Demystifying Declawing

Mid July 2011 - The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) have made a video which "Demystifies Declawing". The AVMA is one of the world's oldest medical organizations. It was founded in 1863. Veterinary medicine has been in existence for 250 years.

My message to the administrators at the AVMA is this. It is still a great mystery to me and many others why you are living in the dark ages when it comes to declawing cats.

Although you have been around for 148 years which allows you plenty of time to evolve and become educated, you still allow your members, of which there are about 81,000, to mutilate cats at the convenience of their "owners".

Despite your endless attempts to argue your case through manipulated scientific research that can serve any purpose, you consistently miss the central and most important point about declawing. It is morally wrong. And you know it. All the arguments in the world cannot circumvent that simple fact.

You are consistent in one way, however. You consistently misrepresent declawing while trying so hard to present an honest face. You still call it "declawing". That one word on its own is a total misrepresentation. And you know it. You allow your members to present the argument that laser declawing is..Oh so much easier on the cat. Quick recovery..blah..blah. Wrong and you know it.

In your policy statement on declawing you leave the door open for your members to declaw for non-therapeutic reasons. Your members have driven a horse and cart through that door because nearly all of them declaw for reasons that are against the interests and welfare of the patient - the cat. And all of it is in clear breach of the veterinarian's oath that is frankly worthless.

To compound your failings as a governing body, you admit that "aggressive pain management is absolutely necessary" when declawing. Your members are putting cats through massive pain at the convenience of their "owners". These owners are not guardians or caretakers. They can't be can they? Personally I would describe them as the opposite. And your members encourage this.

I'll do my bit to demystify things. The reason why you cannot stop the practice of declawing is because you are toothless and immoral. Your members want to keep declawing because it is a big money spinner. And they pay your wages.

It is horrible and my message to all of you at the AVMA is: shame on you for behaving in such an immoral way.

Siamese 1 & judge Louis Coste

Siamese 1 & judge Louis Coste, a photo by quatre mains on Flickr.

The photographer wrote the above title, which is incorrect (no criticism intended) but this cat has white spotting on the legs and face. That makes this cat a Snowshoe or a Seychellois. As this cat was in a cat show in Europe (it seems to me), I presume that this is a Seychellois. A rare cat.

I like the photo as it shows the relative small or "petite" size of this cat and the cat show judge strikes a typical pose.

Feral Cross-eyed Blue Pointed Bobtail Cat

Siamese Bobtailed Cat, a photo by KaCey97007 on Flickr.

Wow....this cat that looks like a feral Siamese cat that has blue pointing and a bob tail.

Both cross-eyes (squint) and a shortened tail (or a kinked tail) are known to exist in the Siamese cat. See Siamese cat kinked tail.

Declaw Demo

I am happy to have created the idea of a demonstration against declawing at St. Louis, the coming weekend outside the AVMA convention.

I am sad that I cannot be there. As I have previously said, I cannot justify spending an estimated $1000 travelling from Europe to St. Louis in the hope that someone will turn up. Unfortunately, I received no more than a handful of confirmations of attendance. I am not criticising anyone; I have no right to. I have nothing but praise for anyone who supports the idea of a demonstration against declawing.

Having reluctantly taken a back seat, I had hoped that someone would take up the baton and see if they could do something to make the demonstration work. It appears that this has happened.

As far as I can tell a demonstration will take place on Saturday 16th July 2011. It seems that this has been organised by local people. If I am correct, I say, "Well done". I wish you the best of luck. I would like you to tell us what happened; just say it here if you feel inclined to do so.

There is no doubt in my mind that the declawing of cats for non-therapeutic reasons will stop one day. The stopping has to come from the people who keep cats. There are many cat guardians in the USA who hate declawing, But taken as a whole and in general, cat declawing is supported in the USA at present (16th July 2011). I have to make this conclusion because it exists.

If people in general disagreed with it, declawing would gradually fade away. You would not need laws to ban it (one example).

Declawing is a state of mind. You can only take your cat to the vet to be declawed if you see your cat as "something" that is less than a living and feeling animal companion. If you have a true empathy with your cat - the hallmark of a proper relationship with a cat companion - the idea of declawing is revolting. The same applies to the veterinarians who drive this aberrant behavior.

The idea of the demonstration was to do something, "on the ground", something more tangible and direct than writing words in cosy and comfortable surroundings far removed from the sharp end. I feel that something like this is needed to chip away at that false state of mind, which makes declawing acceptable.

I still find it very strange, an anomaly, that declawing exists in the USA. It is a national "mistake". Something went wrong. It is time to correct it.

Siamese Cat Squint

Pointed Cat with squint - photo by johnnyalive

The Siamese cat is known for its squint (cross-eyed appearance) almost as much as it is famous for its pointed coat. Or am I being unfair? The squint is considered by some as a breed characteristic. You will rarely see it, I suspect, in purebred cats because of careful selective breeding but you will probably see it in feral Siamese cats.

The cause of the squint has been extensively researched by scientists judging by the number of published research studies listed under a Google Scholar search enquiry.

The first one listed is entitled: Aberrant visual projections in the Siamese cat. This article says that there is a "neuroanatomical defect in the primary visual pathways" of the Siamese cat.

Robinson's Genetics says that the cross-eyed problem is caused by "a disrupted visual pathway in some strains of Siamese". However, the authors say there is no solid evidence that establishes that the Siamese as a breed carries this defect.

As I understand it, the squint does not adversely affect binocular vision as it is a compensation for another problem. There are two anatomical problems one cancelling out the other. I may have that  wrong however.

Apparently a kitten may have a "mild squint" that corrects itself when older. Older cats might therefore be asymptomatic carriers of the gene that causes the squint. This must make it harder to remove from breeding lines I would have thought.

More research is needed to establish the way this condition is inherited. It may be caused by two or more genes.

See Feline Eye Disease

Here is another Siamese cat squint:



Read a lot about Siamese Cat Health generally.