Dr Glenn Ephraim: A money hungry vet with a love for declawing

The doctor shouldn't be selling his 'procedure' at all. If you think the major surgery of the amputation of the cats end toe joints is a mere 'procedure' then it's you who is the ignorant one.

Why doesn't the doctor make a video about why cats have claws and how to teach them to use scratching posts?
Oh I know the answer to that myself, it's because mutilating cats makes him a lot of money and he'd far rather the cats he declaws suffer than lose that.

Yeh thanks because I'd rather be a Peta loving liberal that someone like you who thinks there's nothing wrong with butchering a innocent animal to suit the lifestyle of lazy morons who can't be bothered to teach their cat claw manners.

As for Dr Ephraim well he's nothing but a money hungry brute lining his pockets from misery and suffering.

You should educate yourself you idiot on what de-clawing REALLY means.

Has it never occurred to you that there must be a reason why virtually every country except for America, Canada and a few Middle Eastern states have banned declawing?

It has nothing to do with PETA or any animal rights groups. It is the vets themselves who have always refused to offer declawing and it was them who had it made illegal. Their opinion is that declawing, tail docking and ear-cropping are all "unnecessary mutilations" and that is how the law describes them too. Most UK, European, Australian citizens have never even heard of declawing. And when they do learn what it means they are horrified to think that someone could do that to the very pet they are meant to protect from harm and suffering.

Having a cat is not compulsory. So why should lazy and callous people be allowed to amputate the parts of them they can't tolerate? It's not that difficult to teach a cat claw manners. The vast majority of people world wide have managed this. What's so special about these people that we should turn a blind eye to them abusing their pets for their own convenience?

No-one is calling Dr. Ephraim's surgical skills into question, so we're not interested in how many people might think he's a good vet. Though I notice you're not so keen to associate your own name with him and prefer to remain anonymous!

The point that's being made is that declawing is cruel and unnecessary. It makes no difference whether vets use lasers, scalpels or clippers. It is still the amputation of healthy toes that leaves cats disabled and causes them great suffering. Make no mistake, declawing is a purely elective surgery that has no benefits whatseover to a cat and is always done purely for the convenience of the owner. Any vet who encourages people to have unnecessary surgery performed on their pet is an unethical one. As for one who actively promotes a surgery that disables an animal, they are the lowest of the low.

You're also ignoring the fact that it's taken Dr. Ephraim at least 12 years to come out and admit that cats were suffering for 2 weeks (at least) after being declawed using traditional methods. I bet he never admitted that to any cat owners when he was selling them the procedure. I wonder what any of those people would think of him now if they read his latest comments. How long will it be before he decides to admit that laser declawing causes just as much suffering and damage? Or do we have to wait until he's moved on to the next money-spinning technological advance in medical equipment?

To Anonymous, I'm in Australia. The insult 'Peta loving liberal' barely even makes sense to me.

You know what Dr Ephraim would probably really like? To know the name of the person who supports him so strongly. So why don't you stop hiding behind 'Anonymous', man up, and tell us all who you are. Or are you happy to remain an insecure keyboard warrior?

There are many abattoirs who claim to have excellent service, but that doesn't justify the fact that they're killing innocent beings. Oh, but the new way of slaughter is to stun before cutting their throats! That makes it okay, does it?

Just because Dr Ephraim's services are good, as you claim, doesn't mean that what he's doing is okay. The 'new' way of declawing isn't any less cruel or brutal than the previous way of declawing. Because at the end of the day, he's exploiting animals for his own selfish reasons, and is promoting cruelty and suffering to cats whose claws wouldn't actually be a problem if vets like Dr Ephraim educated people.

Just because a dog barks, doesn't mean is HAS to be devocalised for you to get some peace. Teach the dog not to bark, correct him when he's doing the wrong thing, praise him when he's doing the right thing. It's the same with cats and scratching. Correct bad behaviour, and praise good behaviour. With time, commitment, and consistency any cat can be taught what he can and can't scratch.

Declawing is not a last resort, no cat ever HAS to be declawed. Declawing is, and will always be, the lazy way out of a problem that can be fixed.

I am NOT a Peta loving liberal. In fact, I do not condone many of their actions! I just know that it is MAIMING when removing a cat's claws, no matter how it is done. You should read up on it more before you make statements like that. Do you have your OWN cats declawed? If so, I'd like to hear how they are doing.

It makes no difference how good a vet is if he mutilates cats and cripples them for life.
That sure looks to me like that one is encouraging declawing!
Get real about the facts and know too that hiding behind anonymous isn't going to help you convince people how good you think that doctor is.
Take a tour around this site and learn the truth about declawing and the suffering it causes.
Your ignorant remark about being psycho and about Peta show just how little you know.
CATS NEED CLAWS and that is why they are born with them!

Far from being a psycho, Maggie is a caring well read lady who has researched declawing and knows along with the rest of true cat lovers how cruel it is.
It has nothing to do with PETA. We are concerned that a supposedly last resort operation is being pushed by vets who fill their bank accounts by breaking their oath to cause no animal to suffer.
There is NO new way to declaw because whichever method used it means the amputation of the cat's last toe joints.
You 'think' Dr Ephraim is trying to sell the declaw procedures because many people want to declaw their pet. I suggest you 'think' again and wonder why he doesn't educate them to the fact that scratching is necessary to a cat's health and welfare.
Tiny kittens are being disabled for life by being declawed 'just incase' they scratch and this is because vets like Dr Ephraim are failing their REAL clients, the cats!
If you do some research yourself you will find that cats need their claws for many things and that anyone who doesn't understand this is the wrong person to have a cat in their home.
Look in Rescue Shelters and see how many declawed cats are there because of problems caused by the cruel surgery done for the convenience of those people and to make money for vets like Dr Ephraim.

I know MANY people who bring their pets to Dr Ephraim. They have nothing but good things to say about him. Yes, it is a little expensive but you are paying for excellent service. I think he is trying to sell the declaw procedures because he knows many people want to declaw their pet and he wants them aware of the new way to do it. I think youre a psyco for saying BS like that. Peta loving liberal.

Good for you !
Yes if everyone bombards declaw vets and politicians etc with letters they must surely realise the strength of feeling about the cruelty of declawing.
Also as far as possible boycott declaw vets if you can get to non declaw ones.

After reading your article, I sent a letter to Dr. Ephraim and the Oakton Clinic, for all the good it will do. I praised them on their website and technology. Then I brought to their attention the oath they took and the medical dictionary's definition of the terms they swore to uphold.

I posted it as a note on my Facebook page (An Onymousamputies). Feel free to copy it and send your version of it to everyone who declaws.

I also posted another one that you can send to politicians and vets asking that declawing be banned.

If we all send these letters (or ones like them) to all the vets and politicians, maybe declawing will become a historical torture devise from long ago. I pray that this works out for the kitties.

Colleen if you are on facebook join us on 'The International Coalition Against Declawing' and from there we can point you to other anti declaw groups too.Our numbers are growing but we need as much help as we can to educate people about this cruelty by many vets and ultimately get it banned !
XX

I just sent these comments:
I just read with disgust an article about Dr. Glenn and how he has been mutilating cats for years and years but cutting off their toes! Yes, that is what he is doing, no matter how he sugarcoats it! There is no humane way to declaw because declawing is NOT humane! How dare he make these little tiny KITTENS suffer so he can make some extra money?! It's a good thing I don't live in your area or I would be organizing some major protests for what is being done there. PLEASE,PLEASE stop the mutilation now! It has been proven over and over again that cats need their claws to walk and to protect themselves. I have 3 cats who happily scratch me while I'm playing with them and I'm happy that they CAN! Consider what you are doing, please!!!

Colleen from Texas

Feel free to use any or all of it to send a loud and clear message to this butcher!

These vets just sicken me.
The only think they are good for is Crocodile fodder.
They spout their lies time and again but are such cowards they don't want anyone to comment.
All I can say is that I hope with all my heart that they get their reward in hell. These are Gods creatures and they have no right to ruin their little lives with their brutality.

Scum is what they are; nothing more and I hope that Butcher Ephraim and the like of him rot in hell.

Another waste of space cruel money grabbing vet hits the headlines thanks to Maggie from a country where declawing is recognised as the abuse it is.

This doctor has made it to the Declaw Hall of Shame on facebook for all to see that he fills his coffers through animals suffering.

Thousands of people to spread the word to millions to boycott his clinic.

GREAT!!!!!

This passsionless robot of a man who has blocked comments on his sales talk for declawing kittens is a disgrace to his profession.
Desperately trying to sell the last resort procedure as something it's OK to do to kittens as young as 11 weeks.
Pardon me if I'm wrong but isn't it supposed to be 12 weeks before a kitten leaves its mother?
This excuse for a vet would no doubt like to get his hands on entire litters of kittens and dismember their toes before they even go to new homes.
His bragging of the hundreds of cats he has crippled in his career is stomach churning and sickening to watch.

Good work Maggie in exposing another doctor breaking his oath to cause no animal suffering.

This supposed to be vet is nothing but a butcher in disguise and would have been much happier working in a slaughterhouse where he could have mutilated animals to his heart's content.

But maybe he finds baby cats far better to handle as they have no chance of retaliating against him even with their tiny claws.
I guess he gloats over their pathetic little stumpy toes when he's finished burning the ends off.

What a disgusting way to make your dollars doctor.

Yes Maggie,what a money hungry vet and yes it's easy to see he loves declawing and he thinks it's a miracle kittens are OK next day.
He doesn't seem to realise there shouldn't be any question of kittens miraculously recovering because they shouldn't have to recover from this totally needless surgery.
I read once that if a kitten breaks a bone it doesn't actually break but it bends because it isn't hardened.So that to me says kittens toe bones must be soft and mallable,maybe that's why this butcher is begging for more kittens,he must be able to burn through their soft bones in seconds.
I bet he'd like a conveyor belt of these babies going by to notch up hundreds more he's declawed and to fill up his bank account at the same time.

Well done for exposing this greedy corrupt excuse for a vet.
He stands there extolling the virtues of his LESS painful amputation of kittens toe ends and claws and he almost slavers with the thought of getting his hands on them at 11/13 weeks old or when they weigh 3lbs.
It's quite obvious he can't wait to perform more miracles,in fact he invites people from miles away to come with innocent victims for his pleasure of disabling them.
Can we wonder he thinks nothing of crippling baby cats when he declawed cats for all of his career even when they suffered for a fortnight after.
What sort of a person deliberately carries on doing that.
Comments disabled......well what a surprise,another lily liver who doesn't want anyone reading what declawing really does mean.
Dr Glenn if you ever read this I wish you a very painful complaint and remember when you are feeling sorry for yourself what goes around comes around.You caused hundreds of cats pain so don't expect any sympathy when it's your turn.

Thank you for a extremely good article Maggie.
That video clip sickened me too, the way that man talked about the hundreds of cats lives he has ruined in the past and how hungry he is to keep on doing more.
As always with those greedy cruel pro declaw vets, he had disabled comments so that anyone who doesn't know that declawing is in reality ten amputations will happily have it done to their kitten.
I was shocked at the way he talked about cats in pain for a fortnight after the 'old method'
So he and other vets like him did know they were causing cats pain and misery yet year after year he carried on declawing.
Now with his 'wonderful' laser declawing he boasts is almost this, almost that, he obviously wants to ruin as many more kittens lives as he possibly can before declawing is banned. He wants people from miles around to bring their kittens to his clinic. He doesn't give a thought to those kittens growing up without toe ends, unable to do the things kittens are born to do. It breaks my heart to think of them trying to exercise and to play with toys, as is their right. Taking their healthy little toe ends from them pleases him greatly.
This is a disgraceful and blatant breaking of his oath to harm no animal and it is beyond belief that he can get away with doing it.
I hope everyone will boycott that clinic and write and tell them why.

He talks in a completely relaxed, almost proud way, in complete ignorance of the fact that he is in blatant breach of his oath, the basis upon which all veterinary surgery takes place. It is astonishing.

These vets are almost like robots from another planet to Europeans and Antipodeans.

Thanks for taking the time to write this, Maggie.