Pro-declawing veterinarians are running out of excuses to keep on performing this damaging, unnecessary, multi-amputation surgery on cats.
One of the last bastions is a seeming concern about human health. People who are on blood thinners or immunosuppressive drugs, or people with HIV, fragile skin, or other medical conditions that make them susceptible to infection, proponents say, must declaw their cats to save themselves.
But there is no human medical condition that justifies declawing a cat. Here’s why:
Perhaps most obviously: there are people with all sorts of medical conditions in all the countries where declawing is already illegal, including the UK, the entire EU, Israel, Brazil, Australia, and many others. Cats with claws are completely accepted the way they are.
Many humane and veterinary organizations have also debunked this claim, including:
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
- Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
- American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
- Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA)
- American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)
Here’s what each of these organizations actually says about declawing:
