These Toes Were Made for More Than Scratching:
The Case Against Feline Toe Amputation
Presented by Robin Downing, DVM, MS, DAAPM, DACVSMR, CVPP, CCRP
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
8:00pm – 9:30pm (ET)
Our speaker, Dr. Downing, says “We as a profession have failed our cat population of patients miserably by sanitizing this procedure of feline toe amputation by using the term ‘declaw.’” Do you agree? In 2019 New York State banned declawing. Legislation is now being introduced in several other states to ban this procedure, and many of our clients and colleagues are talking about declawing in a more thoughtful way. This webinar will help you prepare for those conversations.
After attending this webinar, participants will:
- Understand the critical role cats’ paws/toes play in their lives
- Understand the pathogenesis of chronic maladaptive pain that can result from feline toe amputation
- Understand the pathologic changes in biomechanics that result from feline toe amputation
- Understand the bioethical violations involved in feline toe amputation
- Understand strategies that will enable cat owners to encourage acceptable use of their cats’ claws.
We hope you will join us as we explore this controversial topic.
This webinar is RACE-approved for 1.5 hours of veterinary CE credit and is available at no cost to HSVMA members.
Not an HSVMA member? We encourage you to become a member so you can take advantage of free access to current and future webinars. The benefits are many!
Please contact us with any questions at membership@hsvma.org.
PRESENTER: Robin Downing, DVM, MS, DAAPM, DACVSMR, CVPP, CCRP
Dr. Downing is Hospital Director of The Downing Center for Animal Pain Management, LLC. She has received many regional, national, and international awards, including the Excellence in Veterinary Medicine Award in 2001 from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, and most recently the 2020 Leo K. Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award from the AVMA.
Dr. Downing is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner, and she was the third veterinarian in the world to earn the Diplomate credential in the American Academy of Pain Management (a human pain management organization). She was a founder of the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management, and served as that organization’s second President. In addition, she has served as President of the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians (now called the Human-Animal Bond Association).
Dr. Downing is an internationally sought-after speaker on a wide variety of topics including pain management, physical rehabilitation, physical medicine, hospice/end-of-life care, anaesthesia related topics, and overcoming compliance obstacles/issues in veterinary medicine. In 2016 she completed her Master of Science degree in Clinical Bioethics from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in NYC and Union Graduate College with the intention of translating the practices of clinical bioethics for application in veterinary medicine. This commitment includes framing the imperatives of the Fear Free movement, as well as comprehensive acute and chronic pain management, as obligations grounded in bioethical principles. She is now working on a Doctorate in Clinical Bioethics at Loyola University of Chicago.
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