SPCA wants B.C.’s veterinarians to prohibit declawing of cats
Feline declawing may be good for your furniture, but it’s bad for your cat, says the B.C. SPCA. The organization is calling on the College of Veterinarians of British Columbia to enact a ban on the practice, which they say causes unnecessary pain and suffering for cats.
“For nearly two decades the B.C. SPCA has been on record opposing procedures such as declawing, tail docking, ear cropping, and devocalization that impact an animal’s ability to experience good welfare and to express natural behaviours,” said Dr. Emilia Gordon, the B.C. SPCA’s senior manager of animal health, in a news release. “Declawing a cat does not just remove the nails, it removes bones of the toes — comparable to amputating all of a human’s fingers at the last knuckle.”
Letting your kitty keep its claws keeps your cat sharp, in more ways than one. Studies have shown that declawed cats have more trouble using the litterbox and a see a significant increase in their chances of back pain.
A recent study also showed that 63 per cent of declawed cats experienced abnormal bone growth where the toes had been cut, causing severe pain.
“There are many short- and longterm complications of declawing,” said Gordon. “Cats need their nails to engage in normal behaviour and movement.”
If B.C.’s vets were to take such a step, they would be following the lead of Nova Scotia’s veterinarians, who issued a statement in December calling feline declawing “ethically unacceptable,” announcing that the practice would be phased out in 2018. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association spoke out against the practice in 2017 as well.
“It is evident that felines suffer needlessly when undergoing this surgery as an elective measure,” said Dr. Troy Bourque, the association’s president.
A decision by the College of Veterinarians of British Columbia to make feline declawing an unethical practice of veterinary medicine “would be a significant step forward in the humane treatment of animals in B.C.,” Gordon said.
If the B.C. veterinarians deemed feline declawing an unacceptable practice, any individual who performed the procedure in the province could face animal cruelty charges under B.C.’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.