Adjust Text Size Halifax vet clinics give thumbs-down to de-claw procedure By Haley Ryan Share this Article METRO/Jeff Harper Fabulous felines like Zelda will no longer be declawed at three metro-area veterinary clinics. (Jeff Harper/Metro) Three animal clinics in HRM will no longer de-claw cats, saying the procedure is unnecessary and one that “causes a lot of pain.” Peter Ainslie, CEO of Halifax Veterinary Hospital Inc., said his team decided to stop offering de-claw procedures a couple months ago, but just posted the new policy to their website on Wednesday. “I think if clients were truly informed of what was done, they wouldn’t go ahead … It’s not fair to the animal because of the suffering,” Ainslie said. “It made everyone feel good that we’re … on the right track.” Although the clinics in Fairview, Halifax and Spryfield only get 12 to 20 de-clawing requests a year, Ainslie said having a definite policy protects veterinarians from feeling pressured into the procedure by a cat owner. If you’re worried about the cat scratching up your furniture, there are options such as keeping claws trimmed or using paw covers, Ainslie said, but it’s important to realize there could be long-term health concerns for de-clawed cats. “There’s arthritis and a whole lot of things that will be there as they grow older and cause other complications,” Ainslie said. The Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association has banned cutting the tails and ears of dogs for cosmetic reasons, but so far has not taken a stance against declawing cats. Hugh Chisholm, founder of the Atlantic Cat Hospital and owner of feline mayoral candidate Tuxedo Stan, said he’s glad to see a group of vets taking a stand against de-clawing, or “onychectomies.” “Imagine your fingernail where it turns pink, and you know that if you go back that far suddenly it hurts,” Chisholm said. “Claws are the same …in order to make sure the nails don’t grow back, we have to remove the entire nail bed, which means going through that last knuckle joint to make sure you get everything.” Chisholm said if a cat that’s been de-clawed gets outside, they might not be able to defend themselves if they run into trouble. “You see a lot of cats come in with injuries that you know might not have happened if they had they had those claws,” Chisholm said. News Worth Sharing:
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 17:03:33 +0000
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