Story published June 22, 2026
Middletown Animal Hospital is a Mission Pet Health hospital.
Mission Pet Health said this in their July 21, 2025 press release announcing the Southern Veterinary Partners (SVP) and Mission Veterinary Partners (MVP) merger. “Mission Pet Health’s highest priority is delivering the best possible health and wellness outcomes for animals…”
Yet they allow declawing.
Here’s our Mission Pet Health Petition
A severe laser declaw complication involving a 5-month-old rescue kitten named Elijah prompted Mission Veterinary Partners (MVP) and its veterinary leadership, including current Mission Pet Health Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Dan Markwalder, to ban declawing across the company in 2021.
According to rescue records and veterinary documentation, Elijah suffered serious complications after what was described as a “routine laser declaw,” including infection, fever, and suspected retained bone fragments requiring additional surgery.
The case led MVP leadership to conclude elective declawing was no longer consistent with the company’s standards of care, and a corporate-wide ban was issued.
But after MVP merged with Southern Veterinary Partners(SVP) in December 2024 to form Mission Pet Health (MPH), this new company did not adopt MVP’s company-wide declawing ban.
Today, Mission Pet Health operates more than 850 veterinary hospitals nationwide. Declawing continues in many of them, including some offering four-paw declaw procedures.
How can a company with the word “Health” in its name continue allowing a procedure linked to chronic pain, complications, and lifelong harm?
That raises a simple question: If Mission Pet Health’s CVO, Dr. Dan Markwalder, banned declawing at MVP in 2021, why hasn’t he done the same at Mission Pet Health?
Is MPH’s CEO Dr. Jay Price standing in the way, or was MVP’s ban simply a response to the bad publicity surrounding Elijah’s horrific laser declaw?
Mission Pet Health’s Public Statements Conflict With Its Practices
The company also champions veterinary “medical autonomy,” stating that it does not tell veterinarians how to practice medicine and instead empowers local teams to make medical decisions.
Yet in emails to City the Kitty on May 6 and 7, 2026, a Mission Pet Health director of legal operations stated that MPH “does not support elective feline declawing,” recognizes the procedure’s lack of medical necessity, ethical concerns, and potential complications, and encourages non-surgical alternatives. The company also said it had removed declaw-related language from hospital websites and was reviewing materials to ensure they align with patient welfare and responsible veterinary care.
Despite these statements, Mission Pet Health has not adopted a public company-wide declawing ban or a public declawing position and continues to allow the procedure.
The contradiction became more apparent after the 2024 merger between Mission Veterinary Partners (MVP) and Southern Veterinary Partners (SVP), founded by CEO Dr. Jay Price.
MVP banned declawing in 2021 after the horrific laser declaw case involving a 5-month-old rescue kitten named Elijah.
SVP never implemented a declawing ban. When the companies merged to form Mission Pet Health, MVP’s company-wide declawing ban was not adopted by the new organization.
Today, declawing continues in many MPH hospitals, including some former MVP clinics.
Dr. Price states on his animal hospital biography that one of the great joys of being a veterinarian is “maintaining the well-being of creatures that cannot speak for themselves.” Notably, his own animal hospital does not declaw cats.
Critics question how continuing to allow declawing—an inhumane and unnecessary amputation linked to chronic pain, arthritis, nerve damage, behavioral problems, and lifelong mobility issues—can be reconciled with Mission Pet Health’s stated commitment to animal welfare, patient well-being, and delivering the highest quality of care.
A Kitten’s Horrific Declawing Led to a Ban At Mission Veterinary Partners
Which raises an obvious question:
If Dr. Dan Markwalder concluded in 2021 that declawing was wrong and helped ban it across MVP, why has Mission Pet Health not adopted the same policy?
Is Dr. Jay Price, who never banned declawing at Southern Veterinary Partners, standing in the way or was the MVP ban driven more by the fallout from Elijah’s laser declaw than by a commitment to protecting cats?
Is the “Medical Autonomy” Excuse Why MPH Won’t Ban Declawing?
Mission Pet Health promotes “medical autonomy,” stating veterinarians are empowered to make clinical decisions they believe are best for patients.
However, several major veterinary groups operating under similar corporate models, including VCA, National Veterinary Associates and PetVet Care Centers, have banned declawing except when medically necessary for the cat, such as a tumor or severe paw injury.
VCA stated when announcing its 2020 ban: “Patient safety and welfare always come first.”
Former MVP Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Talmadge similarly wrote in 2021 when they banned declawing that the company felt “compelled to take a stance” to ensure it continued “to do the right thing.”
Many Mission Pet Health Clinics Declaw Cats
Some Mission Pet Health clinics even offer all four paw declaws.
At Valleydale Animal Clinic, affiliated with Mission Pet Health’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jeff Falone, a manager in 2022 reportedly compared kitten declawing to “a child being born without an arm vs. a child who loses an arm,” stating the procedure is easier for kittens.
As of January 2026, the clinic was still performing declaws.
A MPH Declawing Veterinarian Misled Legislators During the 2016 NJ Anti-Declawing Bill Hearing. Hundreds of Cats Have Been Declawed Since. Why Is Mission Pet Health Putting the Interests of Declawing Veterinarians Over Cats?
Another controversy involves Dr. Michael Yurkus of a New Jersey Mission Pet Health clinic, Middletown Animal Hospital.
During 2016 testimony opposing the New Jersey anti-declawing bill, Dr Yurkus told lawmakers that declawing does not remove bone, there are no studies that associate declawing with any long term behavioral issues, and said declawing is not more painful than neutering. Here’s the 2016 audio of his testimony with his lies about declawing.
Dr Yurkus said, “My own practice, we are a large practice, we have only done two this year.” Yurkus went on to say, “I would love next year if we could do zero.”
However a vet tech who worked at Middletown Animal Hospital was asked by a City the Kitty researcher in November 2016 if they do one declaw a month and they said, “No we do usually more than that.” The researcher asked if they do at least two declaws a week and the vet tech said, “It depends on the doctor. We have 5 doctors and they do them regularly here.”
His animal hospital posted these comments on Facebook in November 2016.
Dr Yurkus also said, ““We recently conducted a study in New Jersey of our members and over 100 practices got back to us. The average number of declaws that is done by the average practice in New Jersey is less than 9 a year.”
City the Kitty conducted a survey involving 110 New Jersey veterinary practices in November, 2016. Our study revealed that of the practices that declaw cats, 72% performed multiple declaws each month, which would average a minimum of 24 a year.
This 72% or 70 practices (out of 97) stated they perform declaws “routinely”, “commonly”, or “frequently”. Some vets even said they do several per week, which would add up to over 100 per year. At least one vet said declawing is “as common as spays and neuters” at their practice. A vet tech from your own practice told an investigator in our study, “it’s a regular surgery and it’s done commonly here.”
The bill did not pass into law.
Declawing is still regularly performed in many veterinary clinics in New Jersey.
Yurkus’ statements misrepresent the facts of declawing and contradict established veterinary knowledge. Declawing is the surgical amputation of the last bone of each toe. By equating declawing with a neuter, Yurkus minimized the reality of this inhumane and harmful amputation surgery that veterinary research has linked to significant pain, complications, and lifelong consequences for some cats.
As of June 2026, declawing was still being performed at Middletown Animal hospital, according to an employee.
Veterinary Staff Report Moral Stress
A growing number of veterinary professionals in the U.S. describe declawing as a source of serious moral stress and injury inside clinics that perform this inhumane amputation procedure.
- Veterinarians who oppose declawing report working alongside colleagues who still perform it.
- Technicians and assistants describe being required to assist with procedures they believe are inhumane.
- Front-desk employees report scheduling declaw surgeries despite ethical objections, while staff caring for cats after surgery describe witnessing severe pain, bleeding and complications.
- In many clinics, employees say only one or two veterinarians are willing to perform declaws while much of the remaining staff opposes the procedure.
Is Mission Pet Health is prioritizing the autonomy and interests of declawing veterinarians over the welfare of cats and the moral well-being of veterinary staff who strongly oppose this cat cruelty?
Contradictions Within the Same Organization
Questions Remain for Mission Pet Health Leadership
Small Survey of Mission Pet Health Clinics and Declawing.
These are the two vet clinics that are associated with Mission Pet Health’s veterinary leaders.
Dr. Jeff Falone served as Chief Medical Officer for SVP and is now the Chief Medical Officer for Mission Pet Health and is the owner of Valleydale Animal Clinic in Birmingham, AL.
Valleydale Animal Clinic is an AAHA.org hospital which means it’s supposed to have the highest standards in veterinary medicine.
AAHA is strongly opposed to declawing but they allow it in their accredited animal hospitals. Here’s more about AAHA that will shock you. AAHA story
We checked into how Dr Falone’s AAHA Accredited Animal Hospital addresses declawing in 2022 and in Jan. 2026.
Valleydale Animal Clinic. Birmingham, AL
January 2026. Researcher asked for the cost of a neuter/declaw. The employee said their vets will not always do declaws and said that they need an exam first to see if it’s necessary in the situation and said it would probably be Dr Winke who would perform the declaw. The employee said they would perform a declaw, for example, if someone was on a blood thinners and said “We don’t always like to do them.” (They have 3 vets listed on their website. https://www.valleydaleanimalclinic.com/about-us/team/)
Researcher asked if the cats are ok long term after a declaw and they employee said yes generally but said, “It’s a fairly rough surgery for them” and said they take the top of the fingers off and it’s not just removing the claws and is an amputation. Researcher asked if their vets don’t like to do declaws and the employee said it’s a case by case procedure because it’s a fairly invasive and said they would determine if it’s in everyone’s interest to do it.
The employee offered to ask the vet to work up a rough cost for the declaw should he decide to perform it.
2025. The employee said that a neuter/front declaw is around $750-$800. They said that they perform declaws occasionally and recommend that you put “fake toenails” on your cat and that prevents them from ruining your furniture and you won’t get scratched. The employee said they only have one vet, Dr Alex Winke, who will do the declaw after the consultation to make sure “it’s the right thing to do,” and the cat needs blood work to make sure he is healthy, and want to make sure the cat will always be an indoor cat.
2022. The manager said that a declaw is up to the doctor’s discretion and they need an an exam for an assessment to see if the cat is healthy enough and it’s safe to go forward with the procedure because it can be difficult on some cats.
When asked for the cost of a declaw, the manager asked, “Are we talking about four feet or front feet?” They said a 4 paw declaw is $445.
The manager asked Dr Alex Winke, their declawing vet, about the declaw info and the manager said the younger the cat the better and they try to go to alternative methods first because when the cat gets around 6 months age range it’s more like an amputation than like a cosmetic procedure akin to when they are younger.
The manager said younger cats recover better from a declaw and said it was kind of like a child being born without an arm vs a child who loses an arm.
They said it’s a lot more easy to adapt if they are younger and it’s somewhat controversial going forward with a declaw once the cat gets to a certain age and they like to try other alternatives.
The manager was asked if a declaw is ok for a cat long term and they said yes, generally speaking but depends on how old the cat is. They said a declaw isn’t usually the first go-to option and they like to try other methods like soft paws.
The manager said when they get into the 6-8 months age, it is more akin to an amputation. (Declawing a kitten or an older cat always involves amputating the first bone in the cat’s paws.)
Oakview Animal Hospital in Hoover, AL
Dr Jay Price is the CEO of MPH and this is his practice.
January 2026. The employee said they do not perform declaws as it’s not considered medically necessary. Researcher asked if it’s bad for a cat and the employee said yes, it’s like cutting off their fingers and said it’s like a cosmetic procedure.
2022. One employee said they actually don’t declaw cats anymore said they don’t recommend it and it’s not good for a cat. Another employee said it can be really debilitating because it is cutting off a third of the cat’s toes. It can cause infections later on in life, it can hurt the way they are walking, and cause a lot of other things that are totally detrimental to the cat including behavioral issues due to the pain.
Patton Chapel Animal Clinic in Hoover, AL
One of the founders of SVP is Dr Chase Whitworth, who is now the VP of Clinical Operations for Mission Pet Health and his animal hospital is Patton Chapel Animal Clinic in Hoover, Alabama. https://missionpethealth.com/chase-whitworth-bio-lightbox/
2022. The employee at this clinic said they don’t declaw cats. Researcher asked them why and they said, “A morality thing.” The employee said that a declaw is not a necessary surgery and it can be pretty painful since you are ripping their nails out.
2026. The employee said they don’t declaw cats. Researcher asked them why they don’t perform declaws and they said they don’t do anything cosmetic. Researcher asked if a declaw is bad for a cat and the employee said it can definitely hurt their paws later on and make them more sensitive. They said it’s not their company policy to declaw cats.
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We wanted to look into how some of the Mission Pet Health practices address declawing.
THE METHOD OF OUR INVESTIGATION.
The researcher asked for a price for a spay/neuter and declaw, which vets perform declaws, what declawing method they use, and if declaws are regularly performed, and if the cats are ok long term after a declaw.
We have withheld the names of employees for fear that they might suffer a backlash for their honest answers.
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Middletown Animal Hospital. New Jersey
This clinic was a Mission Veterinary Partner’s Clinic (MVP). MVP banned declawing in 2021.
According to an employee at this clinic Dr Mike Yurkus and two other doctors were still declawing cats in 2023 when MVP had banned declawing.
June 2026
The employee said that a neuter is around $740 and a declaw is “over $1000” and said, “the declaw is quite costly.” They said that they only have two vets who will do the declaws. They said you need an exam first and you could schedule the surgery from there. The researcher asked if the cats are alright after a declaw by their vets and the employee said, “There can be some complications, sure, it’s a declaw.” Researcher asked what are the complications. The employee said, “In theory, you are cutting their nails off” and said there could be complications. Researcher asked if the complications are short term or long term and the employee said, “It depends on the age of the cat.”
February 2026. Researcher asked for the cost of a neuter/declaw. The employee who was on the phone was listed as the manager of this clinic. The employee said for the declaw you need an exam to see what’s going on and said, “we don’t do them routinely.” The employee said that Dr Yurkus and Dr Curro are their two “primaries” who do the declaw. They said they require an exam for the cat to see if it’s healthy and for the “reason we are doing the declaw” and to see if there’s a problem with the paws and to see what’s going on and they schedule the surgery a couple days later.
2023. (This was an MVP clinic and MVP banned declawing in all their clinics in 2021. This clinic was violating MVP’s declawing ban.) Employee said the cost for a declaw varies. They said they would look up the last recent declaw they did and give a cost estimate for a declaw. They said the last declaw they had which they said was recently was $1570 but that doesn’t include a spay. They said they only have 3 doctors that do the declaws. Dr Yurkus, Dr Curro or Dr Schaffer.
2016 November. A vet tech at Middletown Animal Hospital was asked if they do one declaw a month and they said, “No we do usually more than that.” The employee said that a lot of people get them from shelters and a lot of times they notice that the cats are a little wild and like to scratch so they elect to declaw instead of returning them. The researcher asked if they do at least two declaws a week and the vet tech said, “It depends on the doctor. We have 5 doctors and they do them regularly here.”
Background on this declawing vet, Dr Michael Yurkus.
Dr Yurkus is the past President of the NJVMA, and he testified to legislators during the hearing to the NJ Assembly Committee Hearing on November 14, 2016. “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.”
Declawing ALWAYS involves removing (amputating) all of the cat’s last toe bone or cutting through part of the cat’s last toe bone otherwise the claw will grow back.
(The lies that Yurkus told to legislators were also used by pro-declaw folks to defend this animal cruelty. Here’s what a DJ with NJ 105.5, Jeff Deminski said about declawing, “Opponents of declawing say it is painful and unnecessary. Okay, again, giving a cat a home is unnecessary too. As far as pain, the procedure is not as invasive as it once was with modern declawing removing only the claw bed and not bone, plus the pain meds available today are greatly improved from years past.” Here’s his full story where he called people opposed to declawing “animal nuts.” Animal nuts back at it in push to ban cat declawing)
Here is the full story with the audio testimony from Dr Mike Yurkus. https://citythekitty.org/njvma-spokesvet-defends-cat-declawing-with-big-fat-lies/
FACT- Declawing is and always has been 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, use 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.
Here’s another story about how Middletown Animal Hospital’s Dr Mike Yurkus compared the pain level of a neuter to a declaw and also how Middletown AH responded to posts on their facebook page by saying declaws make them rich. Dr Mike Yurkus says the discomfort level in a declaw is no more than a neuter.
Here are some posts from Middletown Animal Hospital’s facebook page in 2016.
(A vet tech who worked at Middletown Animal Hospital was asked in November 2016 if they do one declaw a month and they said, “No we do usually more than that. A lot of people get them from shelters and a lot of times they notice that the cats are a little wild and like to scratch so they elect to declaw instead of returning them.” The researcher asked if they do at least two declaws a week and the vet tech said, “It depends on the doctor. We have 5 doctors and they do them regularly here.” )
The comments below were directed to anti-declawing advocates.
Did they declaw 4 cats in 4 months or 4 cats in 12 months? As we have found over the years, declawing vet clinics and veterinarians often do not tell the truth.
Here’s another comment that was posted on their facebook page.
(There are no studies that show that declawing prevents euthanasia or relinquishment but there are studies and data that show that declawing causes behavioral issues and can cause cats to be surrendered or abandoned and sometimes euthanized.)
Here’s another comment.
Here’s a review of Middletown Animal Hospital and their response.
All Star Veterinary Clinic. Westfield, IN
2024 story about this MPH clinic, All Star Vet Clinic. https://citythekitty.org/westfield-indiana-has-6-veterinary-clinics-and-3-of-them-do-not-declaw-cats-one-of-the-declawing-clinics-is-a-cat-friendly-practice/
The Animal Clinic. Hendersonville, TN.
2026 January. Researcher asked for the cost of a neuter/declaw and the employee asked, “Are you gonna do the back or the front or both?” They said a front only declaw is $955 and back only is $893.
They said a neuter/declaw is $1039.
The employee said that they have different doctors that can do the declaws and it depends on the day of the week.
Researcher asked if they perform declaws regularly and they employee said yes.
Melton Veterinary Hospital. Bastrop, LA.
2026- Researcher asked for the cost of a neuter/declaw and the employee asked, “Front two or all four?” They said a 2 paw declaw/neuter is $551 and a 4 paw declaw/neuter is $661 and said Dr Melton performs their declaws and has been a vet for 45 plus years. (They have 4 vets listed on their website.
Researcher asked if he performs declaws regularly and they employee said yes.
Researcher asked if the cats are ok after a declaw long term and the employee said they keep the cats two days and give them pain meds because the declaw is painful and the employee said the cats are ok long term.
2022- Researcher asked for the cost of a declaw and the employee asked, “All four or just the front two?”
A 2 paw declaw/neuter is around $370. A 4 paw declaw/neuter is around $480.
They said that they have 3 doctors who do the declaws. Researcher asked if the cats are ok long term after a declaw the employee said yes, they recover just fine. They said the cats need shredded paper for 10 days. They said they do them regularly. They said they would be glad to get you scheduled and you can drop the cat off in the morning for the procedure.
Woodlands Creek Animal Hospital. Magnolia, TX
2025. The employee said that a neuter/declaw is around $800. The employee said you need an exam to see if the cat is a good candidate for the declaw.
They said they have two surgeons who can do the declaw. https://www.woodlandscreekanimalhospital.com/about-us/team/natalie-conrad (Update, the other left and works at a Lakefield Veterinary Group clinic that declaws cats with but he doesn’t perform them according to an employee who works there.)
The researcher asked if the cats are ok long term after a declaw and the employee said, “They should be.”
Charlotte Animal Hospital. Port Charlotte, FL
2025. Researcher asked for the cost of a neuter/declaw and the employee asked, “Do you want all four paws declawed or just the fronts?” They said that a neuter/2 paw declaw is around $730 and a neuter/4 paw declaw is around $820. They said that just one of their doctors does the declaw, Dr Kimbler with a laser. They have 8 vets listed on their website. https://www.charlotteanimalhospital.net/about-us/team/
Researcher asked if the cats are ok long term after a declaw and the employee said the recovery is a little bit hard on them but said “they’re ok after.”
Pet First Veterinary Hospital, New Port Richey, FL
2025. The employee said you need an exam to see if the cat is healthy enough for the neuter/declaw and if so they can do the procedures. They said they have two doctors who can do a declaw, Dr Stoffer and Dr Viviana. They have three listed on their website. https://www.petfirstvet.com/about-us/team/
Researcher asked if they perform declaws regularly and the employee said they try not to do them but if it has to be done they will. They said that they won’t do a declaw if the cat is over 8 lbs.
Treasure Valley Veterinary Hospital. Kuna, Idaho
2025. The employee said you need an exam first to talk to the doctor about it. They said that they do not perform declaws “super often.” They said that it’s a very involved procedure, they go over a few different options, it depends on the situation, and then from there they can schedule it if it’s ok. They said it’s considered an amputation, they do them case by case, and try to go other options but said there’s some situations where they are just not possible like for the safety of the animal or members of the household and then they will move forward with it.
They said they only have one vet who will do them, Dr Tammy Hinderager. Her bio says, “Dr. Hinderager joined Treasure Valley Veterinary Hospital because of its reputation for practicing gold-standard veterinary medicine..” They have 4 vets listed on their website. https://www.treasurevalleyvet.com/about-us/team/