Laser Declawing Encourages and Perpetuates Declawing
by Michael
(London, UK)
Red laser - photo by dasonic (Flickr)
Laser declawing of cats is a big worry to me as I believe that it encourages and perpetuates declawing, an obnoxious operation that cannot be supported. A vet who uses lasers to declaw cats, Dr. James Clark of the Broadway Animal Hospital, Pittsburg, says that conventional declawing of cats with knives "was really a bad procedure". Note he uses the past tense, which is completely wrong as most veterinaruians, I believe still do not use lasers. Dr. Clark therefore admits that declawing is very bad for the cat.
He goes on to say that the operation if done without lasers causes bleeding (obviously) and a "lot of post operative pain with long recovery times". We know this but it is nice to hear a vet admit it for once.
What though is bad and dangerous for the future of the campaign to ban declawing is that the laser operation is being put forward as almost painless.
Dr. Clark goes on to say that, "now the cat may be batting balls after the surgery is over". In other words there is no pain and the vet does not give the cat keeper medication to take home. Everything settles down in one week he says.
The acute problem with this statement is that it is saying the operation is easy on the cat. The cat's life is unaffected etc. This is untrue and misses the point completely that a cat's claws are part of a cat's essential anatomy and without them there will be behavioral changes and possible pyschological problems following from that.
It also misses the point that it is not it the cat's interest and an operation of convenience for the person.
How far off the mark does a vet have to be? The truth is vets have difted so far from their sworn objective of working in the interests of the animal that they have lost their bearings, their moral compass.
As laser declawing becomes more affordable and more prevalent it will, I am sad to say, present a barrier to banning this practice.
The only way to counter this is to provide widespread objective and accurate education as to the truth about declawing. Veterinarians in the USA have a habit of disseminating half truths and untruths about declawing cats almost without realising it. Either that or their associations rack their brains to figure out how to justify the unjustifiable in the interests of their members and against the interests of the poor cats. They are constantly finding new ways to perpetuate this practice.
Laser declawing encourages and perpetuates declawing and I am worried.
Original story: http://www.morningsun.net/featured/x289810040/ANIMAL-CARE
Laser declawing encourages and perpetuates declawing to Declawing cats