Are You Still Thinking About Declawing Statistics ?
Posted by: Alan in Cat Health Problem, tags: About, Declawing, Statistics, Still, Thinking
Further to Vixpetrolia’s question and link to 10 year old study, I contacted Annie Bruce, cat expert,author, and cat behavioural consultant, who has been fighting for a ban on declawing for many years and who knows the truth.This is what she says :
I believe this so called ‘study’ is the one every vet cites (done by Canadian vet Dr. Gary Landsberg.) It wasn’t really a study but a questionaire to vets about THEIR perception of the cats THEY themselves declawed. And according to their conclusions, it’s okay for cats to bite and that exercise wasn’t even considered in regard to cat health. The fact that vets continue to cite invalid data is irresponsible and greedy.
These are the stats published on my web and in my book:
Published 2/1/03 on CourierPostOnline.com, “Eighty percent of the cats that are surrendered that are declawed are euthanized because they have a behavioral problem…. Declawed cats frequently become biters and also stop using litter boxes… One or the other…,” said William Lombardi shelter director, Gloucester County , New Jersey .
A study of 163 cats that underwent onychectomy (declawing), published in the Jul/Aug 1994 Journal of Veterinary Surgery, showed that 50% suffered from immediate postoperative complications such as pain, hemorrhage, and lameness; and long-term complications, including prolonged lameness, were found in nearly 20% of the 121 cats who were followed up on in the study.
In a study published in the January, 2001 JAVMA, 33% of 39 cats that underwent onychectomy developed “at least” one behavior problem immediately after surgery, with the most common problems being litter box problems and biting.
In a recent study published October, 2001, JAVMA by Dr. Gary J. Patronek, VMD, PhD., “…declawed cats were at an increased risk of relinquishment.”
A recent national survey of shelters from the Caddo Parrish Forgotten Felines and Friends indicates that approximately 70% of cats turned in to shelters for behavioral problems are declawed.
From the Summer 2002 issue of PETA’s Animal Times: “A survey by a Delaware animal shelter showed that more than 75% of the cats turned in for avoiding their litter boxes had been declawed.” [emphasis added]
In my own three-year experience, 95% of calls about declawed cats related to litter box problems, while only 46% of clawed cats had such problems—and most of those were older cats with physical ailments. Of my calls, only declawed cats have cost their owners security deposits, leather sofas and floorboards. And it’s mostly declawed cats that have been prescribed pain killers, anti-depressants, tranquilizers and steroids. Two-thirds of my calls are about litter box problems. In 90% of those cases, the cat is declawed, sick or old. In 7 years, only 3 people have called about a “scratching-the-sofa problem” – yet countless of “healthy” declawed cats have peed on sofas.
Annie Bruce
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November 7th, 2009 at 4:37 am
That’s more like the truth!
The so called studies, such a the one highlighted by Vixpetrolia, that are in fact funded by pro-declawing veterinary surgeons are meant to mislead, they are loaded in favour of declawing simply because it is a terrific money maker for the less unscrupulous vets who aren’t in the profession because they care much about animals but because it’s a paying game.
They must be a source of extreme shame and exasperation to their more ethical colleagues
November 7th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Thanks! To answer your question, these days I seem to be always thinking about declawing statistics. Do some people think the more surgery they do on their pets the better owners they are or something?
November 7th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Very interesting and useful information. I’m totally against declawing anyway and I always will be. It’s totally inhumane and cruel.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Don’t think i could every declaw smudge…..especially after reading that! never wanted to before! but now i definitely don’t want to!
November 7th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Very interesting, thank you.
November 7th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
That is a very interesting and also shocking read.
I always thought declawing was cruel and barbaric, but this article gives justification to my belief. Those who have their cats declawed obviously care much more about their furniture than their cats, and would be better of with a cat-shaped cuddly toy than a real cat, because, that’s obviously all they really want. It’s also inexcusable because a healthy cat can be trained not to claw furniture if they have something of their own which they can claw.
I hope it does get banned in the US.
November 7th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Hi Katt!
Thanks for posting this information. It is so important for people to really learn the truth about declawing. Those that choose to declaw their cats fantasize that this will be the end to those “pesky” problems and their cats will now be well behaved, happy kitties; will not be able to scratch furniture or people anymore, so obviously their troubles are over, which, of course, borne out by this scientific research is certainly not the case.
Cat lovers in the USA who are vehemently opposed to declaw surgery are working hard to have this cruel and unusual punishment practice banned. What is making it far more difficult for us, is that many vets derive a rather hefty income for declawing, and “selling it” for young cats with neuter/spay as a package. Furthermore I have read that veterinary receptionists are instructed precisely what to share with clients inquiring about the safety and cost of the surgery, giving them very little information, but clearly stating, “it is your choice”. Some receptionists even have a printed “script” from which to read for such calls.
I adopted a declawed Siamese years ago, who chewed everything in sight, left toothmarks in all my lampshades and windowshades, and would not let me touch her paws. I was heartbrokken with her fright and obvious discomfort. In all the years that I have been owned by cats, none of my cats have ever been declawed, and I certainly would never declaw any other cat. My furntiure is far less important than my sweet furry companions, with whom I share my heart and home. Oh- and by the way, with all the scratching posts and cat towers, my furniture looks great.It is just a matter of patient and consistent training.
Again, thank you so much for this question and for providing all the data to support the idiocy and cruelty of declawing. These statistics will be very useful in talking with folks who are thinking about having the surgery performed. Blessings!
I have provided a link in my personal blog for anyone that wants to sign the petition to help ban this surgery.http://frequentlyfeline.blogspot.com/200…
Troublesniffer
Owned by cats for over 40 years
Member: Cat Writer’s Association
November 8th, 2009 at 2:11 am
i once had a cat named blackie (he was my baby; i had him for eleven years before i had to have him put to sleep). i got him from a shelter when he was about a year and a half old. he was declawed; i didn’t realize this until afterwards. apparently the guy who had relinquished him to the shelter had found him as an older, outside cat. he took him in, got him fixed, declawed, and vaccinated, but had to give him up because he couldn’t keep him in his apartment. blackie had a lot of behavioral problems; he ripped his fur out, he was always iffy about using the litter box, and he could be prone to biting. i’ve always believed his problems had something to do with him being declawed, and this pretty much confirms my suspicions.
November 8th, 2009 at 2:13 am
That’s more like it man ! I’ve read Annie Bruce’s book ‘Cat be Good’ and she’s brilliant !
But statistics apart, how can anyone who says they love cats get them mutilated ? that’s what I can’t get my head around man, I’ve tried and tried but everyone know cats have claws, why get a cat and then have their claws and toe ends taken off ?
Cats are beautiful as they are.
November 8th, 2009 at 4:28 am
Nice find, thanks.
The other thing does count as a study, but like you’ve quoted, it was simply a questionnaire to vets who declaw.
Since declawing doesn’t benefit cats, the vets who do it must be more motivated by money than they are by caring for cats. They probably also feel a bit defensive about what they do and would be likely to lie about the procedure. They may even believe their own lies so they don’t have to think about what they’re doing.
Cats instinctively hide their pain. A cat in pain would be easy prey in the wild. They frequently don’t let us know how bad the situation is until it’s too late or almost too late. Even the most pampered, prissy house cat will hide their pain. So when we actually do see that they’re hurting, that means that it’s severe.
While the other study may have been accurate in the sense that it was based on the opinions of vets who perform declawing and owners who haven’t already given up their cats, it was clearly not accurate to facts.
edit – oops. I guess my actual answer must be- Yes, I’m still thinking about that BS piece of propaganda.
November 8th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Yes I’m still thinking about it and about what Babz posted in reply to the other question and how some people just hear what they want to hear and then justify themselves because at the bottom of them they know declawing is a terrible thing to do to any cat.
It’s banned in our country as animal abuse but we want to help the people in countries where is still happens, to get it banned there too.
Its right that some vets don’t want it banned as they make a lot of money out of it.But at what cost to the poor cats they cripple ???