Ed Boks speaks FOR declawing cats at Santa Monica City Council

[PrettySailorSoldier]

..............people who would declaw their cat, even after education of the pain & risk that would be experienced by the cat........ or who would abandon their cat if they couldn't have it declawed... should not own a cat. there are other options... such as getting tips installed to the cat's claws. to control the unwanted cat population, all cats should be spayed/neutered by law. and only registered breeders should be allowed to breed cats. and they should have a quota... like in hunting.

[Neolia83]

he's really just saying its better to not ban the declawing and have less cats turned into the shelter and being put down.. he's not trying to say he thinks its good to have the cat declawed..

[twocentsCanada]

Was there also a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance that contributed to cat abandonment?

[xujiaen1]

If you worry your cat will kill your wife, don't get a cat then!!! Simple question, where is your brain???

[anxresi]

People who would be willing to have a cat under the proviso that they be declawed don't deserve such a beautiful animal in the first place. The mere thought of it sickens me, and all it's proponents should be ashamed.

[Dietje56]

As this man is for declawing cats than I have no problems that his fingers get amputated. In at least 38 countries all over the world banned and you get punished as you let your cat declawing

[midnightrites]

He is talking as if he was a success of any kind. Simple maths seems beyond hi, since if no declaw botch hjobs are given in to shelters, there are LESS cats. In no way does declawing save a life. If you can't handle weekly cliping of claws, a cat is not for you.

THey love citing what vets SHOULD be doing - if vets actually did that you would not ever find a spay & declaw package, which is how most are declawed.

roblem with claws isn't the cat or claws - it;s the owner.

[WinterHaven]

Why is he calling spay/neutering mutilation? I sure in hell don't want a thousand friggin cats around. Cats breed like cockroaches. Does this man have some kind of sex problem? I got my two cats spay and neutered as soon as I could. They are perfectly healthy and happy, and if I didn't get them spay/neutered I would have gotten rid of them a long long time ago in the pound. He's a nut job if he doesn't support spay/neutering.

[WinterHaven]

I'm against declawing cats. But in many instances people WILL get rid of their cats if they don't get declawed. I own two cats, but they are not declawed. But I clip my kitty's front claws weekly, and I have no problems with them scratching my furniture. I have designated areas for scratching, which I make a tea out of catnip and spray on those scratch posts twice a week. If my cats take a liking to the couch, I gently mist them with plain water. That stops that activity quickly.

[AnimalActivism]

What a douche bag! This guy works for Dave Weisman of DAX. They're being paid to speak FOR torturing cats. They obviously hate animals. Their arguments are weak and make no sense. It's never declaw or death. It's declaw or training or nail caps or nail trims. You don't lop off a body part because it offends you. What will you do when the cat starts biting? Remove his teeth? What about when he starts pooping outside the box? What body part will you lop off then?

[SYLARSTAR]

The declawing operation is in fact the amputation of each of the cat's toes at the first joint. It involves cutting of the front part of a cat's toes and means cutting through nerves and muscles and removing bone. This operation is extremely painful (it has been proven to be much more painful than sterilizing or spaying your cat) and it will take a long time to heal. Even after the wounds have healed, the cat may suffer from a series of after-effects.

[dolypepettes]

Les reponsabilités que cela engendre : l'éducation, l'amour, la présence, les soins vétérinaires, quelle est la solution pour l'animal lors de leurs départ... Les informer sur le mode de vie et le comportement de l'animal. Ils adopteraient avec discernement et prendraient conscience qu'un animal n'est pas une vulgaire peluche que l'on jette. Fini les coups de coeur, les caprices qui passent de mode. Et OUI au Respect de l'animal : être vivant et sensible et NON à la barbarie.

[dolypepettes]

Qui veut il leurrer en prétendant que cela éviterait des abandons ? Quelle intervention chirurgicale propose t'il pour empêcher les chiens de creuser dans les jardins ? Il prêche pour l' intérêt des vétérinaires et certainement pas par soucis de bien être du chat ! La solution c'est de faire prendre conscience aux futurs adoptants, qu'ils s'engagent pour 15 à 20 ans.

[JoSinger14]

this is the most incredible two minutes or whatever time he was allotted, of total crap. I agree totally with auntykill. This man is a loose cannon. Mrs. Davis' questions certainly took the wind out of his sails, demonstrating that he has no clue about what he is talking about.

[auntykill]

This bloke is talking, nay reading from a script, pure unadulterated tripe. The age old argument of neutering v declawing is so tired and banal and stupid, you'd have thought he could come up with a better one than that. The man is dangerous - he thinks a vet is saving a life by removing toe ends. if he holds animals, their comfort and wellbeing in such low esteem he should be kept well away from them. Tosh of the highest order, thank God he was defeated.

[Dan5819]

Whoever asked Ed Boks to speak needs to step down. He does NOT know what he is talking about. 9 times out of 10, a cat gets dumped at the shelter or at a rescue because the cat is peeing outside the litter box. And why? BECAUSE THE CAT WAS DECLAWED!! Removing the last digit beneath every claw is PAINFUL and this pain lasts a lifetime so the cat cannot tolerate the litter hitting the open nerve at the end of the digit. Don't listen to him SM CITY COUNCIL!!!!!!

[blakkat31]

Ed Boks needs the ends of his fingers amputated. Anyone that listens to his "knowledge" of animal issues is being misled.

[dolypepettes]

Heureusement, depuis 2004 c'est interdit en France. Il n'y a aucun intérêt médicale de dégriffrer ces pauvres chats. A part un avantage pécunier pour le vétérinaire et une satisfaction pour le propriétaire, qui privilégie ses meubles au détriment du bien être du chat. Où est le respect et l'amour de l'animal ? J'ai 2 chattes, elles ont un arbre à chat. Que feront ces gens pour que leurs mobiliers ne soient pas abîmés par leurs enfants, à leurs 1er pas

[MaryCummins]

HollywoodJinky is right. Death is not the only alternative to declaw. There is training of cat/owner, soft paws, scratchy trees/mats, nail trimming... I have a cat that will claw me if I touch his belly. I just don't touch his belly. Problem solved. The rest use scratchy trees. I have 2 cats someone else declawed. They still clawed the furniture. I taught them to use scratchy tree in 2 days. Declawing was unnecessary, and caused other behavioral issues which are worse than clawing furniture

[hollywoodjinky]

Also, allowing people to think it is ok to mutilate their cats' paws offers them a moral crutch to value their furniture more than their pet. Anyone who would dump their family pet because he or she is clawing at the couch is the same kind of person who needs to be told "NO" by a veterinarian. "No, it's against the law and you need to train your cat or use 'soft paws', which is an excellent product for stubborn kitties." What is needed, is education. Boks' argument is poor.

[MaryCummins]

This is Boks "GM Statement" which he wrote.

"Cosmetic Surgery on Animals:

LAAS is against any unnecessary surgical procedure on animals when such a procedure is

performed solely for the convenience or pleasure of the animals owner. This includes

declawing cats, cropping ears, and docking tails. If a veterinarian feels that any of the

above need to be performed for the safety or health of the animal then the procedure

must be performed in the most humane manner possible."

[hollywoodjinky]

Boks doesn't make the argument well. His comparison of sterilization to mutilation is misleading. His language on "forcing people to abandon their cats if they can't have them declawed" is also misleading. There are alternatives, like covering the nail with a plastic tip, which is not harmful like amputating the phalanges. If there was a ban in SM, like we have in WEHO, people will understand that declawing is inhumane. Laws instituationalize behavior. Boks makes a mess of his presentation.

[MaryCummins]

I worked for Ed Boks for a year. He was ALWAYS against declaw until two weeks ago. There are still blog posts of his which state he is against declawing. He used to support Dr. Conrad on this issue.

Now since he net Dave Weisman he is FOR declawing? Looks like he's being paid to lobby against animals.

EdBuckDog, are you Ed Boks? You are his same age, live in the same city and are supporting him. NO ONE supports Boks, except Ed Boks himself.

[edbuckdog]

It may not be what we want to hear, but it's what we need to face. If we have to choose between declaw, or euthanize, who among us would choose to kill that cat? Ed Boks might take some fire from purists, but he's right. He should be applauded for speaking the plain truth, painful though it may be.

[DoggyTV]

Have to majorly disagree with you on this one Ed as mutilation in the form of amputating the last joint of a cat's toes is unethical and cruel and when not a medical necessity is definitely not what anyone should consider a life saving technique.