Story published in April 2021
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Update 2025.
Many NVA clinics are still declawing cats.
For example, below are the two NVA clinics that are May 2025 finalists in the AAHA Practice of the Year contest and both of them declaw cats. AAHA.org is all about excellence in their accredited animal hospitals but how can a vet clinic that performs this animal cruelty on cats be the best of the best in veterinary care?
We received an email on Dec. 19 2024 from their communications director that said this, “In the new year, Dr. Faeh has offered to send an email to all hospitals reinforcing the policy that is posted on our website and provide an updated version of the Feline Declaw Policy with language that is simpler and makes it compliant with the online policy.”
In December 2024, NVA reached out to us about this issue and we started working with them to craft their new 2025 declawing position.
On Feb. 26, 2025 their communications director said, “..we will move them through our final approvals and then post the position statement on the website and distribute the revised policy to all of our hospitals.”
On March 17, 2025 NVA sent us a draft of their new declawing position statement that was approved by their Medical Advisory Board and their Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Sandra Faeh who is also the President of the AVMA, and part of it said, “…the Medical Advisory Board (MAB) strongly opposes the declawing of cats and considers the procedure inhumane outside of the exceedingly rare medical exception that necessitates amputation to treat disease or injury.”
We had a phone conversation that day with this NVA director who said, “When they send this document back out as a policy document, it is something that every hospital will read and it will be significantly different from what they’ve seen before, I think you will see changed behavior off of it. ”
Their communications director explained why NVA doesn’t want to ban declawing and said, “..this is as far as the company can go based on, medical autonomy is a really important component of the way every NVA veterinarians work across everything else that they do. When you go in with your cat or dog to one of our hospitals you want the best care from a veterinarian, you want them to be making medical decisions based on that and so that’s the model that they operate in, you want them to be able to do that.”
NVA has an operating model the same or similar to all the other 12 veterinary companies that banned it have.
March 17, 2025. NVA’s declawing draft sent by NVA to CitytheKitty.org: “In alignment with our mission to improve the comfort and well-being of patients by providing progressive veterinary care guidance, the Medical Advisory Board (MAB) strongly opposes the declawing of cats and considers the procedure inhumane outside of the exceedingly rare medical exception that necessitates amputation to treat disease or injury.”
NVA told us that they do NOT expect any significant changes to this position. That was a lie.
Here are the 2 NVA clinics that are finalists for AAHA’s 2025 Practice of the Year.
Avon Lake Animal Clinic. Avon Lake, OH
https://avonlakeanimalclinic.com/general-surgery/
This is a National Veterinary Associates (NVA) clinic.
Researcher asked for the cost of a neuter/declaw and the employee said you have to speak to a doctor for the cost of a declaw.
The employee said Dr Haddad and Dr Lamb perform their declaws.
Researcher asked if the cats are ok long term after a declaw and the employee said, “Yes, absolutely.”
Carson Valley Veterinary Hospital, Gardnerville, NV
This is a National Veterinary Associates (NVA) clinic.
Researcher asked for the cost of a neuter/declaw and the employee said a 2 paw declaw/neuter is around $860.88- $1356.88 and a 4 paw declaw/neuter is $914- $1400.10.
The employee said that they have 14 doctors and only 5 of them will perform declaws.
Dr Saponas, Dr Mannan, Dr Warner, Dr Nelson, and Dr Ross do their declaws and said some will only declaw 2 paws and some will declaw all four paws.
The researcher asked if the cats are ok long term afterwards and the employee said, “A lot of doctors are going away from doing declaws. It’s just something that people are moving away from.”
The researcher said as far as they know the cats are alright but that it could inhibit their life if they get out and that’s why a lot of people are against declawing because they want the cat to be able to protect themselves.
Researcher asked if their vets perform declaws then the cats must be ok then and the employee said yes.
Story published in December 2024
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. NVA has over 1100 vet practices and pet resorts in America.
NVA says this on their website. “Integrity-We earn trust by doing the right thing.”
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.”
Many NVA Practices declaw cats. Some of them do not declaw cats. Why are their standards of care so different in NVA practices when it comes to declawing? Here’s our 2022 story about NVA and their Medical Advisory Board declawing vet. https://citythekitty.org/did-the-declawing-veterinarian-on-nvas-medical-advisory-board-make-nvas-declawing-policy/
Are the leaders with NVA ethical? Can you trust NVA clinics?
In July of 2022, NVA sent a Feline Declaw Information & Resource Guide to all their vet clinics and told them, “The procedure should not be performed unless, within the context of a valid veterinary-client-patient relationship, the veterinarian has determined it to be required for the benefit of the patient.”
On November 28, 2022, NVA sent us an email that said, “We are proud to share NVA has adopted a stance very similar to the German law you originally cited when you reached out to NVA earlier this year. We do not support elective declawing and it should not be performed. We communicated this to our hospitals and will continue to reiterate it across the organization.”
We asked them if we can announce to our followers that NVA has officially banned declawing in all their clinics and if they will give us an official statement on why they banned it. They wouldn’t answer that specific replied back and said, “As I emailed yesterday, we do not support elective declawing and it should not be performed. We have communicated this to all our hospitals. We do not post our policies publicly.”
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. NVA has over 1100 vet practices and pet resorts in America.
NVA says this on their website. “Integrity-We earn trust by doing the right thing.”
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.”
Many NVA Practices declaw cats. Some of them do not declaw cats. Why are their standards of care so different in NVA practices when it comes to declawing? Here’s our 2022 story about NVA and their Medical Advisory Board declawing vet. https://citythekitty.org/did-the-declawing-veterinarian-on-nvas-medical-advisory-board-make-nvas-declawing-policy/
NVA has also teamed up with Dr Marty Becker’s Fear Free Pets and Fear Free banned declawing in their clinics in 2021.
NVA says on their website, “We’re committed to progressive and compassionate care, narrowing the health gap with wellness plans, veterinary dentistry and fear-free healthcare experiences for patients and their families.”
Here’s the link to this page- NVA How We Lead
Below is the timeline of what NVA communicated to us starting in March of 2022 about how NVA is going to supposedly end declawing in their clinics.
As of September 2024 many NVA clinics are regularly declawing cats.
We wanted to see how NVA vet clinics address declawing in 2024, so our researchers made a short phone call to some of them and asked how much they charge for a 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.
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Governor’s Avenue Animal Hospital. Dover, DE.
November 2024.
The employee said a neuter/declaw is $578. They said you need a wellness check exam before the surgeries. The employee said that Dr Sosnowski, Dr Foor, and Dr Genussa can do the neuter/declaw. Researcher asked if the cats are ok after a declaw long term and the employee said, yes.
Dr Jan Sosnowski- owner of this NVA practice. Governor’s Avenue Animal Hospital, Dover, DE. Governor’s Ave. Animal Hospital’s Facebook page
She is a Fear Free Certified veterinarian. According to two employees at this animal hospital, Dr Jan Sosnowski declaws cats.
(Note: Fear Free does not allow their Fear Free Certified Veterinarians to declaw cats.July 29, 2022 we reached out to Fear Free to ask them about this issue of one of their Fear Free Vets declawing cats and they never responded to our email.)
She is also a Past President of the DVMA.
Here’s Dr Jan Sosnowski’s July 2022 written letter of opposition to the 2022 Delaware anti-declawing bill.
“Good afternoon I am Dr. Jan Sosnowski, a veterinarian who has been practicing medicine here in Dover for over 40 years and I’m grateful to be speaking to you today about HB 333, the bill banning the declawing of cats. The tragic thing about this bill is that it made it this far without a single veterinarian ever been consulted.
We are the ones in the trenches helping pet owners make life-saving, life altering decisions every single day.
Animal welfare is our life and our passion. If we had not found out about it on our own, would it have passed right on through and been dropped in our laps, here now it is yours to deal with?
I have to give Senator Wilson credit as whenever he has a question on animal related bill he gets on the phone to me and I am sure many of you also have and rely on your own contacts.
SO declawing:
As the pet industry has exploded into a multibillion dollar business, the need for a declaw surgery has dwindled. It has evolved from being routinely offered at spay or neuter to a rare event involving significant discussion with the owner.
While scratching posts have always been around, the number and design are now quite varied to suit the individual‘s preferences. There are pheromones such as Feliway, nail caps and numerous environmental enrichment opportunities to distract our cats.
Failing that, there are mood altering drugs such as Xanax and Prozac to try and change their behavior.
These are expensive, often difficult to administer and can have undesirable side effects. They must be given for the life of the cat as they only modify behavior. They do not cure it.
Unfortunately in spite of all this, there are a few cats which are determined to use furniture, walls and their owners to sharpen their claws. A few cats!
Using my clinic as an example, in our database we have seen 16,000 individual cats in the last five years. We see about 4500 cats a year. Last year during the height of Covid our business was up about 30% and we declawed 10 cats all year. This means Declaw surgery affects 0.8% of the cats in my practice.
Rheumatoid arthritis, seniors with fragile skin that tears at the mildest touch to name a few all may affect a persons decision on keeping or adopting a cat with claws.
The other question is who will decide if the declaw is medically necessary and how long will that decision take? Do I risk a fine and my license to practice or wait 6 to 12 months for someone else to make this decision? In the meantime what happens to the poor cat and its family?
Delaware needs to choose animal welfare over animal rights. I ask you to look at the facts, speak to your local professionals, and vote no on this bill.
This bill will affect less than 1% of Delaware‘s cat population but it could have catastrophic effects on those few.
Please vote to keep otherwise healthy, loving cats in their happy homes. Help us to maintain our ability to provide the best care for our companion animals, their owners and the public. “
Feb. 2023. They said that you have to see a doctor and examine the cat to see if the cat’s ok before the declaw. They said that not every vet does a declaw and they have to examine the cat and from there they could something booked. They said that if the cat’s healthy enough then they could do the declaw.
2021. A spay/declaw is $621. They said if you do the spay with the declaw you will save money. Employee was asked if declawing is ok for a cat long term and they said, yes, there’s no issue.
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Houston Cat Hospital, Houston, TX. AAHA Accredited Animal Hospital
October 2024.
They use a laser for the declaw. The researcher asked for a cost of a spay/declaw and the employee said that a spay is around $545. They said a declaw it’s around $1896 and said, “but we do have a package that you can do both procedures at the same time” and that’s around $2174.
They said that a declaw is a very in depth and delicate procedure and that’s why it costs more. They said that you need to make a consultation appointment to go over the details and consequences of a declaw and if you still agree with that and your cat is healthy enough for the surgery, they can schedule the procedure. They said that Dr Katrina Luu, their medical director, is their declawing vet. Researcher asked if the cats are ok after a declaw and they said yes.
Feb. 2023. Researcher asked for the cost of a a neuter/declaw/microchip and employee said, “just the front paw?” The employee said they don’t do all four paw declaws and the cost for a neuter/declaw is around $1175. The employee said that Dr Katrina Luu their medical director or Dr Lisa Box do the declaws. The employee recommended their medical director, Dr Katrina Luu for the declaw.
Researcher asked if they do declaws regularly and the employee said, “We don’t do them regularly but when we do we do it after the exam and she has the knowledge to do it.”
You make an appointment and they check to see if the cat is healthy enough for the procedures.
Researcher asked if the cats are ok long term from the declaw and the employee said that sometimes there can be problems with their bones and when they get old and a doctor can go over that with you. They said the cat will stay with them for 72 hours.
2021. Employee said that they have a package for a neuter/declaw. They said that a 4 paw declaw/neuter is $1391. They said that all their vets do declaws regularly.
Animal Medical Center of Gahanna. Ohio.
September 2024.
The employee said a declaw is around $300-$400. Researcher asked if a declaw is ok long term for a cat and the employee said it’s really hard to say. Researcher asked if they do declaws regularly and the employee said yes, if clients choose to do it. They said that any of their doctors can do the declaw and they use a laser which they said was better.
March 2023. Employee said that a neuter/declaw is around $1100. They require a pre-surgical exam first where the vet will discuss the procedure and risks of having it done and if you decide you want it done then they can schedule the procedures after that. They said that they have multiple vets who can do the declaw. Researcher asked if they do declaws regularly and if the cats are ok after the declaw long term and the employee said yes to both.
November 2022.
Employee said that a spay/declaw is $854 but you can buy the Wellness Plan for a 1 year contract and also get 10% off the declaw.
2021. They said that a laser declaw is from $730-$770.
They said that all their vets perform declaws and they perform them regularly. When asked if a declaw is ok for a cat long term the employee said yes, and that they typically don’t recommend it but will do them.
The Ridge Animal Hospital in Farmsville, VA
(Declawing was banned in Virginia on July 1, 2024 unless a cat owner has a note from their doctor saying that declawing is medically necessary for the owner.)
March 2023. The employee said a front declaw is from $450-$500 and the doctor has to talk to you first about the declaw and the decision is between the cat owner and doctor if the declaw will be performed. They said that they like to try other options and a declaw is a last resort.
Link to declawing info. NVA’s Ridge Animal Hospital’s declawing info
2021. They said that a 2 paw declaw is $400. The employee said that they generally just do the front paw declaws. They said that they have a note at the front desk that says front and back declaw is $500-$550 but they need a medical reason to also declaw the back paws.
They said that all their vets do declaws and they do them regularly. When asked if a declaw is ok for a cat long term, they said, “yes, yes.”
GlenPark Animal Hospital in Muskegon, MI
Here are a few of their facebook posts. 
September 2024.
Researcher asked for the cost of a neuter/declaw and the employee asked, “Are you wanting all four or just the front?”
Employee said that a 2 paw declaw/neuter is around $385 and a four paw declaw/neuter is around $485.
The researcher asked if the cats are ok long term after a declaw and they said yes, “they heal up pretty good.” They said they have a doctor that’s been doing declaws for 30 years and she has done quite a few within the last 30 years.
Feb. 2023. Researcher asked for the cost of a declaw and the employee asked if you want a 2 paw or a 4 paw declaw. A spay/4 paw declaw is $415. Researcher asked if the cats are ok long term after the declaw and the employee said yes.
October 2022. Employee said that the cost of a neuter declaw is $305 and just said that the cat needs an exam to be up to date on vaccines.
Jan. 2022. Employee asked, “Are you doing a full declaw or just the front?” They said a neuter/2 paw declaw is $285. 20 and a neuter/4 paw declaw is $344. When asked if a cat will be ok long term from a declaw they said, “yes.”
They said that Dr Houser and Dr Graham do their declaws regularly.
South Suburban Animal Hospital, Perrysburg, OH.
September 2024.
The employee said that they can’t give a cost for a neuter/declaw and you have to make an exam appointment. They said that some of their doctors don’t like to do declaws and other do them if the owner is older and they have fragile skin or things like that.
They said that Dr Amanda Henderson and Dr Sarah Anderson do their declaws. They both require a consultation first before the procedures. They said it’s totally up to the doctor if they feel comfortable with doing the declaw after the exam.
Feb. 2023. The employee said that they have to get the declaw approved first. They only have two doctors who do the declaw and they only do the front declaws. They said a neuter/declaw is almost $1000. They said they normally don’t do the declaw but it’s up to a doctor and they will call you to tell you if they allow it.
The researcher asked, “When do they normally allow it?” The employee said, “They allow it all the time but there’s only a couple doctors who do it and we only do the front claws.” They said they have to schedule an appointment to see if the cat is healthy and then they can schedule the surgery. Then the employee stated some conflicting information and said, “We normally don’t ok declaws. It has to be passed to a doctor.”
The researcher said to the employee that they just said that they allow declaw all the time. The employee said, “It has to be okayed by a doctor.”
The researcher said, “But they allow them all the time” and the employee did not give a response to that comment.
2021. Employee said they have one doctor who does the declaws and they are a routine and typical surgery. When asked if declawing is bad for a cat long term the employee said that they have seen some cats who are uncomfortable and some can get arthritis.
Ehrlich Animal Hospital and Arthritis Therapy Center, Tampa, FL.
September 2024.
The employee said that a neuter/2 paw declaw is $795.50 and a 4 paw declaw is $989. They said that their owner, Dr Farid Saleh, is the vet who does their declaws. https://www.ehrlichanimalhospital.com/staff/dr-farid-saleh
Researcher asked if they do declaws often and the employee said, “Oh yes.”
Their voice recording says “We strive to keep all pets happy and healthy” and it says they’ve launched their new app, “Happy Healthy Pets App.”
Researcher asked if the cats are ok after a declaw and the employee said normally they are fine but every animal is different.
They said that Dr Saleh does the declaw with a laser and you need to have a consult exam first. Researcher asked if he does declaws regularly and they employee said, “he does.”
Researcher asked if they see declawed cats in their Arthritis Therapy Center and the employee said they can’t say for sure and am not aware of it and most they have heard of are fine but that’s a question for Dr Saleh.
March 2023. A spay/2 paw declaw is around $800 and a spay/4 paw declaw is around $960. They said all their vets do the declaws and they use a laser. Researcher asked if they do declaws regularly and if the cats are ok long term from the declaw and the employee said yes to both.
2021. Employee asked, “4 paw or 2 paw?”
A 4 paw declaw is $800. When asked if declawing is ok long term for a cat, the employee said yes.
Friendship Veterinary Center, Laural, MT.
November 2024.
The employee said that a neuter/declaw is around $688. They said that Dr Ken does their declaws and surgeries.
Researcher asked if the cats are ok after a declaw and the employee said, “Yea it takes about a week to two weeks for full recovery.” Researcher asked if he does declaws regularly and the employee said, “Yes, he’s done a pretty good amount of them.” Researcher asked if you can drop off the cat for the procedure and they said you can just make an appointment for the procedures and the pre-surgical exam can be done on the same day.
March 2023. Employee said that a declaw is $233 and a neuter is $240 and their vet doesn’t do the 4 paw declaw. They said that Dr Ken Podkonjak does their declaws.
Researcher asked if he does declaws regularly and the employee said, “Yea, fairly regularly.”
Researcher asked if the cats are ok long term and the employee said yes.
2021. Employee said that a neuter/declaw is $420 and Dr Ken does their declaws. When asked if a declaw is ok for a cat long term, they said yes.
Skyview Veterinary Hospital said that their doctor does not consider declawing to be ethical and they do not offer declaws, but that you can go to their other clinic, Moore Lane Veterinary Hospital and get it done if the cat is younger than 1 year old. April 2021. Skyview Veterinary Hospital- Employee said that Dr Okeefe does declaws and they do them regularly. They said that there are only a couple of clinics in town that do declaws. A neuter/declaw is $413.36 and they use a laser. They said that they use pain meds and the cats do really really well.
Moore Lane Veterinary Hospital. The employee said that they only have one vet , Dr McLane, who will do a declaw but you need to get a consultation appointment with him first so he can meet the cat and go over everything before he does a declaw.
Shiloh Veterinary Hospital- They do not offer declaws and say it is taking off the first knuckle in a cat’s paw. They refer you to the Animal Clinic of Billings for a declaw. (More about Animal Clinic of Billings below.)
Manvel Animal Clinic, Manvel, TX.
October 2024.
A declaw is around $684 and a spay/declaw is around $1300. Researcher asked if the cats are ok after a declaw and the employee said yes and said, “We only declaw front feet only.”
The employee said Dr Varns is their vet who does the declaws the most, but any three of their vets can do them. They said they use a scalpel.
Researcher asked if they do declaws regularly and the employee said, “She has done them and she has been the doctor for over 40 years and she has done them numerous times.” Researcher asked if the cats are ok after the declaw and the employee said yes.
2023. February. The employee said they only do the front paw declaws. They said the declaw is expensive, around $600. They said that all their vets do declaws. Researcher asked if the cats are ok after the declaw and the employee said that the doctors prefer people to try Soft Paws and other things first and declawing is the last option. They said that they don’t do declaws very often but their doctors are experienced in them because they have done them plenty of times before.
2021. The employee said that a neuter/2 paw declaw is around $600. They don’t do 4 paw declaws.
The employee was asked if declawing is ok for a cat long term and they said yes, . They said the cat won’t feel great for the first few days but won’t be limping for the rest of their lives.
Southwest Animal Clinic, Bellaire, TX.
Employee said that Dr Silberman usually does the declaws but not that often.
Here’s the timeline of how NVA said they were going to end declawing and how they said they told their vet clinics that they cannot perform declawing.
On March 16, 2023 we received this note from Laura Koester of NVA. This was another attempt to deceive the public into thinking that NVA banned declawing in all their clinics which is NOT true.
“ I am pleased to share that this Friday, we will be posting to our website that in alignment with NVA’s mission to improve the comfort and well-being of pets by providing progressive and compassionate care, NVA does not support the elective declawing of cats. Instead, NVA encourages pet parent education and non-surgical alternatives as outlined by the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP).
Once the post is up, we will send you a link.”
Here’s the link. https://www.nva.com/newsroom/elective-declawing
We asked NVA about this and told them that many of their clinics are still declawing cats and how they actually told their vets they can declaw cats if they feel it will benefit the cat. Just because NVA said that they do not support elective declawing doesn’t mean that all their declawing vets have to stop performing this animal cruelty.
Laura Koester wrote us back and said, “Traditionally NVA does not post our policies online. However, I am pleased in the case of
declawing, we are making a rare exception, which shows our commitment to not supporting elective declawing. By posting online, we share our
beliefs with our industry partners, candidates for open roles, including DVM roles, and our community. We have also directly emailed all our
hospitals to reiterate this stance.
Also, if anyone has a question about a specific hospital, we work with that hospital. And we find pointing to one person and generalizing to an entire organization is not productive.”
WHAT? Pointing to one person and generalizing to an entire organization is not productive??
Many NVA clinics are STILL declawing cats so clearly NVA failed miserably to get the message out that it is not allowed in their vet clinics.
NVA still allows declawing in March 2023.
The problem with this is they did that because we contacted the organizations that work with the Reimann family’s foundation like HateAid.org and they asked why the Reimanns are still allowing this animal cruelty in their vet clinics. This organization, HateAid.org, was made to believe that NVA no longer allows declawing in their clinics but this isn’t true.
In MARCH 2023 we looked in to how many NVA clinics address declawing and found many that are STILL offering declawing.
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UPDATE November 28, 2022.
NVA finally got back with us and said, “We are proud to share NVA has adopted a stance very similar to the German law you originally cited when you reached out to NVA earlier this year. We do not support elective declawing and it should not be performed. We communicated this to our hospitals and will continue to reiterate it across the organization.”
We asked them if we can announce to our followers that NVA has officially banned declawing in their clinics and if they will give us an official statement on why they banned it.
They replied back and said, “As I emailed yesterday, we do not support elective declawing and it should not be performed. We have communicated this to all our hospitals. We do not post our policies publicly.”
Unfortunately many of their practices are still offering declawing as of Nov. 26, 2022. Some say that you have to meet with a doctor to discuss other options and to see if the declaw is necessary and it’s between you and the doctor if a declaw should be performed. Others say they need to take a look at the cat to see what’s going on and others say that you need to discuss things with the doctor and they will do it if it’s best for the pet and if it needs the declaw.
Also, why wouldn’t NVA be proud about this decision and announce it like all the other big veterinary organizations did when they banned it.
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“As we shared, we are in the process of communicating to all of our facilities that we no longer support elective declawing; as you pointed out, understanding there will be a need for medically necessary declawing. We are providing our hospitals with materials to share with clients outlining why declawing is harmful to cats and alternatives to declawing. We are committed to our process and will give you another update in 60 days.”
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We informed them of an NVA declawing clinic. They sent us this email.
“Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
We have communicated to all our hospitals that NVA does not support declawing and are in the process of following up with our hospitals. We will follow-up directly with Governor’s Avenue Animal Hospital.
Amy
Amy Reilly
Senior Director, Communications”
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JULY 2022.
NVA sent out a “Feline Declaw information & Resource Guide” to their practices that says, “In alignment with our mission to improve the comfort and well-being of patients by providing progressive veterinary care guidance, the Medical Advisory Board does not support declawing of cats. The procedure should not be performed unless within the context of a valid veterinary client-patient relationship, the veterinarian has determined it to be required for the benefit of the patient.”
THEY DID NOT SAY THAT IT SHOULD ONLY BE PERFORMED FOR A MEDICAL REASON FOR THE CAT!
————————————June 15, 2022
We received this email, ”
Appreciate you checking in. We’ve been working through our process and are still on pace to no longer offer elective cat declawing.
All our best,
Amy
Amy Reilly
Senior Director, Communications
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UPDATE APRIL 6, 2022!
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Please send the owners of NVA a polite note and ask them why they haven’t banned declawing when their mission is to improve the comfort & well-being of animals.
Email- mail@alfredlandecker.org
Call NVA- 805777 7722 and ask them why they are still allowing declawing in their clinics.
https://www.nva.com/contact-us
JAB Holdings is owned by the Reimann family.
The Reimann family’s Reimann Family Foundation foundation was created after this German family found that some of their ancestors profited from the horrors of the Nazi regime.
The Reimann family is donating millions to charities after learning about their ancestors’ enthusiastic support of Adolf Hitler and use of forced laborers during the World War II.
The Reimann family is also donating $30 million dollars a year to their Alfred Landecker foundation to help protect minorities and combat antisemitism.
It says this on their foundation’s home page. “We believe that all people have the right to live without fear, persecution, and suffering.”
Cats are facing tremendous fear, inhumane treatment & suffering in many National Veterinary Associates (NVA) clinics from being declawed.
Please take 60 seconds and sign our petition to NVA, the Reimann family, and JAB Holdings. NVA Petition
We reached out to JAB Holding Company, the company that owns NVA, in March 2021 and haven’t heard back from them.
We reached out to the PR firm that represents them, Abernathy MacGregor, on April 2, 2021. No reply yet.
We reached out to NVA in Feb. 2020 and they told our Exec. Director they escalated this issue and sent it to their CMO. We never heard back from them.
We reached out to the Reimann family, their foundation, and JAB Holding Company in March 2022 and are waiting to hear back.
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On March 31, 2022, the NVA communications ladies wanted to talk to our President. When our President asked if NVA is considering banning declawing, one of them said, “What’s happening is we are taking it seriously and are engaging with our veterinary community to review elective declawing and so we are hoping you can give us a little patience while we work through our organization.”
They said that some doctors have said that there are situations where declawing is medically necessary or that the cat’s life would be saved.
They said, “We didn’t want you to think we called to say please stop your efforts, we understand what you are doing, this is a passion and you’ve dedicated your life to it.”
They said they are trying to help their veterinarians pull the education together to look at this issue and really explore it.
First thing first.
NVA has known about this declawing issue for years. Their veterinary leaders know about all the literature.
NVA has made a choice to let their veterinarians do what they want as far as declawing or not declawing.
NVA does not want to tell their vets that they cannot declaw cats.
NVA veterinarians get a basic salary and then if they bring in more than a certain percentage in revenue, they are paid a percentage, around 20%, for the revenue they make over that amount.
NVA veterinarians are paid on production which means the more declaws they do, the more money they can make.
Declawing is a good money making procedure in many NVA clinics.
In other words, NVA’s declawing veterinarians have no incentive to not declaw cats.
They are profiting from it.
They have a financial incentive to do a declaw instead of talking the cat owner out of it by educating them about how bad it is for a cat and about the easy, humane alternatives.