Ruth, one of the country’s staunchest advocates against declawing, forwarded a couple of photographs to me of a red, spotted tabby-and-white cat being declawed together with a photograph of the cat after being declawed. The screenshot is below.
Jim, a visitor comments (see below): “The woman on the left is the vet and the one who, according to the post, threw the severed cat toes at a third person, apparently a student intern, who was the one who took the photo and wrote the comments. The cat on the right is not the same cat as the one on the left…but apparently was subjected to declawing. It’s still very disturbing and discouraging.” This clears things up. My description off the photos is not accurate with respect to the parties but it does not change what is happening with respect to ethics and moral code.
Perhaps I needn’t add words to this page but I will add a few. I am compelled to. I presume the photograph on the left shows the veterinarian and his assistant declawing this cat. I don’t know the name of the person who made the comments which are below the photograph but they are crass beyond belief and appear to be made by the vet. The behaviour of this couple of medics during the declawed operation is highly objectionable. It is nauseous.
The veterinarian is laughing at the fact that his assistant threw at him the fragments of bone and the claws that had been amputated from this cat’s smashed toes. He actually finds it amusing. Amusing for God’s sake! Only a vet who is completely desensitised to the reality of what he is doing could behave in this manner. And then to post the photos online. Extraordinary. Update: Please read the comments by Ruth on this as she has a better grasp of the ‘players’. This article was written from the screenshot alone.
In the picture on the right we see the aftermath of the declawing operation. This is the classic, fearful, racked with pain, face and posture of a cat who has suffered 10 amputations at the same time, which all took place within about 15 minutes and therefore the operation is quite likely a botch. The vet or assistant finds the photo amusing for some macabre reason.
I am shocked and I am in despair because these vets certainly do not care and by that I mean the vets who genuinely believe that declawing is acceptable and which is part of their culture. Shame on him and her. They are not fit to be veterinary medics.
To be an excellent vet you have to have empathy with the patient. That is as important as knowledge and skill. It is also telling that a trainee vet (if I am correct) is doing the operation. It tells us how routine and unimportant it is to the clinic.
Dr. Sue,
Regarding “there are no studies that say otherwise.” Have you read Dr. Jean Hofve’s work on her site Little Big Cat? There are 2 pertaining to the studies:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/declawing/declawing-and-science/
http://www.littlebigcat.com/declawing/studies-pertaining-to-declawing-onychectomy/
Has anyone the link to the petition about this please? I was told there is one but I can’t find it.
We are not activists, we are animal lovers concerned with their welfare! As Michael says, what does it matter if it was one cat or two, one was pictured being mutilated and her healthy necessary toe ends played with before being tossed in the trash! The other was pictured terrified! You can’t change that!
Most of the people here are involved with animal welfare, personally I’ve lived with, worked with and volunteered with animals all my adult life, so she is no exception. Sadly her good work is out shadowed now by allowing the young intern to show what goes on behind closed doors! Sorry but I wouldn’t ever entrust my cats to that clinic.
I was once a young girl and happy and proud to get my first job working for a vet, but I would never ever have taken photos of terrified animals to share ‘the fun’ of amputating a cat’s toe ends and throwing them around and proclaim it a good day. That girl is clearly immature and unfit to work with animals, I spent my early days crying at night over the pain and shock the animals suffered over necessary surgical procedures, not making fun of them.
Thankfully our vets never ever declawed cats even before it was banned here, they took an oath to cause no animal to suffer, declawing breaks that oath.
But just supposing I had stupidly wanted to take photos to show off, guess what, the vet would have stopped me!
It was highly unprofessional of that vet to allow it and if I lived there I would never ever trust anyone at that clinic with my cats and I would make sure all my friends knew why!
Yes have a laugh, a bit of light relief, but there’s a time and a place for it and that is not around unconscious or terrified patients!
Good one Dee! It’s still there up to now but likely will disappear as all anti declaw comments do, to keep the truth hidden.