At the vets, de clawed cats being registered

[Goadyflattery]

Surely that's not legal? The receptionist didn't say anything, they are not rescued as the stupid women was banging on about their pedigree and how she had it done to stop them climbing

I did struggle not to say anything but didn't feel up to the altercation as was with ddog who is very unwell. I thought the receptionist would say something, she laughed when the women said that she didn't let them out of her garden as they were unable to defend themselves since having their front claws removed. I only managed a glare.
Could I do anything? I can remember her address as I heard her say it to receptionist.
I could phone RSPCA but if it wasn't done here, what could they do?

Yes report her. She sounds thick as pig shit. Poor cats.

She was thick, that was obvious.

I'd be changing vets as well if the receptionist laughed.

If they were declawed outside the UK no offence has been committed.
As a practice we would aim to build a relationship with this kind of client to allow us to educate them as to why things like declawing and ear cropping are illegal unacceptable in the UK.

I think it was nerves pink, I don't trust my own judgement these days as I stick my nose in to so much that is not strictly to do with me.
I asked a women in Cornwall last summer to stop hitting her dog and got a mouth full of abuse and the dcs ended up in tears.
The women was definitely British, had moved back from abroad I think and was registering them.

I think Ireland still allows dogs tails to be docked.

There are days here I could cheerfully send our cat to have his voice box out. Dh probably feels the same about me though.

Our relatives who also have a Bengal were offered de clawing in 2009 in Hampshire. They were horrified. It was part of a neutering & chipping package.

was that a vet fluffy? That is horrifying, the links that I found said it was outlawed in 2006.

Awful practice, poor cats. That dog was a Preso Canario (?) imported into the UK as far as l can remember Goady and came to a very sad end She was found dead (not by natural causes either) in the river.

Yes, at a vet. He was only 4 months or so old too.

Most of our relatives are awesome pet owners luckily who wouldn't think to do this.

Yes, the dog had been strangled and dumped in the river. I hate to think of the life it had anyway.
The owner deleted any comments about the ear cropping on FB. It concerned me that animal welfare charities were sharing the 'distraught' owners plea for the return of the dog, given it all seemed very shady.
It was kept outside in a pen.

It's awful. When I adopted my cats in Canada I had to sign to confirm I wouldn't declaw them. Still legal but you'd be hard pushed to find a vet that will do it, I was told.

It is illegal here and across all the EU. I saw a documentary about declawing in the US. It's very common (and in Canada too) and vets push it with many people not being aware how cruel, deforming and chronically painful it is for a cat. It brings in millions of dollars in vet fees so the AVA is keen on it. Activists have had it outlawed in California and hope other states will follow suit.

It's a monstrous practice. If you can't stand your furniture being scratched, don't get a bloody cat.

I do apologise, I see it's not now allowed in Canada.

What is it with some Americans? Declaw your cat, mutilate your dog's ears, circumcise your son and buy your daughter a gun.

But don't import a Kinder egg, that wouldn't be right.

I'd take great pleasure in chopping the owner's fingers off at the distal joint. I really would. Then she (the owner) wouldn't be able to get her claws manicured.

Why acquire an animal that you know needs to scratch and climb? Then chop bits off so it doesn't ruin your bee-oootiful furniture? It's part of their exercise to scratch, and their intrinsic nature to climb.

She should've got a fish, but the fins would probably annoyed her.

Imagine the pain of having parts of your fingers removed, all at once.

Interloper here from the doghouse, but if you want to see another shining example of the American attitude to animal welfare, look at the 'Big Lick' trainers of the Tennessee Walking Horses
I can't actually bring myself to google the links to post them, because it is the most barbaric animal abuse you will see, but yet families queue up to attend country shows to see the horses with their 'flicky' walk
Which is 'trained' by painting battery acid onto their legs and using stun guns on them

Oh, and Cozie - the voicebox removal. Why??! I love it when MCat greets me with his loud and insistent "Mmrrow!" and little Monsieur skips about the house, making a noise I can't describe. Even when he sits on the bedroom windowsill chattering and nickering at the birds, waking me up at dawn.

And that greeting when you walk through the door.

Imagine being made mute. What sort of vet would agree to such horror?

sparechange is very correct. The Tennessee walking horses are very upsetting and disturbing to watch. There has been a show made of trying to address the problem but I don't think it is being very effective.

You're welcome here spare, anyone who hates animal cruelty is, as far as I'm concerned, and I reckon everyone else here feels the same.

Battery acid, stun guns, FLICKY WALK - utterly incomprehensible. Poor horses. If you did that to a human, you'd be banged up.

One of our old neighbour's had a rescue cat that they had homed whilst they lived in the states. They had to sign a disclaimer stating that he would only be an indoor cat because he had been declawed. They used to exercise him outside on a harness and lead.

Here is a link, if anyone is interested in knowing more. There are plenty of other exposes and undercover films as well, if this doesn't turn your stomach enough

m.youtube.com/watch?v=gxVlxT_x-f0

I can't comprehend how the supposedly most advanced country on the planet still tolerates nay encourages this barbarity and senseless abuse of kind and gentle animals.

I don't think it was ever as common as declawing, Mantra. I guess there are some people who take the 'animals as accessories' approach?

We have a rescue who has a claw she can't retract due to an injury to her foot. The vet will not even remove that one claw even though she scratches herself with it when she washes herself. I imagine as it was already done there was really nothing to be said.

No, Midsomermurderess, declawing is certainly not "very common" in America. I'm American, and I don't know anybody who had a declawed pet, and declawing is considered cruel and disgusting by most people (I'm from Massachusetts, by the way). Declawing is something that I associate with trailer parks and Honey Boo Boo and ignorant people who chain smoke and feed their kids mac and cheese for dinner: NOT something that educated, civilized people do, and CERTAINLY not something that vets "push" at people. Most vets do NOT declaw.

Also, I have never heard of someone having a cat's voice box removed. That is crazy. I don't believe that any vet would agree to do this. If your vet has heard of an American doing this, it must have been a freak one-off by a deranged individual.

I have two cats, and neither of them is declawed or de-voice boxed. Although now that I live in Europe, people keep asking if my cats ARE declawed, simply because I am American.

The uninformed anti-American idiocy is unbelievable. Voice box, indeed!

(By the way, there are some common British customs regarding horse care that most Americans find abusive and hard to believe).