On their Facebook page, The Paw Project Ohio provide the shocking results of a study they have recently completed into the proficiency of veterinarians carrying out declaw operations (technical term: onychectomy). Here are the results presented in an image which anyone is free to use. Please ask if you wish to use it as there is no right-click downloads on this website. Just leave a comment.
This is a hugely important piece of research. The importance cannot be overstressed. Please spread the word by sharing this post if you want to try and influence lawmakers wishing to ban declawing.
In words: there is a 66% failure rate on declaw surgery in respect of the cats checked. This isn’t 1-2 vets, they say – this is a 66% failure rate overall. The figures are too high to conclude that the problem of botched declaw operations concerns one or two vets. This is an epidemic! They say: please be patient and keep sharing. More shocking news to come…..
A thought: a person commented on the Utah Paw Project page. They asked whether we can automatically assume that where there are bone fragments in the paws of declawed cats that the cat feels pain or at least discomfort. I think that is a reasonably fair question to ask but common sense dictates that the answer must be Yes. Bone fragments are sharp and they are under the skin. What can one expect?
In any case, these are botched declaw operations because we know that when veterinarians declaw cats they remove the last phalange of the toes of the cat. This means that a length of bone at the end of the cat’s toe is removed at the point where that phalange of bone is connected to another length of bone. In which case an incision is made through tissue that connects the bones together. As I understand it, there is no need, therefore, for the veterinarian to cut through bone itself. This clearly indicates that veterinarians are being incredibly careless when they slice off the end of cat’s toes in declawing the cat.
Of course, in this post I am making no judgement about the morality of the operation itself (we all know it is a immoral). In this article we are simply looking at the skill of the veterinarians involved and on these results we have to conclude that there is very little skill evident. If there is skill is not being applied and in which case we have to conclude that the veterinarians involved are being incredibly careless as stated.
I have read on the Internet that veterinarians carry out the declawing of the 10 toes of a forepaws of a cat in around 15 or 20 mins. I would like a veterinarian to confirm this. For me, this supports what I stated that these “doctors” are being very, very careless and treating a cat’s toes as a vegetable that requires trimming! It’s as if they’re trimming the end of a runner bean when preparing dinner….
It’s even worse than we thought and that was very bad!
I think it’s great to have you here explaining all this Jean, thank you.
Oh, I’m quite certain they are *all* in pain, though not necessarily on account of bone fragments. The issue of phantom pain is huge, IMHO–yet all but ignored.
In humans, 100% of amputees (regardless of age or manner of amputation) experience phantom *sensation* but for 80% those sensations are painful. Not constantly, but intermittently. Given 10 separate amputations, I admit my math is lousy, but that seems like about a 400% chance of phantom pain in one or more digits at least occasionally (and potentially much worse).
Add that to the inability to stretch/contracture of tendons/frozen joints, which has to be uncomfortable at the least; and the altered gait leading to aberrant limb function and arthritis…none of which the veterinary profession has ever considered. They don’t want to. They have a strong disincentive to know. It’s just like the issue of emotions in animals. If science acknowledged that animals have emotions, they’d have to stop chopping them up in university and private laboratories…and it could put quite a little a damper on things like rodeos, circuses, factory farms…I’m sure you get my drift!
But to end on a better note, there have been several fascinating studies lately on the recognition of animal pain using, of all things, facial expression. In general, we do a terrible job of assessing pain, but if this system becomes widely known–by both guardians and veterinarians–there’s hope that folks will begin to recognize how these cats are suffering. And, ultimately, that will be impossible to ignore!
Jean says that bits of bone 2-3mm in width are not seen by ordinary x-rays. And the bone could be cut by a dull blade. Even a sharp blade can cause small fragments. We are looking at millions of cats in pain at least potentially.
Why hasn’t some research been done on the prevalence of bone fragments left in the paw? No one knows. Dr Doub is the first to ask. And I don’t know if she is using an x-ray machine that reads 2-3mm particles.
2 mm is quite large and in my layperson’s viewpoint is quite likely to cause problems. So we have to conclude that a high percentage of declawed cats could be in pain permanently and yet the vets totally accept this. Staggering. Personally, if I was in charge I’d restart the whole veterinary profession in the same way one restarts a computer. It needs a rethink.
Found the quote: