It is tiresome and sad to have to report on cat declawing but I have to, to try and stop it. It is so entrenched in the United States that for many professionals, which includes veterinarians, it is so normal as to be a routine outpatient procedure that should be done without question at the behest of the cat’s owner.
This is what happens at the Houston Humane Society. If a person wants to declaw their cat or a cat to be adopted from the society, the vet does it without providing any advice as to the brutality of the operation and why it is unnecessary.
The vet who worked at the Houston Humane Society for forty years has been described as excellent yet he unfailingly declawed cats as a routine. This is against veterinary policy and guidelines and their oath. He has retired and he was not as good as his colleagues stated in my opinion.
Declawing is obviously inhumane. They all seem to have forgotten the meaning of the word “humane” so here it is:
Having or showing compassion or benevolence – or characterised by kindness, mercy, sympathy and inflicting as little pain as possible.
If the Houston Humane Society were acting humanely in respect of declawing they would not do it because it is not done for the cat’s health and welfare but for the convenience of the cat’s owner.
Declawing is not an act of kindness. It is a brutal assault on a defenceless young cat causing severe injury (a multiple part-amputation of each of the toes of both forepaws).
Declawing is not an act of sympathy inflicting as little pain as possible. Declawing is incredibly painful. Read this article to see what I mean: click here.
Declawing is an act done for profit and convenience. No compassion is shown to the victim: the innocent, young cat.
It is tragic that the Houston Humane Society (HHS) declaws cats. It demonstrates a complete lack of self-awareness of what they are doing. They have lost their way and normalised a procedure that is considered a criminal act in the UK.
HHS do some good work. They say:
HHS is dedicated to, and working towards, ending cruelty, abuse and the overpopulation of animals
They want to end abuse. Yet declawing is a form of abuse, isn’t it? They want to end cruelty. Once again declawing is cruel. What is going on?
HHS do cheap declaws combined with spaying and neutering. The cost is $120. The vets have to work fast to justify that. I wonder how many botched operations there are.
The owner of the website citythekitty.com telephone interviewed a customer of HHS on the matter of declawing. Her response indicates that HHS misleads customers:
“First of all, we have never been told that declawing was “amputation surgery” as you call it. Our vet, along with several others that we have called to get information, informed us that this surgery was a simple out patient procedure and that our kitties would be just fine. And yes, the Humane Society of Houston does allow declawing of the front claws for $120. And, as _ _ _ _ mentioned, that makes it seem humane. However, thanks to you, and all the random people who have been bombarding us all day, we have learned that our vets (and the 8 others we called), and the Humane Society are wrong. For that I thank you. Sincerely. We would have never known otherwise.”
Both the public relations person and the executive director failed to respond to enquiries as to why HHS declaws cats.
A manager did answer some questions:
It’s a fairly common practice so I don’t know why we wouldn’t do it. Basically if the person requests it then that’s what we will do for them if it is within the age range.”
That sums it up. At least he answered questions. But he failed to realise that declawing is inhumane and therefore against the stated intentions of the society he works for.
Source and further reading: http://www.citythekitty.com/houston-humane-society-declaws-cats/
It’s too bad when a “humane” society isn’t. It’s also too bad when an owner isn’t humane. Maybe if a human wants a cat declawed, the human must go through it first.
Want to declaw ye cat then get a gawd dam gold fish instead!
I agree!
Or better yet, adopt a shelter cat or kitten that has already been mutilated under the guise of keeping his original home! Isn’t that why veterinarians claim they declaw in the first place? Maybe they can explain why shelters are full of declawed cats?
its sad when a vet is ok with this procedure. unfortunately, our society is such that if someone is willing to pay for something there will ALWAYS be someone willing to provide said service(s). what SHOULD be happening is that the vet SHOULD be informing his animal caretakers that de-clawing their cat is just as traumatic and painful(mentally, physically, AND emotionally)as having a persons nails forcefully pulled off appears to be when we see it done in the movies AS A FORM OF TORTURE for god sakes! who DOESNT cringe during THOSE parts, & if/when they do, HOW could they possibly think doing THAT to ANY animal is ok?! the sad thing is that NO ONE in that office said anything when THEY(the vet &/or nurse)SHOULDVE said, “we absolutely DO NOT do THAT to ANY animal we treat. it is INHUMANE & COMPLETELY unnecessary. u could just as easily(& cheaply) spend $20+ to get a GOOD cat-scratching post, etc & train your cat to use THAT if you are concerned about what he/she will do to your furniture in the future. the thing to remember when you adopt ANY animal: a little training goes a long way.” they SHOULD also be dissuading ALL their clients from THIS practice at every opportunity. im PRETTY sure if that person was asked if he/she thought it was a good idea to have THEIR nails ripped out just so THEY wouldnt be able to scratch someTHING or someONE that they would say, “hell no, buddy! thats going a bit too far…doncha think?”. i feel like if the PROponents of THIS proceedure(as well as some of the other needless & inhumae procedures, etc that people SAY are ok to do to animals for the sake of THEIR comfort/sheer laziness)stopped to put themselves in the ANIMALS position then MAYBE some of it would stop. maybe its just wishful thinking though. rant done. up with kitties; down with dumb vets that pander to dumb care-takers.
We have to keep putting the information out there, since so many people don’t realize and aren’t informed by the vet. Money is more important to the vet, and convenience is priority for the cat guardian. People need to see the pictures of declawed kitties, and read the stories of what happens to them.
WTF?