News Video on Declawing Cats

This is a news video about attempts to get declawing banned in the state of Colorado, USA. I am very pleased to see this video. I have difficulty in watching it – but people should! – because you’ll see some cats disabled by declawing. I couldn’t watch it all but please do watch it all.

For me, it is the follow up to the the Pine Grove Animal Hospital, Colorado story. The hospital stopped declawing. This is part of a campaign to stop declawing in Colorado instigated by the release of the new Paw Project movie. It is being screened at the Denver Film Society’s cinema.

Dr. Aubrey Lavizzo DVM heads the Colorado branch of the Paw Project and wants a ban in Colorado. Obviously, I love to see American vets speaking about declawing in this way; criticising it and saying how painful it is, how it can leave cats disabled (there are some disabled cats in the video) with behavioral problems and how it is unjustified. Dr. Lavizzo makes the startling statement that half the cats in shelters are there because of behavioral problems. Is that correct?

Lavizzo discloses that vets are reluctant to discuss the behavioral problems that results from declawing. This is a terrible admission and shows how cynical and distanced from their oath some vets are.

It must be difficult for a vet to speak out like this. I wonder if he is ostracized by other vets. I am sure that lots of Colorado vets want to shut him up.

We must pray that something big happens. A ban beyond municipalities (eight Calif cities have banned it – Santa Monica is one of them) to a state-wide ban in Colorado would be wonderful and might start a domino effect.


My thanks to Dorothy for showing me this video.


Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.

Michael Broad

Hi, I'm a 74-year-old retired solicitor (attorney in the US). Before qualifying I worked in many jobs including professional photography. I love nature, cats and all animals. I am concerned about their welfare. If you want to read more click here.

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5 Responses

  1. anon says:

    37 countries have banned this practice. It is the dissection of the first or top knuckle on your hand. A veterinarian takes an oath to cause no unnecessary pain, and cutting off the whole piece of foot is totally an unnecessary pain. Just think about losing the part of your hand where the nail is at the joint.

    • Michael says:

      Thanks Anon, for your comment and support. It never ceases to amaze me that 99% of American vets are callously in breach of their oath day in and day out.

  2. Leah says:

    The Paw Project and all its supporters have made some amazing strides with getting de-clawing banned I personally couldn’t watch the video however its great that its receiving such praise and being shown in so many places. De-clawing vets? listen up – the truth is out there and its after you….very soon your practice will no longer be seen as a state of the art veterinary clinic it will be seen as a place on torture and bloody mutilation…..perhaps you ought to stop de-clawing now before the world see’s you as the butchers that you are…..stop lining your pockets and stop this horrific torture of cats 🙁

  3. Dee (Florida) says:

    I hope people here start throwing money to The Paw Project.
    That’s a message even idiots understand!

  4. Marc says:

    I hope this works.

    I personally can’t watch it but I don’t feel like I have to. I think it’s very important the people in the US watch it because that’s where the law needs to change. US vets and lawmakers should watch it and anybody out there who would even consider getting a cat declawed should watch it and understand the tragedy of what it means for the cats.

    It’s wrong in so many ways, not least of which is that it is simply wrong in principle. To even begin to do this at some point somebody had to first confront the principle itself – which is that obviously you can’t physically change an animal for your own consumption – any animal, in any way. So first they had to decide to do that anyway and then there’s the whole nightmarish nature of it from beginning to end – and they still do it! Crazy. Mentally deficient vets and laws?

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