Declawing (onychectomy) has been a contentious topic in the veterinary community. In 2017, the AAFP released a position statement strongly opposing declawing as an elective procedure, and emphasizing the obligation of veterinarians to provide cat owners with education and alternatives.
As we continue to amplify our mission to support high standards of practice, continuing education, and evidence based medicine, we are proud to announce the end of elective declawing procedures in our Cat Friendly Practices®.
The Vet J. 2019 May 1;247:8-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2019.02.008
International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases (ISCAID) guidelines for the diagnosis and management of bacterial urinary tract infections in dogs and cats.
Weese JS, Blondeau J, Boothe D, Guardabassi LG, Gumley N, Papich M, Jessen LR, Lappin M, Rankin S, Westropp JL, Sykes J.
Timeline and Practice Options
Starting January 1st, 2021, any new applications for the Cat Friendly Practice® Program will require that the practice confirm they do not perform any elective declawing procedures.
Existing Cat Friendly Practices® have four (4) paths to choose from:
- Confirm their practice already does not perform elective declawing.
- Declare their practice will no longer perform elective declawing as of January 1st, 2021.
- Agree to implement a plan to phase out declawing in their practice within 6 months – ending July 1st, 2021.
- Confirm that, unfortunately, they will not be able to fulfill this new requirement by the deadline. We encourage these practices to engage with the AAFP in different ways to continue their cat friendly efforts, and reapply for CFP Status once their practice is able to fulfill this requirement.
Practices that decide to continue offering elective declawing procedures after July 1, 2021 will maintain AAFP Membership and all other membership benefits, but will no longer be a part of the Cat Friendly Practice® Program.
Resources for Your Practice
We’ve created a comprehensive Claw Friendly Educational Toolkit to assist our CFP’s through this change.
Elements include scientific literature reviews and summaries, scratching educational resources, frequently asked questions (both client and veterinary practices), sample practice implementation plans, phone scripts, practice experiences, free webinars, and client resources.
VIEW-CLAW FRIENDLY EDUCATIONAL TOOLKITThis Toolkit can also be downloaded to your computer. Click the button above and look for the “Download Complete Toolkit” link on the sidebar.
The Impact: Thinking Feline-Forward
Guided by evidence-based information and the pursuit of leading the feline veterinary community, it is the AAFP’s mission to improve the health and welfare of cats. We need to set the standard.
This decision reflects our commitment to cats and we are grateful to be able to take this step towards improving feline welfare. Now is the time. Let’s end this unnecessary elective procedure, educate the public about the negative effects of declawing, defend the welfare of domestic cats, and stand proud as veterinary professionals.
Feedback
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