By Ruth aka Kattaddorra
This article was inspired by Cal who is totally against declawing, but her excellent cat vet, even though she is against it too, will declaw cats for clients who demand it even after she has tried to educate them as to the seriousness of the surgery and the many alternatives to it….
…My first reaction was that I wouldn’t go to a vet who declawed, not under any circumstances and I’d tell her why. But on second thoughts, supposing there was no other vet in the area, who apart from declawing was an excellent cat vet. What would I do? Could I trust a vet who breaks her oath to cause no animal to suffer?
It’s easy to say no I couldn’t, from a country where we have never declawed cats even when it was legal here, but supposing I lived in the USA or Canada?
We have to put our own cats first and very often cats get ill quickly, just as they usually recover quickly with prompt treatment. In an emergency especially we don’t want to have to travel many miles to see our vet, we are just desperate to get our cats to the person who can help them.
So would I risk upsetting my vet by challenging her about why she declaws cats? To be honest I just don’t know.
Maybe it would be better to realise that she won’t stop declawing while it’s legal even though if one vet after another started refusing to declaw, eventually there would be no vet left who agreed to do it.
Thinking about it though I don’t think that will happen because while clients threaten that it’s declaw, relinquishment or even death, vets will choose to declaw even though any caretaker who threatens that shouldn’t be allowed within 10 miles of any cat. They are not fit cat caretakers.
So it seems that reluctant declaw vets are not going to stop declawing while it’s legal, even though they know how wrong it is! Is it better to simply not challenge those vets but to keep on educating cat caretakers while working towards a ban on declawing?
Only a ban will stop the vets who are happy to declaw, the ones who push neuter/declaw packages for kittens or who advertise declawing with discount.
They are the vets to avoid more than the ones who feel pressured into declawing. They are the vets I would never entrust the care of our cats health to. I can well understand the dilemma of the cat lovers in the USA and Canada.
What do you do in those countries, does your vet declaw? Have you challenged him/her?
What would people do where declawing is banned, if it wasn’t banned and it happened in their country?
Ruth aka Kattaddorra
95 comments! Great. At one time Ruth thought there was something wrong with the page 🙂
It is a fine page that asks a really good question. I wonder if someone can summarise the comments 😉 ! LOL — What I mean is, what conclusions did we come to in resolving this dilemma? Or are there any? There may be no answers.
Okay, Ruth(Monty’s), finally got up the courage to read your post. I have such a problem with seeing the word “maggot,” that I have to do something immediately that takes my visual mind far, far away as best I can. Pretty much, I have to be dulled by vodka now to even think about the larvae. nough said.
Thank you for trying to help me with this, but I have a background in micro, biology, physiology,,,
The reason that this reply is being posted is because I didn’t get your last one below, until tonight, and because I couldn’t bear to read all of this one. (which i’ know you understand)
Not a day goes by that these thoughts and images, not just of Panda, but every single kitten/cat that suffers due to some egotistical, uncaring, or simply oblivious, self-important human being, these thoughts and images envelope my brain. As I stated before, the image of the cat who’s paws were wrapped in bandages because -when I asked at nine yrs of age “Why does she have to walk on those?” –well, those images will never leave my mind.
And I think that those of us on this planet Earth, which doesn’t seem to have much a
of a future at this point– who truly are sensitive about our fellow sp. and all other animals, insects, plants, whatever…we are truly sensitive about everything that breathes on this planet.
But, there ARE those who DO care, who are so wrapped up in their lives that they do not have the time to follow PoC so, that is why I am beginning –just beginning- to understand why I MUST make a commitment to taking action as best I can in my city, state and country. [Thank God for Michael-website].
Onwards and upwards Caroline, you are one of us 🙂
http://www.declaw.com/veterinarians-who-do-not-declaw/list-of-veterinarians
Well for what it is worth, I think it is worth “shopping around” for a new vet because I did that being unsatisfied with mine and I found a great vet. You don’t know who is good until you try them. We shouldn’t be frightened to change if circumstances demand it. However, if you are changing because your vet declaws and if there are no alternative vets (who don’t declaw), you’re stuck!
The program is set to a limit of 7 replies to a comment. I haven’t checked this but that may be the reason.