Here is a post from facebook that shows you how cat owners are being deceived by so many vets about declawing.
One of the cat owners in this post was going to not go through with the amputation surgery but as you can see, they talked her into declawing her cat.
This vet practice is in Illinois.
We must try to educate cat owners about how declawing is inhumane and wrong, so that all cats are protected from the horrible hands of vets who do this torture and mutilation to cats.
This vet makes $8.65 for each toe bone she amputates. (front declaw) $6.40 for each toe bone she amputates on the 4 paw declaws. (They will only do your cat on all four paws if you have leather furniture or are on blood thinners)
It is OPTIONAL to get any pain meds for your cat and their declaw surgery and it is up to you if you want to buy them they say. They can do an injection of pain meds on the day of the surgery which they say lasts till the next day and that costs $12.50 . If you want to get pain meds to take home, those cost $7.50.
Any kind of amputation surgery is VERY painful. Why would ANY doctor offer pain medication as an option and not have it be mandatory?
Here is an example of the clipper method from Dr Keith Webb from Pet Doctor Rockwall Veterinary Hospital in Texas, DogandCat.com (This is not from veterinary practice that declawed the cat in this story) Guillotine clipper declaw
We’ve been told by other vets that most pet owners do not buy the “optional” meds for procedures.
Just to confirm things on this post, we looked into how they address declawing at this Illinois vet practice.
Our researcher asked for the cost of a declaw.
The person at the front desk asked if you want two paws declawed. Researcher asked why do they suggest and the nice person asks, “Will they be able to go outside” and said, “I would just do the two front ones but it’s entirely up to you.”
The two paw declaw is $86.50 and the four paw declaw is $127.50.
Researcher asked if there are any negative consequences and how the doctor does the declaws the front desk person says, “She cuts them at the knuckle. We have not had complications.”
She says this about the method the doc does the declaws (guillotine clipper) “She has done quite a few of them. She went to vet school and said they are quicker and easier on the animals.The laser might be better but she didn’t say anything about the laser, But heard that the scalpel is not as clean as what her clippers are.”
For more information about declawing, they let you talk to the nice vet tech about your concerns about reading things on the internet that say declawing is inhumane and bad for a cat.
The vet tech reassures you and says, “The way the doctor does it here is with clippers. She takes the very first knuckle off that way the claw does not grow back. I have my cats all declawed and I’ve never had any complications. You have those other anti-declaw groups that say it does this and this and this to cats but I’ve never had any of those issues with my cat. I’ve had 3 declawed and one was 18 yrs old when she passed away. So it’s just kind of your perspective on it.”
She said there are several different theories on why some may consider declawing to be inhumane and bad for a cat and explained, “it’s just like one person says a glass of red wine at night is good for you and another person says a glass of red wine at night isn’t good for you. Everything has different outlooks on it.”
She said their paws will be “tender” while they heal since you are taking the first knuckle off.
She said it’s a very common procedure there, probably a couple a week. She said they are usually back to normal within 14 days.
She also said, “They can get this phantom pain where they lift a random leg and hold one paw up and the next time you look at them they hold another paw up. My cat did that for about 7 months but it wasn’t painful because I would grab it and I’d squeeze and look and it was never painful, he just wanted to hold his paws up.”
Researcher asked if a cat needs their toe bones and claws for any aspects of their health and well being, the vet tech said, “Not unless the cat gets outside and needs to defend itself. Then it will probably need its claws.”
The vet tech said, “It’s just like a human when they go under anesthetic, you don’t feel good over the next couple of days until you get your sleep and you sleep off the pain.”
This vet tech was asked about a 4 paw declaw and she asked, “Is there a reason you are doing four paws because the normal is to declaw the front two. The only reason we declaw the back is if they have leather (furniture) and they are totally destroying them or if someone is on a blood thinner. But typically if they are just scratching at something , declawing the front two work out just fine.”
A survey of over 1000 veterinarians by Wagner and Hellyer (JAVMA Dec. 1, 2002) found that 30% administered no pain medication after declaw surgery.