Story published in December 2022.

Did National Veterinary Associates (NVA) Let The Only Declawing Veterinarian on their Medical Advisory Board Write Their Official Declawing Position that was sent to all their clinics in July 2022?  NVA is the biggest veterinary group company in America. Here’s our 2021 story about NVA and declawing. https://citythekitty.org/nvas-mission-is-to-improve-the-comfort-well-being-of-animals-why-are-many-nva-practices-declawing-cats/

Isn’t this a conflict of interest if a veterinarian is making money from declawing and is on NVA’s Medical Advisory Board and was part of making NVA’s declawing policy?

Four months after NVA sent their Feline Declaw Info and Resource Guide to their practices that said declawing should not be performed unless it benefits the cat, this NVA Medical Advisory Board veterinarian’s practice in Crest Hill, Illinois is still providing declawing services and she is one of two vets at the practice who performs declaws according to two employees who work there.

Yet NVA told us that they told their practices that they do not support declawing and it should not be performed.

NVA’s Medical Advisory Board consists of 8 veterinarians.

Since their Medical Advisory Board set this declawing policy, we wanted to see how the practices of these Medical Advisory Board veterinarians address declawing. In April of 2021 and December of 2022 our researchers made a short phone call to ask for the cost of a neuter/spay/declaw, if they do them regularly, and if declawing is ok long term for a cat.

We have withheld the names of employees for fear that they might suffer a backlash for their honest answers.

 

1)  Dr. Brandy Saubert, DVM, Managing Veterinarian at Crest Hill Animal Hospital in Crest Hill, Illinois.

December 2022. The employee said that they only do the two paw declaw and it costs $460.  They said that you can do a neuter/declaw together the day of the appointment and you can just drop the cat off in the morning for the procedures. When asked if the cats are ok long term from a declaw they said yes and asked if their doctors do declaws regularly the employee said yes.

Another employee only a couple of their vets do declaws and they are Dr Brandy Saubert and Dr Katie Aksami. When asked if they do the declaw procedures regularly the employee said yes. They said a spay $342 and front declaw is $461. They said that you can make an appointment drop the cat off first thing in the morning between 7-8 am. The employee said, “We use the laser for the declaw procedure so it’s a lot easier on the kitty.”  They said it’s quicker healing and they are moving around real quick.

 

2) Ilan Cohen, DVM, Managing Veterinarian at St. George Hunt Memorial Veterinary Hospital in Wayne, PA.  

December 2022. They do not declaw cats. They said that a declaw is not good for a cat and the doctors don’t like to do them.

 

3) Bruce Coston, DVM. NVA website profile says he, “joined a practice in Waynesboro, Virginia, where he practiced a few years before founding Seven Bends Veterinary Hospital.” (Woodstock, VA.)

December 2022. They said they don’t declaw cats and said it’s cruel. They said that the state of Virginia is trying to outlaw declawing.

(In April 2021, according to an employee, they provided declawing services.)

 

4) John Paulson, DVM, Managing Vet at Shoreline Central Animal Hospital in Shoreline, WA.

December 2022. Employee said that they don’t do declaws unless it is medically necessary for the cat.

In April 2021 an employee said they do not declaw cats because they believe it is a cruel procedure and said that there is new evidence that it is detrimental to a cat’s health. They recommended scratching posts and nail trims instead.

 

5) Jenni Mitchell, DVM, Managing Veterinarian at Thiensville-Mequon Small Animal Clinic in Thiensville, WI.

December 2022. They said that they do not declaw cats and that it is very invasive, not appreciated by the cats, it’s bad for them, it’s like if they are cutting off the tips of our fingers, and it’s very painful for cats.

(In April of 2021, this practice was still declawing cats according to an employee. )

 

6) Kimberly Greene, DVM, Managing Veterinarian at Animal Oasis Veterinary Hospital.

December 2022. They do not do declaws because their doctors don’t believe in it.

 

7) Dr. Kellie Lindquist, DVM, Managing Veterinarian at Alaska Veterinary Clinic, Anchorage, AK.

December 2022. They said they don’t declaw cats and according to the AVMA it is considered inhumane to declaw cats so as a participating clinic under that, they don’t perform declaws.

8) Dr. Sandra Faeh is the Managing Veterinarian at Elmhurst Animal Care Center in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, Illinois. Dr. Faeh has been serving as the AVMA’s President-Elect for 2023-24 and AVMA President for the 2024-2025 term. She is the Chief Veterinary Officer for the National Veterinary Association in Wayne, IL. Dr. Faeh also served as the ISVMA Board of Director’s President in 2016-2017.

December 2022. The employee said that they do not declaw cats because NVA and AVMA don’t recommend it anymore and they said standby not needing to do that to cats and there are other alternatives.

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National Veterinary Associates (NVA) is the largest private owner of freestanding veterinary hospitals in the United States.

NVA is owned by JAB Holdings, a company that is owned by the Reimann family in Germany.  NVA has over 1100 vet practices and pet resorts in America.

NVA says this on their facebook page. “Our mission is to improve the comfort and well-being of animals by providing progressive and compassionate care.”

Here’s our 2021 story about NVA and declawing.  NVA and Declawing 2021 story

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What do YOU think about this?  We tried to get some answers but didn’t get a reply from NVA or the owners of their company, the German family, the Reimanns.

Here are the facts and timeline.

 

 

 

We all know that there is no benefit for the cat, and that the only “benefit” is the profit these declawing veterinarians make by mutilating cats. NVA veterinarians get a percentage of profits from procedures that they perform.

 

Some of the things this guide said:  Considering declawing is legal in most vet practices in the US, the intention of their Medical Advisory Board is to provide NVA veterinary professionals with the resources and information necessary to reevaluate and evolve their current practices and the messaging about declawing.

If clients call to ask about a declawing they should be told that they need to meet with a veterinarian to check the health of their cat and have a relationship with the vet. This will give them the opportunity to educate the client about the procedure, the behavioral needs of the cat, and explore all the alternatives.

This Guide also said, “In cases where onychectomy must be performed, practices should ensure that only surgeons who are well trained and proficient are performing the procedure.”

 

 

Here’s their link to this info on their website. https://www.nva.com/newsroom/elective-declawing

 

 

 

Did this declawing veterinarian on NVA’s Medical Advisory Board have the most influence on NVA’s declawing position?

One would think that since the other 7 NVA Medical Advisory Board veterinarians do not declaw cats and they work at NVA clinics that do NOT declaw cats unless it’s for a MEDICAL reason for the cat, then that would be the position that NVA adopts for their company’s declawing policy.

Did NVA completely deceive us to think that they were going to ban declawing like VCA, Banfield, AAFP, Fear Free Pets, Mission Veterinary Partners, Petco, Petsmart, etc did??

LOOK WHAT ALL THESE HUMANE AND ETHICAL COMPANIES SAY ABOUT DECLAWING AND WHY THEY COMPLETELY BANNED IT.

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The Reimann family in Germany is the parent company to NVA. We reached out to them a couple weeks ago about this serious issue but never heard back.  We also haven’t heard back from NVA about this serious issue.


 

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Please send the Reimanns a polite note and ask them why many NVA clinics are still declawing cats and remind them that the German law only allows it for a medical reason for the cat.
Email- mail@alfredlandecker.org

Please also sign our petition to NVA.     NVA Petition (No need to donate to change. org to sign it.)

Also, if you work at an NVA declawing practice or the one that this Medical Board Advisory declawing veterinarian works at and want to send us more info about how your practice profits from this animal cruelty or regularly performs declaws, send us a note to citythekitty@gmail.com

We promise to keep your identity confidential.

ALSO, if you are a cat owner who had your cat declawed at an NVA clinic and weren’t told how bad it is for your beloved cat, please send us a note. We promise to keep your identity confidential.

We are receiving notes from people who worked at NVA declawing clinics. Here’s one of them.

“I used to work at an NVA hospital. Several of the vets there declawed. Most of them would say “we don’t like it but if that’s what the client wants….” and would do it, without ever educating the client first as to what declawing is and the damage it does.

The managing DVM declaws with impunity. Even his own cats. I have adopted two cats that were declawed at that hospital, and then given the boot by their owner once the behavior issues started. One is a large framed big cat and I suspect arthritic changes already, at the grand old age of three, the other routinely defecates outside the litter box. This was one of the many reasons I ended up leaving this NVA hospital and moving on to a non declawing practice.
I can say for certain that a bit of education goes a long way for most people and I know I was able to save a few claws in my time there. ”

Know the facts. Declawing is animal cruelty.  Declawing facts vs myths.