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.
Sue, if it’s difficult for vets to find employment with clinics which don’t declaw, does that mean the procedure is more common than we’d imagined? I’ve read estimates that around 30% of cats in the USA are declawed, but have no idea if that is correct. Have you encountered many declawed cats during your career as a vet?
Thanks for commenting Diana.
The link I provided in my previous comment goes to a page written essentially by an American vet, Dr Doub (Paw Project-Utah) who states that declawing does not stop abandonments. In any event if a cat owner wants to abandon her cat because of the cat’s claws, it is ridiculous. Declawing is not the answer. Changing the mentality of the owner is the answer. The argument that declawing stops abandonments is piling bad on bad (delcawing on top of bad cat caretaking). Bad on bad does not equal good.
As a Brit, I’d never even heard of declawing until I came across it on the internet almost 10 years ago. The more I learned about the procedure, the more horrified I became.
At the time although declawing information was readily available from American sites, I could find very little from British or European vets on the subject, other than to say it was banned on the grounds it is a non-therapeutic procedure which interferes with sensitive tissues and bone structure.
I decided to ask my vet if he knew where I could find European case studies or information as to why declawing was banned. He replied “You won’t, because you don’t need case studies to know declawing is cruel”.
If British, European and Australian vets chose not to declaw long before bans were legally introduced, why do some vets in North America continue pretending that it’s not a disabling procedure? Do they really care more about making money or pandering to the whims of clients, than they do about their patients? They have sworn an oath to put the welfare of their patients first, but sadly that is not the case with far too many vets.
By “we” I was actually referring primarily to me and my fellow staff members here at this clinic. We (at my clinic) have actually discussed how we find things interesting or funny that others may find gross. We have also discussed when it is the right time and the wrong time to make joke.
Again, some of the vets you are referring to may indeed be telling lies but I think most are telling what they believe to be the truth. I think many really believe that they may be keeping a cat in a home because (1) that is what the client says and (2) there are no studies that say otherwise. I know The Paw Project is working on trying to compile new information to try and prove that it is not true. Right now their is only conflicting and anecdotal evidence to the contrary.
Things are changing. New York is considering a ban. Hawaii is considering a ban. Much like the Marriage Equality situation, once a state or two passes a ban it will start the ball rolling to a nationwide movement.
Many vets have no choice in the matter. They work for a Banfield or a VCA or some other owner and must do as they are told or risk losing a job they need. That is one of the primary reasons I now own my own clinic, so I can make the rules! I honestly think that the vets who defend doing declaws have no idea of the long-term issues it causes for the cats. I was never taught that and only found out by doing my own research. Education of both vets and cat owners is key. Legislation to ban would be even better because that would take the whole thing off the table!
The picture the intern posted was misguided for sure, but I suspect she was mostly just wanting her friends to know she works in a veterinary clinic, of which she is proud, and that the vet jokes with her, of which she is proud. Young people post foolish things every second.
About the picture of the declawing: just because the assistant is not wearing gloves does not mean this is not sterile. She may just be holding the arm as the vet glues or bandages. She is not touching the surgical site. After the glue is applied the surgery site is no longer open. Furthermore, once the bandages come off (if any are applied), the area is then subjected to no end of filth from floor, the cat’s tongue, the litterbox. It is really a horribly hard place to keep clean by any means. And when I did declaw I removed bandages within a few hours as the poor kitties detested the bandages and would harm themselves trying to remove them. As soon as they started trying I would remove them for them. Believe me when I say that it would be counterproductive in every way for a vet not to follow sterile technique. No one would want the bad reputation or financial obligation that would ensue if surgical sites became infected routinely.