June 2016
The NY declawing bill was recently stopped by the NYSVMS and their leader.
If this bill would have passed it would have ended the inhumane procedure of declawing in NY.
We had the support of millions of people in the world including over 130 NY veterinarians who don’t amputate kitty toes and claws. These are veterinarians who know that declawing is wrong and offer humane solutions to scratching issues.
They know that mutilating cats has no place in veterinary medicine in NY or anywhere in America.
I am sad to report that there are also very misguided, unethical veterinarians who fought very hard and influenced the NY legislators into believing that they MUST be able to keep declawing as one of their “medical procedures.”
The NYSVMS used the same tired false excuses that a) it keeps a cat in a home, b) keeps it from being euthanized, or c) it saves human lives. If any of this were true, we wouldn’t be fighting so hard, right?
No, we know those are all false scare tactics that have no basis in reality.
These two “leaders” of the big veterinary associations in NY convince enough of their veterinarian members into believing that they can’t let government take away a “medical procedure!”
Who are these vets that are so clueless as to think declawing is anything but an elective, non-therapeutic surgery that has absolutely no benefit to the cat? Can you guess?
Yep, Dr Susan Wylegala, President of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society and Dr Nicole Paccione-Gerbe, President of the Long Island Veterinary Medical Association.
Dr Susan Wylegala, “This is your opportunity to preserve your right, as a licensed professional veterinarian, to ensure you can make medical treatment decisions that are in the best interest of your patients” and that the bill to ban declawing is, “detrimental to animals and their owners.”
Huh? I don’t get it. Cutting off toes isn’t detrimental? I guess you learned that at Gitmo School of Vet Med.
And then you have the President of the Long Island Veterinary Medical Association who goes so far as to insult her veterinary members by saying that EVEN if they are opposed to declawing, they should compromise their integrity, and call these legislators and tell them to oppose a bill that would protect ALL cats in NY from this mutilating procedure!
Dr Nicole Paccione-Gerbe said to her vet members, “Regardless of your personal feelings about declawing, it is a medical procedure, and decisions regarding its use should be in the hands of our profession, not in those of government or social media.”
Fail!
You have had over 65 yrs to prove yourselves! “Government” must finally step in and protect kitties from the pro-declaw vets! Thankfully millions on “social media” are trying to protect all the voiceless kitties so they aren’t mutilated by your hands. Hands that were raised and gave an oath that you would RELIEVE suffering in animals, not create it!
You haven’t listened to a single guideline made by veterinary authorities and you declaw as a first resort!
You are causing the legislature to have to dictate your actions!
What kind of person are you?
Are your actions dictated by your conscience or your pocket book?
There are two types of veterinarians: those who are like pediatricians and therefore consider their patients as living, feeling individuals and those who are like TV repair technicians who see their patients as property that they can modify and abuse with complete disregard for the pain and suffering they are causing.
No one goes into vet medicine to be the latter. What happens to these veterinarians?
How can they be willing to sell their souls for the price of a declaw? Is it because many of them are making $50,000/year declawing?
Still, only a sociopath or a sadist would think that was worth it.
Which one are you, Dr. Wylegala and Dr Paccione?
Both these veterinarians declaw kitties.
Dr Paccione uses the scalpel to amputate kitty toes at her practice at Bayport Village Animal Health Center in NY and charges $380 for them. When first time cat owners ask for prices for declaws and ask if there are any negative consequences to declawing the nice people at her practice reassure kitty cat owners that Dr Paccione has been out of vet school for 10 yrs and not to worry that she hasn’t had any issues with her declaws. They tell you your kitty gets to stay two night at the hospital and they put bandages on their feet to protect them.
Dr Paccione charges for the amputation surgery come out to be $38 a toe. (no laser) Prices per toe are calculated for a cat with 10 toes on the front paws and 8 toes on the back paws.
Here is more about how Dr Wylegala addresses declawing at her practice. She declaws kittens as young as 3-4 months old, ones with no scratching issues, even will declaw kittens on all four paws, likes to combine declaws with spay/neuters, and says declawing with a laser is much more humane yet still offers her clients the “traditional” yet inhumane way. For $784.94 you can get her laser front declaw and traditional spay which includes the works. [button href=”https://citythekitty.org/does-the-nysvms-president-walk-the-talk/” color=”red” newwindow=”yes”] President of the NYSVMS and declawing[/button]
Dr Wylegala charges for the amputation surgery at her Cheektowaga Veterinary Hospital, come out to be $44.16 each toe for a 4 paw declaw and a bit more pricey at $66 each toe if you go with the two paw declaw. Prices per toe are calculated for a cat with 10 toes on the front paws and 8 toes on the back paws.
Some of her clients have no complaints with the procedure but just the price. 
I want to remind you that these veterinary associations are trying to spin this issue and are saying that they must defend their right to be able to make the best “medical” decisions for their “patients” (cats) and “owners.” They say that one of their “medical procedures” should not be decided or banned by the government. Here are the facts.
Declawing is an elective, non-therapeutic, cruel, very unnecessary, and inhumane procedure that NEVER benefits a cat.
HERE ARE THE NOTES THAT THESE LEADERS SENT TO THEIR MEMBERS LAST WEEK.
This is from the President of the Long Island Veterinary Medical Association asking her members to oppose the important Cat Protection Bill. FYI, declawing is NOT a “medical procedure.” It is an elective, non-therapeutic surgery that has no benefits to the patient and is mutilating and causes some sort of negative consequence for ALL cats!
FYI, this is the “Mission Statement” of the LIVMA from LIVMA.org –
The mission of the Long Island Veterinary Medical Association is to promote the following:
- The advancement of veterinary medicine.
- The cooperative protection of its members.
- Protection of the public health.
- Elevation of standards of integrity, honor and courtesy, and to maintain high ethical standards
