It is time to make a change

My decision to stop doing this surgery now is that other veterinarians will hopefully follow the new position statement from CVMA and stop declawing cats. As fewer and fewer veterinarians perform this procedure there is less of a concern that clients will go somewhere else and less concern that the surgery is not being done properly with the appropriate pain control.

The demand for this procedure comes from the public, and veterinarians should not be the only ones at fault . Cat owners need to stop asking us to do this procedure and we need say no and provide alternatives.

I Think I Would Know If My Cats Toes Were Gone

This veterinary practice in Oklahoma uses a guillotine clipper for their declaws and says that they, “cut off the nail and nail bed then use surgical glue to close the incision.”
They charge $69 for a 2 paw declaw and $97 for a 4 paw declaw.
When a cat owner asks them if there are any negative consequences to declawing or if there will be complications they say, “typically not, we do them frequently with no problems.”

West Virginia, Please Ban Declawing And Save Cats From This Cruelty

Quote from West Virginia pro-declaw veterinarians, “You are right when you state there are those who would like to make declawing illegal. Many of those opinions have been formed by misinformation and what I call “internet-hype.” When performed properly, the declaw procedure results in no harmful side effects. In our experience, the cats have no higher incidence of any behavioral problems, which is in direct contrast to some of the fabrications that are now circulating. “

Buddy The Declawed Cat

The cat’s paws were scarred deeply in the back, with declawed stumps in the front. Affectionately known as “Buddy”, the cat pees outside the litter box, and is a powerful biter. It’s obvious why his owners threw him out of the house. How he survived outdoors was truly a miracle.

New Jersey Veterinarian Says Declawing Is Malpractice

The veterinary professional organizations have not recognized onychectomy for what it really is: malpractice.

For a veterinarian to harm an animal and with no physical benefit to that animal is
tantamount to malpractice. Despite cautions to their members for decades, professional
veterinary associations have not effectively reined in their veterinarians from performing routine
onychectomy.

One Giant Step For Catkind That All Veterinary Practices Should Take

We used to believe that declawing cats saved their lives. We feared that cats with claws would be turned in to the shelters in record numbers, and that we were doing a good thing by making cats more likely to stay in their homes.

As it turns out, the numbers do not bear this out. When areas have stopped declawing, the number of surrendered cats actually dropped. This left us with a question. We know that even under the best of circumstances, a declaw is a major and painful surgery, (and no less so when it is performed with a laser, by the way.) It is an amputation of the end of the cat’s “finger,” not just the removal of the claw itself. And even when performed perfectly, can have life-long complications.

So we wondered, if we weren’t saving cats, and this procedure can be painful to cats, why were we doing this? Although we know furniture destruction can be a problem, it can almost always be prevented with the right techniques. Besides, when it comes down to it, as veterinarians, our main concern is the cats, not the couches. We have to do what is best for our patients.

The AVMA, Declawing & Cigarettes. Lies and deception.

Just like the tobacco companies did in the 30’s and 40’s for smoking, the veterinary profession started deceiving cat owners in the 50’s to believe that declawing was humane.
The veterinary associations and pro-declaw veterinarians are still perpetuating these lies and deception about declawing so that they can keep making money from this very inhumane procedure.