Very Important Cat Declawing Study Which Must Be Acted Upon By All Veterinarians

Very Important Cat Declawing Study

This is a very important study on cat declawing by three veterinarians called “Pain and adverse behavior in declawed cats”. It is self-funded and therefore there was no influence by interested bodies. It has been published and accepted on 23 March 2017 in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery.

Please share this page to spread the word. It needs to be publicised. Thanks.

I have highlighted the summary in the abstract of the study and the conclusion at the end of the study. As you can see the findings are very concerning. They support what all cat advocates have stated for many years that declawing often significantly harm’s domestic cats in the long term, in various ways.

It is unimaginable that the AVMA and all American veterinarians could ignore this study. However, I’m informed that the AVMA have appeared to have ignored it and have failed to publish it on their website. They appear not to have made reference to it and its findings. And as for the vets who declaw, they are probably unaware of it or they turn a blind eye to it.

The conclusions of this study should be published far and wide and digested by all concerned. It is very important. It highlights the shameless, callous behavior of North American veterinarians who declaw cats at the convenience of their owner. Is there no shame? Is there no guilt? When will they stop? What will it take for them to stop this barbaric operation which is totally at odds with their oath and practice guidelines?

Please comment here using either Facebook or WordPress (when available).

Comments

Very Important Cat Declawing Study Which Must Be Acted Upon By All Veterinarians — 6 Comments

Ruth (Monty's Mom) on January 18, 2018 at 2:49 am said:
Michael,
So long as money is involved all the scientific studies in the world will not change a thing, no matter how unbiased, no matter how valid they are. They will be conveniently ignored. It is the same with studies showing the harm fluoroquinolone antibiotics can do to both people and animals. More and more studies are being done all the time that clearly show the danger (including the fact that Baytril can blind your cat) but nothing changes. Those dangerous drugs are still prescribed for every little thing as first line agents. Just as declawing is done as if it were the absolutely only solution to problem scratching behaviors. They don’t even let the cats demonstrate whether they are going to have a problem with scratching things up. They do it to kittens. Again, what is supposed to be a last resort ends up as a first line agent. I just don’t understand how anyone can love money that much to cause such unimaginable suffering just to get more of it.
Ruth
Reply ↓
- Michael Broad on January 18, 2018 at 8:51 am said:
  I think you are right about the money aspects of declawing. I also think that not enough cat owners are interested in the negative aspects of the operation. There are very few shares or views of this page and yet it is important. I don’t the American cat owning people are concerned enough about declawing. That sounds harsh but it looks that way.
  Reply ↓
Michele Massa on January 17, 2018 at 5:34 pm said:
The only thing that will stop unscrupulous vets is to keep sharing to the world how harmful declawing is. The only way to bad vets is not giving them money. If they can’t buy that second vacation home or new Mercedes that is the only thing that will make them upset. Declawing bans may not stop them. How will it get reported? The bad vet is not going to tell a pet owner that wants to declaw it is illegal. The only way I see this being reported is a brave staff member (most will not as they need to keep their job) or a client telling a friend where he or she had the declawing performed.
Reply ↓
- Michael Broad on January 17, 2018 at 6:12 pm said:
  One issue is that the majority of US vets declaw. That’s tens of thousands of vets. It is part of the veterinary scene.
  Reply ↓
  - Michele Massa on January 18, 2018 at 6:35 pm said:
    Exactly, some states and cities and a province in Canada have declawing bans but it appears that unscrupulous vets will just ignore it to keep making money. The only way for scrutiny would an agent posing as a person seeking declawing, whistleblowers either staff or clients, unscheduled visits by an agent to check records,etc. I bet most states are not willing to spend the money on it. Only thing we can do is report if it is banned in that state and boycott vets who do it if we become aware of it. If I was choosing a new vet I would ask in a casual way if they declaw and if they say yes run and tell all your friends not to go there. How can you trust that vet to act in your pet’s best interest if they declaw? I would be afraid they would recommend tests and procedures just to get more money out of me which could jeopardize my cat’s health if the tests are unnecessary.
    Reply ↓
    - Michael Broad on January 18, 2018 at 9:16 pm said:
      Whenever I think of declawing I feel the billions of hours of pain and distress that the millions of cats have suffered at the hands of humans. How this happens in a highly developed nation such as America staggers me. It is clearly wrong but it continues. It undermines the human-cat relationship.
      Reply ↓