Veterinarians who declaw cats must HATE them

The argument is that only a veterinarian who hates cats could declaw them because declawing is so obviously a form of punishment for the independent cat who refuses to be submissive towards the human as dogs are to their owners.

All declawing vets should be behind bars for the crime of animal cruelty. This vet declaws cats. His name is Dr Glenn Ephraim. Image: MikeB

That is a theory. Why and how else can a vet act so obviously and blatantly in clear violation of their oath not to cause harm? Declawing is non-therapeutic. It is elective. Elected by the cat owner who is scared of cat claws and perhaps scared of cats in general.

In the cat world in the United States, the elephant in the room is how the heck the veterinarians have got away with brutally and cruelly mutilating innocent kittens and adult cats since the 1950s.

You think I am exaggerating about the cruelty of the operation? No, I am not. It is the partial amputation of the ten toes of the forepaws of the cat. And sometimes all the hind leg paws as well. It causes excruciating pain and can ruin the cat for the rest of their life. Declawed cats are 7 times more likely to inappropriately eliminate. And they commonly bite their owners as their claws are gone. They compensate.

RELATED: Judgement Day for Declawing Vets.

You think the owners who declaw their cats are better off? No, many of them abandon their declawed cats because their cats' behavior has gone wrong. Declawing can change a cat's character for the worse.

Only vets who hate cats could be so horrible towards them in doing something which is a clear-cut crime in many other countries. These vets should all be in jail.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

147 words which explain why cat declawing is barbaric and unnecessary

This is a 147-word letter to the editor on the Detroit Free Press website that was pointed out to me by a mate of mine, Doug, and which needs to be aired and recycled for as many people as possible to see. It sums up what is so immoral and cruel about this operation which has been and continues to be encouraged by many thousands of veterinarians in the United States. It is a shocking state of affairs when you consider that each vet who amputates the distal joint of each fore-toe of a kitten does so in gross breach of their solemn oath not to harm patients. In 99.99% of cases declawing is carried out for non-therapeutic reasons and therefore is a breach of oath. As such the operation is arguably a assault by a professional on a kitten and a crime under America's animal welfare laws.

RELATED: Epidemic of Botched Cat Declaw Operations.

Here is the letter - thanks Melissa Sanger in Brighton:

As a licensed veterinary technician, I have tried to comfort cats as they writhe in pain, desperately trying to pull the blood-soaked bandages from their mutilated paws after being declawed. This barbaric disfigurement — which involves severing the first digit of every toe, bones and all — should be banned everywhere.

Cats claw to exercise, stretch and mark territory. Cutting off their body parts cuts off their ability to engage in these natural and important behaviors, and can cause them lifelong back and joint pain.

Without claws, many cats resort to eliminating outside the litterbox to mark their territory. Once-friendly cats often become withdrawn and aggressive. Studies show that declawed cats are more likely to have behavioral problems, often resulting in abandonment by the very people who had them declawed.

Providing plenty of scratching posts and regular nail trims will protect furniture, and cats’ physical and psychological well-being.

Can declawed cats compete at Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) cat shows?

The answer is NO. I have the answer in two ways. On the CFA website they state that "At the October 1996 meeting the CFA Board of Directors also approved an addition to the show rules which disallows tendonectomy in show cats.”

Tendonectomy: the tendon that controls the claw in each toe is severed. The cat keeps their claws but can't control them or extend them to scratch. It is an alternative to declawing and almost as cruel.

So I found a partial answer on their website. But as I recall - I researched this about 6 months ago - there was no clear, in-your-face statement about declawing on their website. I would have liked to have seen one.

Anyway, I then emailed Charlene Cambell (CFA Animal Welfare - CFA Breeders Assist & Breed Rescue Pgm VP) and asked if a declawed cat was allowed to compete at a CFA cat show. Her response was NO.

Here it is:

Yes, a declawed cat cannot be shown in CFA. It is against the show rules.

Sincerely,

Charlene Campbell

So, there you have it. For the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) declawed cats are banned from competition at cat shows, which is the way it should be.

It'd be a travesty if it was any other way. 

P.S. there is also laser declawing but it is clear to me that any form of declawed cat is banned at CFA cat shows.

P.P.S. Charlene added later: 'If you search their CFA web site, they have written articles against declaw over the years!  That I appreciate.' Thanks Charlene.

4 things you should NEVER do to your cat

This is Jackson Galaxy's list of 4 things that you should never do to your cat but it could equally well have been my list or the list of any one of millions of excellent cat caregivers. Actually, my list would be longer but Jackson was limited by the length of the video. 

It is wonderful for me that at the top of his list is declawing. He's American and millions of Americans declaw their cat. He is alienating these potential supporters by criticising them which is the right thing to do and it is wonderful to see. It proves that Jackson set high standards.

Although he has to say that declawing is very bad because it is bloody well exactly that. He says declawing should be banned in the US. He's right and it is banned in 2 states and around a dozen cities but there's a long way to go. Across the rest of the world around 38 countries specifically ban it. In other countries general welfare laws would effectively ban it. Or no one even thinks about declawing in nearly all other countries.

Declawing is a big NO NO. Screenshot from the video.

His next pet hate is punishing your cat. Right again. That's number 2 on his list of things that you should never do to your cat. Cats do not understand punishment as it is a human concept, activity and process that is solely for humans. It requires understanding social norms and morals. That is not the domain of are precious feline friends.

Punishment alienates your cat if it achieves anything at all. There is a subtle modification that Britain's celebrity cat behaviourist, Dr Bruce Fogle, recommends and he calls it 'divine intervention'. 

Jackson mentions the squirt bottle. If your cat cannot see that the squirt is coming from their owner but just arrives as if by God's will, it will not alienate the cat but simply tell the cat that what they are doing results in an unpleasant experience. This should stop them doing it.

Personally, I'd never do this but there is a difference. There are better ways of dealing with cat behavior that a cat owner does not like: training through positive reinforcement or accepting it (modified human thinking).

Yelling at your cat is a form of punishment and is also a No, No. I can understand when this might seem acceptable or happens because the owner loses self-control but it isn't a good idea.

His fourth point of not giving up is, I believe, a reference to not abandoning your cat to a shelter or in a much worse place. There are always ways to resolve problems many of which are actually relatively straightforward.

Trigger warning! Read what SUNNYSIDE VETERINARY CLINIC says about cat declawing

The phrase "trigger warning" is very current. It actually applies to the Declaration of Independence. This is one of America's most famous documents and the National Archives has erected a trigger warning next to this founding 18th-century document of the United States according to the historian Andrew Roberts. He said that a framed explanatory text next to the document at the archives in London, UK now warns readers that the statements within the declaration are "outdated, biased and offensive".

And this is what we can expect from things said and done in the past. They become outdated, outmoded and objectionable. Essentially people become more civilised. Humankind is on a long journey towards being civilised. We are perhaps in the middle of that journey but nowhere near the end of it.

Declawing was invented in the 1950s in the US. It is now outdated and highly objectionable. There should be a trigger warning outside all American vets who perform the operation.

Within about two minutes I found an American veterinarian's website where they proudly declaw. It is the website for Sunnyside Veterinary Clinic in Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA. And they state the following:

"In America, most (but not all) veterinarians agree that when done properly, declawing can be a benefit to both the cat and the people involved.  Without a doubt is is a painful procedure, and absolutely must be done in conjunction with excellent pain control."

So, most vets in America believe that declawing benefits the cat. This is despite the fact that two thirds of declawing operations leave bone fragments in their paws. It is despite the fact that there is an epidemic of botched declawing operations because they are carried out too casually and quickly.

Dr Bruce Fogle, the UK's best-known vet says that declawing is barbaric. Agreed.

It is despite the fact that 99.9% of declawing operations are carried out at the convenience of the cat's owner and not for the cat's benefit. Yes, the reason why cats are declawed is to stop them scratching furniture.

How, on earth, can that be of benefit to the cat? This veterinarian is lying through his teeth. This veterinarian has no right to be a veterinarian. This veterinarian is in complete and abject breach of his oath which he swore when he became a vet. He might as well tear that up and stick it in the nearest bin. It is completely pointless.

In their oath vets swear that they will only do things for the benefit of their patients. This is obviously completely incorrect in the vast majority of veterinary clinics in America if you believe what this veterinarian states namely that most veterinarians agree that declawing can be a benefit to both cat and people.

Yes, it can be benefit to people who are highly sensitive to a domestic cat's needs. It can benefit people who are highly insensitive to the need to improve their cat's life and not cause them unnecessary pain, sometimes lifelong pain because of the declawing operation.

It benefits people who fail to understand how they can avoid being scratched and how they can avoid their furniture being scratched by alternative means. They dive straight in and declaw young kit a kitten instead.

I messaged this veterinarian to tell him what I think about him. Just for the record. And I sent him a link to a page I wrote a little while ago about the high number of botched declawing operations leaving fragments of bone in cats' claws. Perhaps he needs educating. I think it does.

Infographic on cat declawing which is self-explanatory

Yes, I am hammering away as usual on what seems to have become a boring topic to some people in America. I'm sorry if you are bored by it. I've become somewhat bored myself. However, I will never stop being disgusted by the operation. Every time I think about it it conjures up images of vulnerable kittens being hauled into veterinary clinics before a veterinarian who has totally lost his moral compass. And he gets the guillotine out and chops off the ends of those toes. Rant continued below the image....

Infographic on cat declawing which is self-explanatory. My thanks to Cassandra.

The poor kitten hasn't got a clue what is going on. He or she is bemused and confused. And he or she will be in chronic pain when they come around from the operation. They will be climbing the walls of their cage moaning in agony. Despite a heavy dose of painkillers. And then if they are lucky they will walk fairly normally for the rest of their lives but they may be one of the many hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of cats who develop complications which have a severe and negative impact upon their lives. 

RELATED: Complications Of Declawing.

This operation is unnecessary. It is morally repugnant. It is an aberration and a stain on the veterinary profession in North America. It must stop. There has been piecemeal prohibitions of declawing in some cities in California and New York state banned it recently. 

But this is not enough. Piecemeal prohibitions means that millions of kittens are being declawed. It could stop tomorrow in a federal ban but of course there is no chance of that because it is not on the radar of the politicians who run America.

The world's best-known veterinarian and author believes that declawing is barbaric

This is a short note but one that must be made. I would say that the world's best-known veterinarian/author on cat health, welfare, anatomy and anything else to do with domestic cats (and dogs and other animals), is Dr. Bruce Fogle MBE, DVM, MRCVS. Nobody comes close to him as a veterinarian/author. The only veterinarians/authors that come to mind are those that wrote Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook but they wrote one book and there are four of them. Fogle has written many books on cats and dogs and other topics.

Dr Bruce Fogle. Photo in public domain. Here he is photographed in his clinic in London.

In one of his recommended books, Complete Cat Care, he has a small section on declawing. Dr. Bruce Fogle lives and works in the UK to the best of my knowledge. He is British but born in Canada (dual passports I guess). He states that "declawing cats is a cultural issue". That is certainly correct because the operation is confined to a very small part of the world i.e. North America. And in North America it is more or less, nowadays, exclusively confined to America as Canada is doing away with this barbaric operation through a gradually extending ban across the provinces.

Dr. Fogle states that when he qualified as a veterinarian he declawed cats. I think I will quote verbatim:

"Personally, I performed this operation in the first years after I graduated, but I stopped once I thought about what I was doing. I haven't declawed a cat now for over 30 years. I think it's a barbaric procedure."

I think he is being very honest when he says that. He was trained in Canada, a declawing nation. He came to Britain in 1970 to work at Regent's Park Zoo.

I remember asking my veterinarian about 15 years ago in London what he thought about American veterinarians declawing cats and he wouldn't answer the question. He knew that I had a website and he simply wanted to keep out of trouble. He kept quiet. I wanted him to speak up like Dr. Bruce Fogle to help put some pressure on American veterinarians to stop the procedure but he failed me. He was a huge disappointment to me.

RELATED: Another vet tech reduced to tears by botchy cat declawing operation

Dr. Fogle statement is interesting because he changed his mind after performing the operation for a while. He had been presumably indoctrinated to a certain extent by his training to believe it was all right but after he had carried out the procedure a number of times he saw how barbaric it was. He is speaking on the back of first-hand experience of what domestic cats go through when they've been declawed.

Vet techs have come forward with the same thoughts: barbaric.

RELATED: Vet tech spills the beans on those evil declawing veterinarians

I hope people take note of that. One last point: he also states that:

"In other countries this type of surgery is considered a mutilation, and performing it is enough to have a vet's licence to practice revoked."

Yes, if a veterinarian performed the operation in the UK, I would argue that they would lose their licence to practice veterinary medicine and they would expose themselves to being charged, tried and convicted of animal cruelty and abuse under the relevant criminal animal abuse laws of the UK.

In the USA, keeping cats indoors full-time opens the door to declawing

Although there is a huge cultural difference between British and American cat owners with respect to declawing, a major cat caretaking difference is the fact that many more Americans keep their cats indoors full-time than Brits. The reason primarily is that there are more predators of domestic cats in America than there in Britain. In fact, there are none in the UK other than dogs and perhaps the odd fox who is ambitious enough to try and attack a cat.

Poster by Kattaddorra (Ruth).

Another reason why there is a growing number of full-time indoor in America is because there are more urban dwellers in America as the human population grows. Outdoor cats have ample opportunities to scratch on objects such as fences and trees. The same cannot be said about indoor cats. Therefore, they carry out their claw-servicing routines on their owner's furniture which irritates and which leads to the convenience of the declawing operation. But that is where the culture difference comes in because when a cat scratches furniture it does not mean that you should remove their claws. You find humane alternatives.

The culture that supports declawing is hard to shift. It is deep-seated. Declawing started in the 1950s. A single veterinarian had the profitable idea possibly inspired by the declawing of cats used as bait to train fighting dogs. It grew from there.

Part of this culture difference is possibly because Americans are more demanding of their freedoms under their constitution. They love their freedoms and do not want the interference of others and the law to curtail them. They want the right to make decisions about how to raise their cat including removing the claws.

To that starting point you have to throw into the mix the attitude of many veterinarians in America. They facilitate the attitude of the cat owners who want their cats declawed. They sometimes offer discount service and fail to explain the operation. Many Americans are misinformed by their vets as to the nature of the operation: a partial amputation and not the simple removal of the claw. This is the exact opposite to what they should be doing because to facilitate it for their owner's convenience is to totally ignore their code of ethics as stated in their oath

I'm sure that Americans hate a Brit writing about declawing which I've done hundreds of times because they probably feel they are being preached to by somebody outside their jurisdiction who has no right to do it. I understand that feeling but in the modern age anybody can comment on anything because the Internet rubs out all the boundaries on the planet.

I've yet to see an accurate, definitive figure as to the number of indoor cats in America. Or the percentage of cat owners who keep their cats indoors full-time. It's strange that. You'd think there'd be some definitive answer but there isn't based on my research. I've seen a figure around 50% or higher. The number is increasing.

If somebody knows a good, accurate figure then please tell me a comment. But what we do know is, as mentioned, there are more full-time indoor cats in the US than there are in the UK. It's ironic, too, that the reason why Brits allow their cats outside is for welfare issues. They believe that the cat has to behave normally and naturally and they can only do that if they have access to the outside. Of course, the outside is dangerous in terms of traffic but they weigh up those risks and decide that overall, the benefits outweigh the risks of injury or death. One of the most common causes of death for domestic cats in the UK is the road traffic accident.

But perhaps it might be fair to say that Americans have a more 'human rights are superior to animal rights' stance. It is their right to elect the declaw operation out of convenience. This may be influenced by the fact that in America they have a written constitution which is often quoted whereas in the UK we don't. The constitution states in writing the right of the citizens of the USA. Maybe it means that those rights are fixed more firmly in the heads of Americans than they are in the British.

Americans are also more religious than Brits. Religion is dying in the UK. The population of the American bible belt is large. The bible encourages declawing as it preaches the dominion of humans over animals.

Although keeping cats indoors protects wildlife from feline predation, this is not the primary reason for keeping them inside. The reason is more human-centric, inward looking.

The conclusion is that there is a link between keeping cats indoors full-time and declawing but it is underpinned by a culture difference.

A cat loving former US diplomat who lives in the UK, Judd Birdsall said:

"When you go around a village in the UK you see lots of cats outside. I can't ever remember seeing a cat outside in the US. For Americans, it's a matter of freedom and convenience - the right to the freedom to make decisions in terms of how you raise your cat, and convenience, because once you remove the claws, you don't ever have to worry about you or the furniture getting scratched. By contrast, in the UK, any concerns for freedom and convenience are vastly dwarfed by concern to the welfare of the cat - it's unthinkable to declaw cats in Europe."

America needs an animal sentience law

I recently wrote about the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill, which is a proposed animal welfare law going through UK's Parliament at the moment. It will enshrine in law the principle that animals are sentient. What this means is that the fact that animals have feelings and feel pain will be recognised in law and it will ensure that people, their policies and activities must not clash with the basic principle that animals are sentient creatures.

American needs animal sentience legislation. Image: Pixabay.

It is like a bedrock, a common standard, a thread that should run through all laws and activities in a country. When any new law or existing law clashes with this basic principle of animal sentience then it should be reviewed by a committee set up under the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act, as it will become when it is enacted.

It is a beautiful piece of animal welfare legislation (provided it is well drafted) because it automatically protects animals at a fundamental level. Of course, many people will object to it. However, the people who object should not be listened to because they are the ones who are abusing animals or who are indifferent to animal abuse. It is already far too late to stop animal abuse and exploitation. Humankind can do much better.

It is time that humankind stopped exploiting animals for their own benefit. I don't feel that we have the right to do it. And the world is moving in that direction. The world is catching up with my thoughts on this. Of course, the world is developing at different speeds which is a great barrier to harmony on the planet but the UK and America can lead on animal welfare.

This piece of UK legislation authorises a body of people, a committee, to investigate activities and policies which rub up against this sentience legislation. But the committee will not be able to make any orders or legal demands. They can simply advise and suggest. That is a weakness but it is probably a compromise. There will be many objectors, as mentioned, particularly the conservative elite or the rich Republicans in America (their equivalent).

They are the people who like to go sport hunting or trophy hunting. They are the ones who take enjoyment in killing animals. Fishing is a problem too. People think fish are inanimate objects but they feel pain. This has been proved in a study. One day fishing will be banned I suspect but it will be a long way off. This sentience law would impact angling for pleasure in my opinion

It would also dramatically and fatally impact the declawing of cats in America, which is perhaps the major reason why I love this proposed act of Parliament. If America had something similar going through their federal legislation it would spell the end of declawing, there is no doubt about it. Declawing is unsustainable in a moral society which genuinely regards cats as sentient beings.

This legislation will change attitudes to animals. Laws can do that. They infiltrate the minds of the citizens of the country to the point where they gradually absorb the law as a societal norm and accept it. This is one of the great benefits of well written legislation. At that point, when the principles of the sort of law are fully integrated into society, enforcement will be far less important and the standards of animal welfare would have been raised substantially.

In the UK, the sort of people who are objecting to it are those who are engaged in countryside pursuits such as shooting birds and foxhunters, even though foxhunting is banned but it still takes place under the radar. The farmers might object but provided a law is well written farmers shouldn't because it should not impact them unless they are abusing livestock.

The only people who would complain are those who are unjustifiably harming animals. There is never a justification for abusing animals and thereby if a farmer did abuse them, they should feel the full force of the law against them. An aspect of farming which may be impacted is the provision of halal meat. This is arguably a cruel process because the throats of animals are slit without being stunned. UK veterinarians wanted this to be banned or they wanted some restrictions placed on it. An animal sentience act such as the one mentioned would impact the production of halal meat in my view.

This law has the power to infiltrate all aspects of humankind's relationship with animals. It would take time for people to adjust because there is plenty of animal abuse even in the UK. But adjust they will and the animals will at least have an umbrella law protection.

Laser declaw is NOT humane, do not listen to their lies

Laser declaw is NOT humane, do not listen to their lies, vets need to pay for their $40K laser machines, of course they are going to deceive you. pic.twitter.com/RMpBpZbvJv

— Cassandra🐾Wants🐾Claws (@DamnDeclawVets) June 22, 2021

Laser declawing is, in my opinion, an invention by veterinarians to try and better sell to the paying and gullible public their gruesome operation which is their bread-and-butter and which is worth billions of dollars annually across North America. 

They effectively con millions of cat owners out of their money in convincing them that declawing is okay and that their cat is not going to be harmed 'that much' and will recover from the operation very quickly et cetera. Declawing is never a last resort for the veterinarian despite what their association tells them that it must be. Declawing is bloody painful and there can often be complications and long-term behavioural consequences.

Laser declaw is NOT humane, do not listen to their lies

Some veterinarians promote declawing by giving discounts and vouchers and this sort of objectionable promotion. As the Twitter post says laser declawing is not humane. The veterinarians of North America are deceiving the public. In one post I decided that they were genuinely evil because they place profit before everything else, deciding to conveniently brush under the carpet the enormity of the cruelty in leaving kittens without their claw upon which they so obviously rely. 

Nature gave them claws for a purpose. If people don't like cat claws, they should not adopt a cat. It's a simple formula. You don't modify your bloody cat as if you're modifying or customising a car or something like that. These are sentient creatures.

A cat's claws are very important. They allow a cat to stretch, they deposit scent on objects when they scratch those objects. They use claws to hold on to prey animals and to grasp objects. And above all, a cat owner can avoid being scratched with a little bit of prudence and common sense. 

If a cat owner understands their cat and understands when they are going to use their claws in a certain way then they can be avoided. It is beholden upon the cat owner to take steps to work around claws. That is part of good cat ownership. It is part of responsible cat ownership. It is highly irresponsible and cruel to declaw.

It's remarkable that many cat owners who declaw their cat say that they love them. These cats are members of their family. And yet they brutally mutilate them for their own convenience! It's a form of madness. And the veterinarians are part of this criminality, as I would describe it. Of course, it is not criminal but the kind of mutilation perpetrated by veterinarians in this operation would be criminal if anybody other than veterinarians did it!

Another reason why cats need their claws so don't remove them

"Another reason, among hundreds, of why cats need claws. If your vet declaws and will not stop, take your $ to an ethical vet who does not torture cats". - The owner of cat called Cassandra who was declawed. This woman now fights against declawing. Great work.

Another reason, among hundreds, of why cats need claws. If your vet declaws and will not stop, take your $ to an ethical vet who does not torture cats. pic.twitter.com/Ujsh5GR4sy

— Cassandra🐾Wants🐾Claws (@DamnDeclawVets) May 26, 2021

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

Austin City Council could vote to ban the declawing of cats

Austin City Council could vote to ban the declawing of cats. The video on this page says more or less all you need to know but I'll add something. Austin could follow 9 other cities who've banned declawing (and did so some time ago), 8 of which are in California (Los Angeles, San Francisco, West Hollywood, Burbank, Santa Monica, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, and Culver City) and the 9th is Denver in Colorado. New York State banned declawing a little while ago. Large parts of Canada have banned declawing. 

Anti-declawing poster by Ruth aka Kattaddorra.

The first part of the news bulletin is on a different topic to declawing cat but the section on declawing is useful. They mention the pain it causes. It is one of the most painful veterinary operations. It is 10 amputations as you might know by now and there is no medical or other benefit for the cat. In fact the operation is very detrimental to the health and welfare of the domestic cat or kitten. Yes they put young kittens through it. Can you imagine the cruelty of it? A kitten looking for love and care from their human companion and all they get is hell and piles of pain. Not a good look

Declawing only takes place in North America and the USA is by far the biggest perpetrator. I think America is a great country but declawing is a horrible blind spot. It is a nasty stain on the character of the country. It tells us that millions of Americans simply do not have a good relationship with their cat companion. They don't have true empathy and sympathy for their cat. They are insensitive to their cat's wellbeing and welfare. 

I can say those things with confidence because no one with a grain of sensitivity towards their cat's welfare would put them through the brutal declawing operation for what they believe is their exclusive benefit. But it is a fallacy that cat owners benefit. They think they do because they can't be scratched. But declawed cats compensate by biting more. And their cat may be in pain for a long time or indefinitely. This may change their character for the worse. They may avoid the litter tray and urinate on the carpet. See what I mean?

For outsiders it looks completely bonkers. It looks like a crime to Europeans if they thought about it and it is a crime by the way. If a vet did it in the UK, they'd end up in prison! But a lot of Europeans hardly know about it. It would never occur to them. It is alien to them. So alien they don't think of it.

Yet for millions of Americans it is one of the first things they think of when they adopt a poor kitten. And the vet does it on request even though in doing so he is in complete breach of his oath to do no harm.

I just can't get my head around it. My message to people who want to declaw their cat: you do realise that cats walk on their toes and the declaw operation removes the end of each toe of the forepaws. Think about it: how would you like it if someone cut off the tops of each of your toes? You'd struggle to walk and humans are not digitigrades.

American Veterinary Medical Association 'condemns' declawing of wild cats but 'discourages' it for domestic cats

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) take different positions with respect to the declawing of wild cats and domestic cats. This point has been highlighted by The Paw Project in a tweet on Twitter. You can see it below. They ask why there's a difference in policy. They don't explain therefore I will provide my reasons.

Is a cat a cat? Why do you think the American Veterinary Medical Association CONDEMNS the declawing of wild and exotic cats and yet CONDONES declawing domestic cats? pic.twitter.com/DYjKcqBOIl

— The Paw Project (@pawproject) November 25, 2020

Declawing of domestic cats

The AVMA wants their member veterinarians to be allowed to declaw domestic cats because it provides a very good income for them. In order to not rub their members up the wrong way they argue that their veterinarians should have the option to declaw based upon their discretion in conjunction with a consultation with the client. 

The problem is that often American veterinarians quietly or overtly promote the declawing of domestic cats. And we don't know what goes on in these conversations between themselves and their client. There's no doubt in my mind that they do not discourage the declawing of domestic cats as advised by their association. Often they do the opposite. I repeat: the vast majority of American veterinarians do not discourage declawing and they do it for monetary reasons. This is obvious because millions of these operations are carried out annually. It is impossible for there to be a reason for it other than the cat owner wants it.

It is a very cruel procedure and completely against the veterinarian's oath in which they state they will only do surgery in the interest of an animal's welfare. Declawing is done at the convenience of the animal's owner not in the interests of the animal's welfare.

Recently declawed cat. Horor and a vet did this legally. Shame.

Declaw exotic and wild cat species

The AVMA condemn the declawing of wild cats because they say there's no reason to do it. They allow it for true medical reasons, of course, which is extremely rare but they argue that there "appears to be no justification for performing the procedure in this population of cats". Of course, I completely agree but exactly the same assessment applies to domestic cats!

They argue that sometimes domestic cat owners need to be protected from the claws of their cat companions. But this is exceedingly rare and in any case those people who are perhaps vulnerable to being scratched can take measures to avoid it. That's part of being a good cat owner. If they can't do that then they should not have a cat in the home. That's the ultimate solution and the best solution because it avoids animal cruelty. To try and find a feeble and brutal compromise by modifying the anatomy of a cat to fit in with the mentality of humans who do not have the attitude necessary to be a cat owner is completely immoral.

Declawing cats is not a last resort for almost all US vets

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, declawing is supposed to be a "last resort" after all humane alternatives have been exhausted. How can declawing be a "last resort" when 76% of declaw surgeries are performed on kittens fewer than 8 months old? pic.twitter.com/D41sPDpNqm

— The Paw Project (@pawproject) November 9, 2020

According to the AVMA, declawing of cats in the USA is meant to be a last resort after a thorough consultation between veterinarian and the cat's owner. This can't be the case because a lot of the animals declawed are young kittens. How can they be a problem to anybody? It's a good argument but you don't need that argument because everybody knows that the declawing of cats is not a last resort for the vast majority if not all veterinarians who carry it out. It's a first port of call. It's an option which they grab with both hands. They convince the client, the cat's owner, to have it done because she might moan about being fearful of her cat's claws. Or they might say that they have a young child who might get scratched and are nervous about it. Or they might say that they live with their elderly mum and she is vulnerable, blah blah blah. It's all the same guff and veterinarians jump on it because it gives them the right to take that option immediately. It is never a last resort. It is a first resort. They do it for money and in my view veterinarians who do this are evil. Yes, strong words but they have totally lost their moral compass. It's a complete disgrace to the American veterinary profession and yet it goes on over and over again by the millions. It is legalised animal cruelty under the guise of bona fide veterinary work. It is not. It is plainly cruel to anybody with eyes to see. Unfortunately the veterinarians eyes are firmly closed.

New York state bans cat declawing and advances cat welfare in the USA by leaps and bounds

New York state's Gov Cuomo signed off the statewide cat declawing ban very recently and the law is effective immediately. It is reproduced below. It is an amendment of an existing statute. It's quite clear that it bans cat declawing for nontherapeutic reasons which accounts for 99.9% of declawing in America.

Going forward, veterinarians can still declaw cats with their client's informed consent if there is a genuine health reason for doing so. The operation has to be done in the interest of the cat, the patient. No longer can clients protect their furniture by declawing their cat.

This, to me, is a massive step forward in cat welfare in America. It is almost certainly the beginning of the end of cat declawing in that country. It should please millions of cat lovers both in America, Europe and in other countries of the world. In represents an advancement in cat welfare by leaps and bounds. Going forward, it is highly likely that other US states will follow in a domino effect and I'm hopeful that perhaps in several years cat declawing will be no longer exist in this great cat loving country.

It is highly ironic and a distortion of attitudes that in America with more cat lovers than anywhere else and indeed more domestic cats than any other country that they should be brutalising their companion animals from no reason other than to protect furniture. This is completely nuts and utterly incorrect. The ban will chang attitudes for the better. People will learn that they can live with cats who have their claws.

It shouldn't take a legal ban to achieve this result. The veterinarians should have stopped voluntarily years ago. Indeed, it should never have been invented (in the 1950s) - this damned operation. But there it is and here we are. The time has come to stop it.

Is highly likely that the recent bans on declawing in Canada has had an effect on the New York State legislature and possibly upon Cuomo, himself. In Canada large parts of the country now ban declawing.

Laser Declawing (the truth)

By Kirsten Doub, DVM State Director of the Paw Project-Utah.

Paw Project-Utah has been doing paw surgery on cats with fragments. Clearly these cats with “pebbles in their shoes”, fragments of a mutilated bone that they have to walk on, and nails regrowing under the skin are in pain. The P3 fragments are left behind when the declaw is performed with a pair of unsterile Resco nail trimmers. A very imprecise, quick and dirty way to do 8 amputations in a few minutes. Proponents of declawing tout the laser declaw as a humane alternative. We are here today to show you why the laser is just as bad. It may not leave behind P3 fragments in as high numbers as the Rescos but it can cause thermal injury to P2 and set up these cats for painful osteomyelitis.

What is osteomyelitis?

Osteomyelitis is inflammation and destruction of bone caused by bacteria, mycobacteria, or fungi. Common symptoms are localized bone pain and tenderness with constitutional symptoms (in acute osteomyelitis) or without constitutional symptoms (in chronic osteomyelitis). Diagnosis is by imaging studies and cultures. Treatment is with antibiotics and sometimes surgery. Osteomyelitis is caused by:

• Contiguous spread from infected tissue or an infected/non sterile instrument.
• Bloodborne organisms (hematogenous osteomyelitis)-not common with declaw unless cutting instrument is dirty. 
• Open wounds (from contaminated open fractures or bone surgery).

This is what declawing is all about! Declawing is an amputation; a bone is being removed. Most declaw surgery sites are not sutured shut. They are just glued shut with non sterile surgical glue. Trauma, ischemia, and foreign bodies predispose the paw to osteomyelitis. Osteomyelitis may also form under deep pressure ulcers. This is how it works:

• Declawing = Osteomyelitis waiting to happen.
• Trauma = The amputation, trauma to the P2/P3 joint space
• Ischemia = A restriction in blood supply to tissues, causing a shortage of oxygen and glucose needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive). Ischemia is generally caused by problems with blood vessels, with resultant damage to or dysfunction of tissue. Proponents of the laser declaw technique talk about how it is more humane because there is less bleeding post op. With the laser declaw the tissue is burned and cauterized making it less likely to become inflamed and bleed. Any good surgeon knows that blood supply is essential to wound healing. So without that blood supply, ischemia can easily result.
• Foreign bodies = The GLUE that they use during the amputation does not belong in a cat paw. It is a foreign body. It isn't sterile and can migrate from the incision site and attach to the surface of P2 or into the joint space where it can incite a foreign body response.
• Pressure ulcers = Those paw pad abscesses and callouses we are always talking about! P2 is not a bone designed to bear weight. The paw pad if cut during the declaw will not be able to function as a perfect cushion for P2. Even if not cut, the paw pad over time can callous and abscess from having to cushion a pointy bone (P2) instead of a flat one (P3).

Pathophysiology

Osteomyelitis tends to occlude local blood vessels, which causes bone necrosis and local spread of infection. Infection may expand through the bone cortex and spread under the periosteum, with formation of subcutaneous abscesses that may drain spontaneously through the skin. If treatment of acute osteomyelitis is only partially successful, low-grade chronic osteomyelitis develops. It is common for most cats to go home post declaw without pain meds, let alone antibiotics. When a joint space has been compromised, as it is in EVERY declaw, antibiotics are warranted to prevent osteomyelitis. Additionally, a one time injectable antibiotic is not acceptable to treat infections in the joint space. Bone infections require aggressive antibiotics that are administered until the infection has cleared.

How do I know if my cat has osteomyelitis?

Patients with acute osteomyelitis of peripheral bones usually experience:

• Weight loss.
• Fatigue fever
• Localized warmth, swelling, erythema, and tenderness.

Radiographs of the declawed paws are the only way to definitively diagnose osteomyelitis. Reminder: declawing is not a nail trim! It is an amputation!!! Declawing ALWAYS involves trauma to the joint space, no matter the surgical technique used.

So what does this mean for a declawed cat?

Well, we aren't talking about pressures sustained for 3-4 hours. We are talking about pressures sustained for the ENTIRE CATS LIFE! Additionally, when we show images of paw pads that are abscessing or callousing that look painful, that is only the beginning of the damage that is going on below the surface of the skin. The deeper tissues surrounding P2 are also like it's inflamed and infected as well as the periosteum of P2. Thus, we can assume that any declawed cat with a paw pad callous or abscess is likely to get osteomyelitis from the deep pressure sore as some point if that pressure is not relieved.

How can we relieve the pressure?

Rochelle - declawed cat

We can’t put P3 back! So we have to treat these cats medically.....and some of these cats may need treatment for life. Which brings us to the PPU cat we want to highlight this week:

Meet Rochelle. She is a victim of declaw surgery. She doesn't have bone fragments, but she has painful osteomyelitis. For her to live as pain free and comfortable as possible, this is her medical plan:

• Royal Canin Mobility support diet.
• Therapeutic Laser once a week. This deep penetrating infrared laser addresses bacteria, inflammation, and infection deep in the tissues.
• Cosequin on food once a day. This supplement helps in maintaining the joint health in the paws.
• Clindamycin by mouth twice a day for 20 days minimum (needs to be continuous), then recheck x-rays. This is an antibiotic that will help clear up the infection in her paws.
• Torb/Val syrup and gabapentin regimen for pain. The torb/val syrup is an opioid painkiller. The gabapentin is a prescription pain medication that helps with extremity pain. Give both as needed.
• TriCOX UC II joint supplement soft chews, 1/2 a chew a day.

Paw Project-Utah Reconstructive Paw Surgery Demystified

By Kirsten Doub - Paw Project-Utah

The Paw Project-Utah reconstructive paw surgery demystified!! There have been questions as to what exactly we do for these cats. This should answer all your questions! Truth be told: Medicine is an art!

The goal of Paw Project-Utah surgery, under the care of Dr Kirsten Doub, DVM and several DACVSs who she consults with, is to help shelter declawed cats achieve an improved quality of life, so that they can live pain free lives and use their declawed paws for ambulation.

This is in the hopes of finding PAWMAZING permanent homes who will keep them and love them FOREVER. PPU’s study data has shown that 70% of declawed cats in Utah shelters have P3 fragments left over from a botched declaw. Most of these cats have fragments which are >5mm and include the ungual crest; because the ungual crest was not removed during the initial declaw, these cats have pieces of nail regrowing under the skin, abscesses on many toes, and deformed painful toes. The majority of these cats have a monocytosis on lab work. They also have toes that are painful on palpation; because of this pain, some of these cats do not want to move or play, are aggressive, or do not want to use their litter box.

PPU takes a very holistic approach to these cats.... and we aren’t talking about shaking the shaman stick here! We are talking about evaluating the WHOLE cat. Before surgery is even considered, we run a comprehensive lab panel on each cat, including a 5 way differential CBC with reticulocyte count, full chemistry panel, T4, urinalysis, feline leukemia test, FIV test, and stool analysis with giardia.

We look at the declawed paws and examine the paw pads for callouses, abscesses, swelling, and difficulty moving toes. We observe these cats ambulating to see how they use their paws. We evaluate for referred nerve pain in the lumbar spine. We also radiograph all declawed paws and non declawed paws with 2 orthogonal views. With this information, we come up with an individualized detailed plan to fix the cat 100%, in order to make them an amazing pet!

A PPU reconstructive surgery candidate is a cat who is metabolically stable, and who has P3 fragments which are causing a stress to the animal, either psychologically or physically. These cats have moveable toes (albeit some are not 100%), but have toes that are misshapen and infected from surgery that was performed so haphazardly that extensive damage was done to the remaining anatomy.

Dr. Doub likes to call this reconstructive surgery, because we are reconstructing these cat’s lives. We are taking mutilated shelter cats with little hope of escaping the UT shelter system alive, and transforming their lives in a very progressive loving way.

PPU finds loving foster homes for these cats BEFORE we start the surgery process. These cats learn to receive affection and learn to become well-loved family members, so that they are emotionally ready to start their paw rehabilitation. Foster parents are counselled extensively on the issues each cat faces overall and with paw health. Foster parents administer daily medication to improve joint health and improve post-operative success rates.

Surgery for these cats is “reconstructive” in that it involves taking someone else’s “bomb field” of a declaw surgery site, which in no way resembles a paw, and removing all the “shrapnel” left behind (P3 fragments, hematomas, bacterial contamination, necrosis surrounding glue, and abscesses), also debriding the dead and diseased tissue, to leave a declawed paw that is bacteria and scar tissue free. An infected, painful, scarred, and misshapen toe is reconstructed into a healthy one that is missing P3. Dr. Doub also will reposition all the paw pads permanently, so that it will cushion P2 and prevent paw pad abscesses and callouses for the remainder of the cat’s life. While it is impossible to reconstruct a half mutilated P3, surgery with PPU will reconstruct the cat’s declawed paw so that it is as functional as possible given that P3 is no longer part of the toe.

What about tendon contracture? Based on a study by Cooper, Laverty, and Soiderer: “Bilateral flexor tendon contracture following onychectomy in 2 cats, it is hypothesized that the etiology of the flexor tendon contracture was postoperative inflammation. Suboptimal surgical technique when performing onychectomy may result in excessive tissue trauma. Errors in surgical technique may include excessive or rough tissue manipulation, use of a dull scalpel blade, improper use of tissue adhesives, or poor aseptic technique. The combination of bacterial contamination and tissue trauma may then incite an intense inflammatory response. This may result in flexor tendonitis, fibrosis, adhesion formation, and flexor tendon contracture.

Tendonitis results in fibrosis, vascular hyperplasia, and infiltration of inflammatory cells around the tendon and tendon sheath. Other less commonly observed histopathological findings include ischemic necrosis, edema, cartilaginous or osseous metaplasia, and vascular dilation. Histopathologic examination of the deep digital flexor tendon from the 2nd case was consistent with granulation tissue, explaining the adhesions seen intraoperatively.” Surgery with PPU does address this possible, but very rare tendon contracture, by removing the inflamed tissue and breaking down adhesions around the tendons and carefully examining the entire remainder of the paw for any other pathology.

PPU has no need to cut tendons like some other salvage declaw surgeons advocate, because we have a fancy laser. Not the laser you think of when you hear about laser declaw. This is a therapeutic laser, and this is the face of cutting edge human orthopedic and sports medicine programs applied to veterinary medicine. This deep penetrating infrared laser addresses bacteria, inflammation, and infection deep in the tissues. Over time, with frequent laser therapy, we can see contracted tendons begin to relax so there is no need to drastically change anatomy by cutting tendons. You might remember PPU cat Angel? Her toes were so contracted initially that her wrists were completely curled in to compensate….she was walking on the tops of her knuckles with the few steps that she would walk. Angel had big P3 fragments and very abscessed toes, but was a poor surgery candidate due to failing kidneys due to lymphoma. After 3 laser treatments and aggressive oral joint support, Angel was able to extend and contract her toes to make little muffins. Angels little muffins were her gift to Dr. Doub one week before lymphoma claimed her life.

We hope this will give our followers a better understanding about what we do for our PPU cats! If you still have questions, you are welcome to message us, and we will be more than happy to clarify anything for you.

Campaigning against Declawing Is a Waste of Time Says a British Vet

Yesterday, I visited my veterinarian because Charlie, my cat, has a bacterial infection in his sinuses and nose. It is a form of persistent rhinitis. Anyway that is not the topic that I wish to discuss in this very short post. While I was in there with my cat I asked my veterinarian if he would let me ask a question about cat declawing in America and he kindly agreed.

I asked him why the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the governing body of British veterinarians, did not openly speak out against the declawing of cats in America as a way of putting pressure upon their counterpart organisation, the American Veterinary Medical Association. I have felt that if British veterinarians denounced declawing it may put some useful pressure on American veterinarians and support the campaign against it.

My veterinarian stated that it was unethical to declaw cats and he remarked that it is banned in the UK. He also said that he didn't like the other non-therapeutic operations that American veterinarian sometimes carried out on cats and dogs such as tail docking and the clipping of ears for aesthetic reasons.

However, despite his dislike of declawing he said it was a waste of time to write about it, argue against it and campaign against it because it is too well-established in the USA and whatever happened in the campaign against declawing, American veterinarians would not change their ways.

For this reason he said that it was not worthwhile to campaign against it.  I understood his message but I found it depressing. I'm not sure whether his thoughts about the anti-declaw campaign are typical of all British veterinarians but they might well be. There is a sense of disinterest or resignation about the declawing of cats in America by British veterinarians, it appears to me. It almost seems as if it is accepted by them notwithstanding that it is unethical as my veterinarian admitted.

One word: Sad.

Nova Scotia Veterinarians Decide Declawing is Alright

In October 2013, I reported that the Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association were debating whether to ban the declawing of cats by changing their code of ethics. If they did, would it have actually stopped them declawing? I am not sure because these associations have little authority it seems to me.

Anyway, the bad news is the predictable news; the esteemed senior veterinarians of Canada decided it was OK to partially amputate the toes of a cat for the convenience of the owner. I am not surprised one bit. In fact the vote was predictable.

We are told that 34 vets votes against the ban. Eight voted for the ban. If the vote is representative of Canadian veterinarians it means that almost a quarter of Canadian vets are for banning declawing in Canada. In the parlance of football coaches we can take some positives from that!

They also voted to form a committee to further study the issue - a big joke to be frank. What do they need to study? Declawing for non-therapeutic purposes is obviously wrong on common sense principles and it is already in breach of their oath yet they still vote for it.

There is one glimmer of light at the end of the long tunnel in the campaign against declawing.
One of the vets, Dr Chisholm, who is firmly against declawing and who stopped in the early 1990s says:

"It's a barbaric mutilation that does nothing to benefit the cat...It is something that should become history. It is an embarrassment to our profession". 

Dead right it is an embarrassment to the profession. Clearly most members of the veterinary profession are thick skinned and able to shrug off the embarrassment.

The other "positive" to take from this waste of time of a meeting is that Dr Ross Ainslie has decided to stop declawing cats. What is remarkable about it is that he has been a veterinarian for 60 years. It is never to late to see the light, the light of a new way and a more moral way.

Dr Ainslie's change of heart is an example of how long the process will take to change the intransigent and profit-orientated opinions of veterinarians who can't really care about the health and welfare of their patients.

Source story.

Question: Is Lux The Celebrity Aggressive Cat Declawed?

Having followed the Lux story from its inception on the Internet I am yet to see any reference made to the possibility that this cat - who is supposed to have a history of aggressive behaviour - has been declawed. We know that Jackson Galaxy, the well-known cat behaviourist is figuring out what is wrong and what causes the aggression (his assessment will be discussed on his Animal Planet television programme “My Cat from Hell").  However, I'm certain that Mr Galaxy has not made any reference to whether Lux has been declawed or not. We know he has struggled to solve the riddle.

It is a question worth asking simply because a cat's behaviour can be detrimentally affected by the declawing operation. It depends on the individual cat. Some cats will be affected much more than others. Some cats will undergo a botched operation and may be suffering from acute discomfort with bone shards in their toes and/or nail regrowth under the skin. There are all kinds of possibilities and cats do not disclose their discomfort except sometimes in aggressive behaviour which apparently has no obvious cause. Cats can become vulnerable/fearful without claws, it is said, and tend to bite in compensation.

I am of course simply speculating. I do not have the faintest idea whether Lux was declawed and if he was whether it affects his behaviour and has turned him into a cat with a history of aggression. I am simply asking the question and I hope somebody is able to answer it. Perhaps Mr Galaxy can and will do so in his television programme which is very shortly to be aired.