and harmful procedure.

Please Help Me Inspire St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center to Support the NJ Anti-Declawing Bill

Maybe all of you can help me inspire St Hubert’s to support this important cat protection bill (without any bad amendments), the way that North Shore Animal League did for the bill in NY, without any amendments:

Please let St Hubert’s know how much you appreciate all they’ve done to re-home so many cats and kittens, as well as TNR programs for community cats, and we know that they are against cat declawing (it’s in their Positions Statement) … so why won’t they support the anti-declaw bill that was passed by the NJ State Full Assembly?