We, the undersigned, respectfully ask you, PetSmart Charities/Petsmart, to join all the other big pet stores in America and TAKE A STAND AGAINST THIS CAT CRUELTY and not allow any of your Adoption Partners to condone, promote, and perform declawing on cats.

Pet Supplies Plus, Petco, and Chow Hound Pet Supplies put the welfare of cats first and they do not allow their Adoption Partners to perform or condone declawing on their rescued cats.

There are only 2 animal shelters in America that condone and perform declawing on their rescued cats and for the public in their Wellness Centers/Clinics.

One of these shelters, The Anna Shelter in Erie, PA is a Petsmart Adoption Partner.

We also found another Petsmart Adoption Partner, Animal Care Associates in Scranton, PA that writes this in their cat adoption contract, "Declawing is not recommended. If done, must be laser with Dr. Robert J. Noto @ 570 483 3315"

We did a little research to see how Robert J. Noto and Memorial Veterinary Hospital of Throop, Pa. addresses declawing. They do 2 and 4 paw laser declaws.
A 4 paw declaw is between $550- $650. The age limit for a declaw is 2 years old.
When asked if their vets are skilled at declaws, an employee said yes, "we get declaws all the time" and laughed.
An employee was asked if laser is better and why.
The employee said, "Because you don't have all those incisions, they aren't being cut open, it's through the laser."
They said the surgery and healing are quicker with a laser.

We also asked Animal Care Associates if they are against declawing and if they have a no-declaw adoption contract. They said, "Our adoption contracts are basic and do not include declaw details."

Petsmart, every day that you look the other way or put this on the back burner, cats are being unnecessarily mutilated and harmed.

Declawing is the amputation of a cat's last toe bone and claw. It is mutilating and always harmful to the long-term health and well-being of a cat.

Cats deserve better.  It's time for you to be strong and a true leader for animal welfare.

We will celebrate your bravery in leading the way to a better world for cats by being part of the solution to help end declawing instead of part of the problem.

Please send Petsmart Charities a polite email and ask them to take a stand against declawing. info@petsmartcharities.org

In November 2018 we privately reached out to PetSmart Charities to ask them to only use Adoption Partners who don't condone or perform declawing. They replied back and said, “Each Adoption Partner has its own separate adoption policy which may or may not include declawing.  If you would like additional information about a specific Adoption Partner, we encourage you to reach out to the group directly.”

So we respectfully reached out to one of Petsmart’s Adoption Partners, a well-known, big shelter in PA. that does amazing things to help save animals find loving homes, but unfortunately they also condone and perform declawing in their WELLNESS CENTERS.

 We asked the director, Ruth Thompson, if she would educate the public about the facts about declawing and also asked her why they are declawing cats at their shelter's “Wellness Centers.”

The director of this shelter said that if she had to pick a life in a shelter, starving on the street or worse yet ending up in a kill shelter and being euthanized – she would choose to be declawed and live in a home. She said if someone is willing to adopt a cat and the only way they’ll do so is to have it declawed, she said she guesses it’s the lesser of the other evils listed above.

An employee at the shelter was asked if it was ok to declaw one of their adoptable cats and the employee said yes, and said that it is cheaper to get it done at one of their three Wellness Centers than at a “regular vet.”

The director said this about her vets in their Wellness Centers and declawing, “I’ve always felt it was up to them on the ethical side of things as they are the veterinary professional and know much more about this subject then me. We try not give an opinion one way or the other. “

The declawing vet, Dr Lyon, at one of their Wellness Centers said that he does around 100 declaws a year on cats of all ages but he prefers doing them on younger kittens. According to an employee at another Wellness Center, they do declaws regularly and there is no age limit for a declaw. They said if the cat is over 2 years old, they will have to see the cat first for an exam.

We also respectfully reached out to one of the managers of the PetSmart in PA. that has this shelter in their store, and asked him if PetSmart is ok with this shelter declawing cats and condoning it.

He said, "Yeah, nothing against it," and told us to contact corporate for more information.

We tried to address this issue with PetSmart privately but we have been dismissed and ignored.

Please only allow humane shelters/rescues, who don't condone and perform declawing, as your Adoption Partners.

Pet lovers are always looking for businesses to support who show that they truly care about the welfare of all animals. Your decision could also make your company more profitable.

We hope that you will do the right thing so we can add you to our list of humane companies like Petco,  Pet Supplies Plus, Chowhound Pet Supplies, Litter-Robot, and Bissell, who have showed us that they are part of the solution to help us end declawing and truly care about the welfare of ALL cats.

The time is now.

Thank you,

City the Kitty