In 2021, a 5-month-old kitten named Elijah suffered devastating injuries after a laser declaw at a clinic that was part of Mission Veterinary Partners (MVP), now part of Mission Pet Health.

 

Elijah’s foster said his injuries were so severe that his paws looked like “someone had taken scissors” to them.

His little toe beans were partially cut through, swollen, bleeding, and severely infected, and he even developed a fever. He endured weeks of painful twice-daily soaking and ointment treatments. Despite the agony, Elijah never tried to bite or scratch, he would only stare with eyes that seemed to say “please don’t hurt me,” then quietly purr and fall asleep in his foster’s arms after his treatments. He also had to have surgeries to remove the bone fragments that were left behind. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His case became so alarming that MVP leaders Dr. Dan Markwalder and Dr. John Talmadge implemented a company-wide declawing ban after reviewing what happened to him.

 

But in 2024, MVP merged with Southern Veterinary Partners, founded by Dr. Jay Price, whose company never banned declawing.

Today, declawing still continues in many Mission Pet Health clinics,  including at some former MVP clinics.

 

Mission Pet Health (MPH) says it delivers “exceptional care,” “the highest quality of care,” and “the best possible health and wellness outcomes for animals,” and that “we always do the right thing in an unwavering commitment to excellence.”

 

CEO Dr. Jay Price says the company is “grounded in care” and committed to “delivering better care" and "pets are served with the best care possible."

 

Yet MPH still allows declawing, an inhumane amputation of cats’ toe bones that can cause lifelong pain, arthritis, nerve damage, behavioral problems, and moral distress for veterinary teams forced to participate in or witness it.

 

Is Dr. Jay Price preventing Dr. Markwalder from reinstating the declawing ban he previously helped put in place?

And is MPH prioritizing profit and declawing veterinarians’ autonomy over the welfare of cats and the well-being of veterinary teams?

 

Could Mission Pet Health’s production-based compensation model, where declaw procedures generate hundreds of dollars in revenue for both veterinarians and the corporation, be influencing the decision to continue allowing declawing?

 

The contradictions are undeniable:

• MPH claims “best possible outcomes” and “doing the right thing,” yet allows a procedure widely condemned as inhumane and unnecessary.

• Many MPH clinics still declaw cats, including some offering all four paw declawing, and confirm these procedures are performed regularly.

• Staff acknowledge declawing is “a fairly invasive procedure” that many veterinarians “don’t always like to do.”

 

• At an MPH clinic affiliated with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jeff Falone, Valleydale Animal Clinic in Birmingham, AL, a manager claimed in 2022 that declawing is easier for kittens, comparing it to “a child being born without an arm vs. a child who loses an arm.” 

As of January 2026, that MPH clinic still performs declaws.

This comparison is misleading. Declawing is always an amputation of a cat’s toe bones and causes long-term harm regardless of age. 

 

Even more troubling, a Mission Pet Health veterinarian, Dr. Michael Yurkus, testified before NJ lawmakers in 2016 falsely claiming declawing does not remove bone and is not more painful than neutering—statements that helped block a statewide ban.

Dr Yurkus' statements conflict with established veterinary understanding that declawing always involves amputation of the last bone of each toe and is significantly more invasive and painful than routine neuter procedures. 

 

 As of February 2026, declawing still continues at his Middletown Animal Hospital according to an employee.

This clinic was also an MVP clinic that reportedly continued declawing even after the company-wide ban.

 

MPH promotes “medical autonomy,” stating it empowers teams to provide the “highest quality of care.”

But allowing declawing under that banner enables a practice many consider below the modern standard of feline welfare, harming cats and placing ethical veterinary professionals in distress.

 

Many veterinary groups with the same medical operating model, like VCA​, National Veterinary Associates (NVA)​, PetVet Care Centers and more, have already banned declawing, protecting both cats and veterinary teams. 

 

Mission Pet Health has the leadership, knowledge, and precedent to do the same.

 

So what’s stopping them?

 

We call on Dr. Jay Price, Dr. Jeff Falone, and Dr. Dan Markwalder to:

• Ban declawing in all Mission Pet Health clinics

• Protect cats from unnecessary suffering and lifelong harm

• Protect veterinary teams from moral injury and stress

 

If Mission Pet Health truly stands by its words, “exceptional care,” “compassion,” and “doing the right thing”, it must act now and put the welfare of cats first.

 

History will remember who allowed this cruelty to continue — and who had the courage to end it.

 

Here’s Mission Pet Health’s contact form. Please ask them why they still allowing declawing. https://missionpethealth.com/contact/

 

You can also email Lauren Popovich,  Marketing Director of MPH. brand@svp.vet