California Veterinarian

from Nov/Dec 2021

by californiaveterinarian

Classiﬁed Advertising

The Publication of the California Veterinary Medical Association

Publisher Dan Baxter

Managing Editor Kristen Calderon

Editor Taryn DeOilers

Publication Designer Howard Steﬀens

Classified Advertising Laura Phillips

Board of Governors President

Dr. Elisabeth Klapstein

President-Elect Dr. Keith Rode

Member-at-Large Dr. Michael Karle

Members

Dr. Peter Bowie

Dr. Patrick Connolly

Dr. Larry Correia

Dr. Jennifer Hawkins

Dr. Adam Lauppe

Dr. Julia Lewis

Dr. Peter Mangold

Dr. Teresa Morishita

Dr. Peter Vogel

Dr. James White

Dr. Jodi Woods

Dr. Dirk Yelinek

Student Representatives

University of California, Davis Alison Pankowski

Western University Katelyn DeVore

Treasurer Dr. George Bishop

Chair, House of Delegates Dr. Brent Wooden

CVMA Staﬀ

Executive Director Dan Baxter

Assistant Executive Director Della Yee

Director of Communications Kristen Calderon

Director of Finance Kathy Van Booven

Director of Regulatory Aﬀairs Dr. Grant Miller

Design and Marketing Manager Howard Steﬀens

Membership and Student Services Laura Phillips

Manager

Publications Manager Taryn DeOilers

Accountant Bernice Evans

Communications and CE Coordinator Nicole Campos

Executive Assistant Patsy Lynn

Finance Coordinator Sharmele Browne

Meetings and Events Coordinator Lily Briggs

Membership Coordinator Jennifer Smith

Receptionist Mary Young

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Please contact Taryn DeOilers at 916.649.0599 ext. 16 or email tdeoilers@cvma.net.

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California Veterinarian (ISSN 00081612) is published bi-monthly by the California Veterinary Medical Association, e-mail: staﬀ@cvma.net. California Veterinarian is an official publication of the California Veterinary Medical Association. Annual subscription rates to non-members: $50 U.S., $60 Canada/Mexico, $70 overseas. Price per single copy: $10 current year, $12 back issues. Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento, CA and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to California Veterinarian, 1400 River Park Dr., Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95815-4505. Phone: 800.655.2862

The CVMA and California Veterinarian assume no responsibility for material contained in articles and advertisements published, nor does publication necessarily constitute endorsement by them. ©2021 CVMA

The end of a calendar year is often used as a time for reflection on the events of the past months, a time for consideration of where things currently stand, and a time for recalibration for the year to come. This type of inward scrutiny is not unique to individual human beings—it can occur on an institutional level, as well.

And, as 2021 winds to a close, so it has gone for the CVMA. In addition to our usual end-of-year events and undertakings, our Board met over the weekend of October 8–10 to discuss various issues impacting the CVMA, its membership, and the profession of veterinary medicine at large. One of the items discussed, among many others, was the possible revision of the CVMA’s longstanding policy on declawing.

As I wrote in this year’s May/June edition of California Veterinarian, the CVMA has repeatedly been called upon over the years to weigh in on proposed state and local measures seeking to ban or criminalize declawing procedures; in each instance, our leadership has directed us to oppose those measures to safeguard veterinary scope of practice from legislative interference. From the CVMA’s point of view, the “declaw issue” has always been much less about declawing itself and much more about ensuring that veterinary medicine is defined by those who practice it. The ability of the veterinary profession to regulate itself is well-established; indeed, veterinary practice is constantly evolving, and the standards governing that practice evolve alongside. Accordingly, the CVMA will always defend the profession against outside, third-party eﬀorts to define what veterinary medicine includes and doesn’t include.

In the weeks preceding its October meeting, the CVMA Board decided that it was time to take a fresh look at the CVMA’s declaw policy, which was originally adopted in 2010. That prior policy (a) stressed the importance of declawing-related decisions being made by pet owners in consultation with their veterinarian, (b) discussed the conditions under which declawing would be clinically or behaviorally indicated, and (c) emphasized the need for declawing procedures to be performed in a medically responsible manner with appropriate pain management. However, the policy stopped short of either encouraging or discouraging the procedure’s utilization.

Based on evolving standards of veterinary practice, including the fact that declawing procedures are now rarely performed relative to eleven years ago, the CVMA Board concluded at its October meeting that the CVMA’s declawing policy needed to evolve, too. Thus, after significant discussion and due consideration, the CVMA’s new policy—now posted on our website—is as follows:

• The CVMA discourages the declawing (onychectomy) of cats as an elective procedure and supports non-surgical alternatives to the procedure.

• The decision to declaw a cat should be made by the owner(s) in consultation with their veterinarian on a case-bycase basis and only for a medical reason or when scratching presents a health risk to the owner(s).

• The veterinarian has an obligation to educate clients on alternatives to the declawing procedure and what a declawing procedure entails, including the potential surgical complications. A declawing procedure should not be performed unless all alternatives have been explored and attempted.

The new policy also links to additional information concerning declawing, including a brief clinical description of the procedure, alternative training and management options, and sample consent and client education forms provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Overall, the desire of the CVMA Board was to adopt a policy that is more current, more substantive, and—most importantly—consistent with current veterinary standards of practice. We believe that, after listening to our members and thoroughly considering the matter, our new policy meets those aims.