1. How is declawing done?
2. What are the reasons for it?
3. Is it harmful to the animal?
4. Are there many people who request for declawing to be done to their cats? Who are these people? How many to date? Is there an increase?
5. What is your personal view towards it? Why do you choose to provide this service?
Answers:
1. Surgery under general anaesthesia - remove the 3rd toe bone (phalanx). An illustration was given. Now, there are video clips of a cat being declawed in the webpage. This is NOT from Toa Payoh Vets but it would appear to be since it was included in the webpage. It was taken from the internet. I told Ms Amanda Wong that I had not done any declawing surgery for the past 9 years and I would not the appropriate interviewee. According to "My Paper", 6/10 vets reported an increase in request for declawing. Certainly, I do not have any request for declawing in the last 9 years as regards my area of practice. However, this was not mentioned in the webpage!
2. Two reasons I would do declawing as a last resort and after asking the owners to wait 1-2 weeks to re-consider. These are damage to property and injury to family and other pets. These are the two of various reasons cats are euthanased or sent to the animal shelter where they may be put to sleep.
3. Besides anaesthetic risks, post-operation complications, there is the worry from cat lovers that the cat will have behavioural problems like being more aggressive. However, there are owners who say that the cat becomes more gentle. The big worry is that the cat can't defend itself when attacked. This is unlikely in an indoor cat.
4. Nobody has requested for cat declawing in the pat 9 years in my practice. I can only remember one case where I advised buying a scratching post and clipping the cat nails regularly and the owner did not continue further. In fact, there is a trend for younger owners not to declaw as they are more knowledgeable. This answer did not appear in the webpage of www.razortv.com.sg
5. My personal view is that I will perform the surgery only when the cat-owner relationship is strained such that the cat will be sent to the animal shelter where it will be put to sleep or the cat owner will need to get the cat put to sleep.
Failure in training e.g. use of a solid scratching post, anti-clawing spray, nail caps, food treats for positive reinforcement training, balloons, noises, water guns, noisy paper wrapping over furniture and weekly nail clipping during the 1-2 week cooling off period.
If the owner still can't resolve the problem, declawing is preferred to euthanasia. Many young children feel distressed when the cat is euthanased due to parents having to do it if they don't have declawing as an option. In such instances, I will perform the surgery.
I had told Amanda Wong, I do not have any declawing surgeries in the last 9 years. I don't know whether she believed me.
Training needs time.
Get a strong scratching post for the new kitten. Train it to use the scratching post or give it an unwanted piece of carpet to declaw. Firm verbal commands when the kitten starts clawing furniture and give treats on success? Clip nails weekly for older cats.
"You have got the wrong vet to interview. You need to interview a vet who performs such surgeries recently," I said to her. She said she was interviewing other vets. She asked me whether declawing was a recent American concept. I said declawing had been practised for some 40 years or more but nowadays the younger generation in Singapore does not favour declawing as it is cruel. I was surprised that she said that there was an increase in demand for cat declawing. She asked why I did not have any cases since a newspaper dated Dec 14, 2009 said that 6/10 vets interviewed reported an increase in demand. "Maybe it is the type of cat owners in Toa Payoh and the surrounding neighbourhood," I said. "My clients do not buy expensive cats or I don't get their consultation. Or I don't have many feline cases. I don't know."
This is one of the subjects that vets don't want to be interviewed if they perform declawing as the animal rights activists will put them in the "declawing hall of shame" and there is one such website. It would not be good for business.
However, many cat owners need to be educated that regular nail clipping and the provision of a strong scratching post or training the cat to use the scratching post is the possible solution to destructive damage of expensive sofas, cupboards and curtains or scratching injuries to children and pets. I don't do declawing on demand.
I risk this interview of getting into "the declawing hall of shame" to bring out the issues in the open and to educate the younger Singapore cat owners as to the alternatives to declawing. Animal rights activists must understand that cats are family members and if the cats have to be put to sleep or sent to the animal shelter to be put to sleep and there is only one alternative to the lethal injection for the family to retain the cat, declawing may be needed.
P.S. The interview webpage is at:
http://www.razortv.com.sg/site/servlet/segment/main/news/41168.html
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