New Jersey Assembly Panel Approves CAT DECLAWING BAN

[red top rescue]

Read the article here.

http://www.petmd.com/news/care-safe...mpaign=NWS_01_03_17&utm_content=NWS_Declawing

 

[kittens mom]

I read several comments where there is the usual nonsense about how if owners can't declaw the cats will end up abandoned or in shelters.  That of course is why there are so many declawed cats abandoned at shelters....

 

[moorspede]

That is fantastic news!  

 

[red top rescue]

I had a very long discussion with a vet that I knew concerning just that same thing.  What we discovered is that basically we have two different value sets.  She values the human's right to have a cat and especially for those with small children or diseases, their right to have the cat declawed so it will not hurt them.

My value set puts the rights of the cat ahead of the rights of the human.  If the human cannot have claws in their environment for some reason, then they should not have a cat. 

Once it was clear that we were coming from completely different value systems, there was no more point discussing it. 

The most enlightening web site I have read is one published by a vet wherein he gives details about the procedure itself not to shock and horrify people but to explain the importance of nerve blocks in addition to anesthesia, etc. You can find it at

http://www.allfelinehospital.com/declaws.pml

 

[Willowy]

My argument for those who think that cats have to be de-clawed for health reasons (the human's health) or to protect the kids is: how do you think they do it in England? Do British diabetics and immune deficiency patients not have cats, or do they often die from scratch-related problems? Do British children get their eyes scratched out all the time? Plus they let their cats outside more often than Americans so the cat's claws are dirtier. I mean, England is a country with a similar population (not in numbers but as far as lifestyle) as the US, with similar diseases and all that, so it's a pretty good comparison. And British doctors, if asked, just kind of shrug because it's not really a problem! I don't think it comes down to human needs vs cat needs, it's just a non-issue. Americans only do it because it's a habit.

Anyway, I hope it goes through.

 

[tiptopper]

If only this would become illegal everywhere. Don't have a cat if you want to take away its claws.

 

[Kat0121]

 
If only this would become illegal everywhere. Don't have a cat if you want to take away its claws.

Amen. 

Did anyone notice this gem from the article?

However, some medical professionals, including the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, oppose the bill. In a statement release to petMD, the NJVMA says that because so many pet parents who are unwilling or unable to change their cat's scratching behaviors, they are "likely to abandon or euthanize their cats if de-clawing is not an option.

Yeah right. More like it will cut into profits for those vets who are opposed. Anyone who would have a cat euthanized because they are not allowed to declaw it should A) Not have a cat to begin with or B) rehome the cat and get a pet rock. Any vet who would euthanize a cat because the owner is upset that declawing it is not an option should not be a vet- at least not for cats. 

 

[kittens mom]

 
Amen. 

Did anyone notice this gem from the article?

However, some medical professionals, including the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, oppose the bill. In a statement release to petMD, the NJVMA says that because so many pet parents who are unwilling or unable to change their cat's scratching behaviors, they are "likely to abandon or euthanize their cats if de-clawing is not an option.

Yeah right. More like it will cut into profits for those vets who are opposed. Anyone who would have a cat euthanized because they are not allowed to declaw it should A) Not have a cat to begin with or B) rehome the cat and get a pet rock. Any vet who would euthanize a cat because the owner is upset that declawing it is not an option should not be a vet- at least not for cats. 

So according to them we are to condone abuse and mutilation so pet owners don't dump or kill their pets. Sounds more like a threat than any real concern for the cats.

 

[pegleg]

Excellent news! Here's hoping many more states follow suit. I thought someone was making a horrible joke when I first heard about declawing. Your sofa is not more important than your cat.

 

[mingsmongols]

Unfortunately, most vets are desensitized. It starts out slowly right out of school. You start your first job with all kinds of allusions of savings lives and then meet owner after owner who can't afford the procedures to save their pets lives. Eventually you stop suggesting procedures to people that you think can't afford them. Then theirs the ones where everything that could be done to save them was but it wasn't enough. The owner is out thousands of dollars with a dead family member and blames you. It desensitizes you and makes you cold. It's not just vets though, the whole health care profession as a whole has been hit so hard and so often that they just do their jobs and don't think about the implications to the family or patients because doing so just hurts too much.