A supporter sent us these comments from a cat owner who took her 3 cats to DeKalb Animal Hospital in Texas to get them declawed.
It appears from her post that one of the cats is 4 years old and the other is 5 years old.
We wanted to see how Dekalb Animal Hospital addresses declawing, so our researchers made a short phone call to ask how much they charge for a declaw, if they do them regularly, and if declawing is ok for a cat long term, and who is their declawing veterinarian.
We also wanted to try to find a no-declaw vet clinic in this area of Northeast Texas so our researchers looked into some of the other vet clinics in the area. All of them declaw cats.
If you live in this area and know of a no-declaw vet clinic, please email us at Citythekitty@gmail.com
We have withheld the names of employees for fear that they might suffer a backlash for their honest answers.
Also, one of these vet clinics is a National Veterinary Associates (NVA) clinic so please sign our petition to NVA. (No need to donate to change. org to sign the petition. https://www.change.org/p/reimann-family-ban-declawing-in-your-nva-clinics-help-end-this-cat-cruelty-in-america
DeKalb Animal Hospital. Dekalb, TX
Dr Michael Baird is the owner of this clinic and they also have Dr Fetner and Dr Murphy working there.
Researcher asked for the cost of a declaw for a 6 year old cat and the employee said it is $150 plus $30 more for Elanco’s Zorbium pain meds.
The receptionist said that Dr Austin Fetner is their declawing vet and he uses a scalpel.
(This is a photo of a declaw performed with a scalpel from an AAHA Accredited Animal Hospital.)
Researcher asked if the cats are ok long term after a declaw, especially for a 6 year old cat. The employee said that they would not recommend declawing a 6 year old cat and said, “I would do it when they are young. It’s really hard on those older cats.” The employee said that a declaw involves cutting the digit off.
Researcher asked if Dr Fetner does the declaws regularly and the employee said, “Oh yea, probably one a week.” They said that those cats are alright after a declaw. The employee said he will declaw older cats but they don’t recommend it but said they would do it if you need it done. They said he’s been doing them for years.
The employee said the cat will stay the night and they go home with bandages and if the cat doesn’t take off the bandages themselves, you come back in a week later they take them off.
They said they put the pain med, Elanco’s Zorbium, on the cat’s neck and that lasts for 3 days.
The researcher asked if Dr Fetner thinks a declaw is ok for a cat and the employee said, “He will declaw their front feet. It’s fine to do, we do it to other cats. That’s part of his job and he does them.”
The receptionist put a vet tech on the phone to answer the question if it’s ok for a cat who said it’s your preference and up to you. The vet tech said, “We do them here. I have one that’s declawed. It’s easier on younger cats but we can do older cats, we’ve done both.” The vet tech said this about Dr Fetner and declaws, “He’s good at them. He can get them done quick.”
Researcher asked if Dr Fetner thinks the cats are ok long term after a declaw and the vet tech said, “Oh yea” and said that he’s been in veterinary medicine for over ten years.
Researcher said that it says that declawing is inhumane and the vet tech said, “Everybody has their opinion about it. It’s your preference.” Researcher asked what the facts are and not the opinion and the vet tech said, “Everybody’s got different facts. We do them here for people.”
The employee repeated that everyone has their own opinion about declawing and she has a declawed cat that is just fine.
Pleasant Grove Animal Hospital. Texarkana, TX
The employee said that Dr Stacey Swain Hendershott does their neuters/declaws with an electro-cautery to “de-articulate the claw” which they said is kind of like a laser. They only accept current clients for surgeries.
They gave a cost to use as a comparison to other clinics. They charge $197.50 for a front two feet declaw/neuter.
Researcher asked if they have a limit on the age for a declaw and the employee said, “I guess we don’t really have a limit on the maximum age” but said not less than 6 months or older. They said the maximum age is probably 6 years old.
Researcher asked if the cats are ok long term after a declaw and the employee said, “Yea, for sure.”
They recommended Wisdom Animal Clinic for a laser declaw. They also recommended a National Veterinary Associates (NVA) clinic, Westridge Animal Hospital for a laser declaw.
WestRidge Animal Hospital. Texarkana, TX
The researcher asked for the cost of a neuter and declaw. The employee said a neuter is $128 and then asked, “Did you want just two paws or four paws?” The employee said that a two paw declaw is $275 and a 4 paw declaw is $350.
The researcher asked how they perform the declaws and if the cats are ok long term after a declaw and an employee asked a vet tech how they perform the declaws and they said that it depends on the veterinarian. They said, “One of the doctors, he just clips them and another doctor goes in and fully cuts it out from the knuckle.” and said that declawing can be good for long term or like the cat will be ok long term and said there’s really more cons than pros to declawing.
They said that there are more reasons to not declaw a cat, it’s just cosmetic, and said if you don’t want your cat to have claws that’s just fine.
The researcher asked if there’s an age limit for a declaw what vet do they recommend for a declaw and the employee said Dr Morgan and said she uses a scalpel. They said that they have an age limit of about 8 months to a year old.
Researcher asked if Dr Morgan does declaws regularly and they said yes.
They use Elanco’s Zorbium which is a topical pain med that goes on the cat’s neck and lasts for around 4 days. Elanco is making a lot of money from declawing.
The employee was asked which pain meds they use for declaws and they said they would ask a vet tech and came back on the line and said, “We use a medicine called Rimadyl and Zorbium. So, Rimadyl is an injectable they get during surgery and then Zorbium they get afterwards, and it’s a topical.”
According to 4 expert veterinarians, Rimadyl is not indicated for use on cats and is actually dangerous for them.
The use of Rimadyl for a cat declaw qualifies as malpractice with what is known in veterinary medicine.
One of the veterinarians said this, “We know that carprofen (Rimadyl) is NOT an appropriate NSAID for cats, period, and there are two drugs labeled for use in cats for perioperative/surgical pain, which makes using something other than meloxicam or Onsior WAY outside the bounds of appropriate medicine.”
An estimated clinic price (not client price) for a single injection dose for an 8 pound cat for each of those pain meds is:
Carprofen (Rimadyl): $0.75
Onsior: $3.15
Meloxicam (generic): $0.42
Wisdom Animal Clinic. Texarkana, TX.
The employee said that a neuter is $100 and a declaw is “just under $500.”
The employee said all of their doctors perform declaws on a regular basis. The employee said that they use a laser for their declaws. Researcher asked if the cats are ok long term after a declaw and the employee said yes.
Mt. Pleasant Animal Clinic. Mt. Pleasant, TX
The employee said that a neuter is $98.
They said that you have to get an exam first with their declawing vet, Dr Brittney Durham Senn to get an estimate for the declaw. Researcher asked for the cost of a 4 paw declaw and the employee said you would have to get an estimate from her. Researcher asked they have an age limit for the declaws and the employee said, “Not that I’m aware of.”
Researcher asked if Dr Senn does declaws regularly and if the cats are ok long term after a declaw and the employee said, “If the procedure is necessary she does do the procedure and our own clinic cats are declawed and they are doing great.”
Bruechner Animal Hospital. Mt. Pleasant, TX
Researcher asked for the cost of a neuter/declaw for a 6 month old cat and a declaw for a 5 yr old cat.
The declaw for the 5 yr old cat is between $325- $350.
They said that Dr Bruechner does their declaws and he uses the clipper method and said he doesn’t do them regularly.
They said that they use Elanco’s Zorbium which is a topical medication that goes on the cat’s neck. They said that a neuter/declaw is $300.
Declawing is animal cruelty. Know the facts. https://citythekitty.org/declawing-facts-vs-myths-humane-options/
Please sign our petition to AAHA.org . https://www.change.org/p/aaha-stop-putting-profits-over-the-welfare-of-cats-and-ban-declawing-in-your-hospitals