My Pet World: Education is the best way to discourage declawing
Q: I appreciated your recent column about declawing cats and your stand against this procedure. But you didn't state what we need to do - namely to ban declaw as some other countries have done. Don't you believe the U.S. ought to act tomorrow? -- V.H., Seattle, WA
A: Certainly, many nations have banned declaw surgery (onychectomy), including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, England, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain.
It's a fact that declaw is a choice to amputate a cat's toes, cutting them off at the equivalent of the first knuckle of a human finger. However, in my opinion, as wrong as declaw is, I don't believe it should be banned by law. Changing law doesn't change culture.
Some cat owners won't adopt a cat unless the pet is declawed. I agree with the sentiment that perhaps such people shouldn't have a cat. Then again, I feel it's more important that as many cats as possible have homes. Doctors with HIV-positive and immune-suppressed patients and elderly patients might order them to declaw the cats they already have, or adopt only cats that are declawed. (I'm not defending this practice, just suggesting that it occurs.)
In my opinion, it's all about continuing to educate the medical community, as well as cat owners, and even veterinary professionals.
Increasingly, veterinarians no longer declaw as a matter of "routine" in conjunction with spay/neuter surgery (as per recommendations from the American Association of Feline Practitioners). Increasing, veterinarians offer behavioral advice as an alternative to declaw for cats who are scratching in the wrong places (as per recommendations from the American Veterinary Medical Association).
To directly answer your question, as I understand it, even if I advocated passage of a national law to ban declaw, that's unlikely to happen. In the United States, declaw can be banned in individual communities (as has occurred in several cities in California), or this might happen state by state (including a proposal in New York State).
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Q: Recently, I had an extreme allergic reaction to a friend's cat, with horrible itching. It felt like sand had been thrown into my eyes. I'm very fond of animals and don't know what to do. Any suggestions? -- F.B., Laughlin, NV
A: Ask your doctor about medication you could take before visiting your friend's house. Much depends on the extent of your allergic response, but especially for infrequent exposure (I assume you don't visit the friend weekly), medication might do the trick. Of course, I'm not a doctor and have no clue about your medical history.
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