2026

On March 10, 2026, while cats are being brutally declawed in Vetcor clinics, the company’s marketing team appears to have pulled a stunt to inflate its Google rating with 5-star reviews, written by employees and even friends and family, which is against Google’s rules.

Instead of answering a simple question and addressing why a company whose mission is to “enhance the health and well-being of pets” still allows declawing, Vetcor appears to be manipulating its Google rating.

That raises a serious question: if leadership tolerates this kind of behavior, can the public truly trust Vetcor with their pets?

PLEASE ask Vetcor's leaders, CEO Chris Strong and Chief Veterinary Officer Michelle Shoemaker, "Why do you allow declawing when your mission is to enhance the health and well-being of pets."  CStrong@vetcor.com   MShoemaker@vetcor.com

Here's the full shocking story-https://citythekitty.org/while-cats-are-brutally-declawed-vetcors-marketing-team-pulls-a-stunt-to-inflate-google-ratings/

Cats’ paws are being brutally mutilated and their lives permanently harmed in many Vetcor clinics and other veterinary clinics in the U.S. 

It’s time for everyone to speak up to end it. Declawing is animal cruelty!

 

Vetcor still allows declawing.

Vetcor.com is the 3rd largest veterinary group in the U.S., with over 900 clinics, and many of them continue to perform this inhumane amputation procedure. 

 

Vetcor says every animal deserves the chance to thrive. A declawed cat cannot. Story about Vetcor and declawing. https://citythekitty.org/vetcors-mission-is-to-enhance-the-health-and-well-being-of-pets-so-why-would-vetcor-allow-declawing/

On March 3, Vetcor posted on Instagram and Facebook that “every animal deserves the chance to thrive.”

Their mission is to “enhance the health and well-being of pets and the people who care for them,” and their values say to “do the right thing.” Declawing permanently mutilates a cat’s paws, causing chronic pain, arthritis, nerve damage, and impaired mobility, making it impossible for a cat to truly thrive.

 

Declawing also harms veterinary staff

People enter veterinary medicine to heal and protect animals. Being required to schedule, witness, or simply work in a clinic where declawing is performed can cause profound moral stress and moral injury. In many Vetcor clinics, only one or two veterinarians perform the procedure while others refuse, yet the entire team may still be exposed to it, forcing compassionate professionals to work around an antiquated and barbaric procedure that violates the very values that brought them into this profession. Story-https://citythekitty.org/is-the-angst-of-declawing-contributing-to-veterinarian-suicide/

 

A kitten died after a declaw

In late 2025, a kitten taken to a Vetcor clinic for a declaw died in recovery from this unnecessary procedure. Staff were reportedly heartbroken and grieving, yet the clinic continues to offer declawing.

 

Who leads Vetcor?

Vetcor’s CEO is Chris Strong and Chief Veterinary Officer is Michelle Shoemaker. They refuse to act and ban this animal cruelty in Vetcor’s clinics. Progressive leaders at 12 other major veterinary groups have acted to end declawing: NVA’s CEO John Bruno and CVO Sandra Faeh in February 2026, and VCA’s CEO Robert Antin and CVO Todd Tams in 2020 are just a couple examples of ethical veterinary leaders who did the right thing and put the welfare of cats first. 

 

Vetcor claims to support staff well-being

Yet by allowing declawing, the company prioritizes the veterinarians who perform it over the welfare of cats and the many veterinary professionals who strongly oppose this cruelty. 

 

Declawing is illegal in Vetcor’s home state.

Vetcor’s headquarters are in Massachusetts, where declawing was banned in 2025 under “An Act Prohibiting Inhumane Feline Declawing” legislation. Yet Vetcor still allows this cruelty in clinics in other states, missing a major opportunity for its leaders to align with their own mission and values, end this cruelty company-wide, and be recognized for protecting cats and supporting veterinary teams.

Cats and ethical veterinary staff deserve better.

If Vetcor truly believes in its mission, and that every animal deserves the chance to thrive, its leadership should end this cruelty and ban declawing in all Vetcor clinics. 

Cats, and the veterinary professionals forced to be part of this procedure, deserve better.

Let us know if you get a reply. citythekitty@gmail.com

There are always easy, humane alternatives to this mutilating amputation procedure.  Know the facts. Declawing facts & humane options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VCA Canada stopped declawing in 2018 and VCA America stopped declawing in Feb. 2020. Here's VCA America's declawing policy statement. VCA's Declawing Policy

 

Banfield Pet Hospitals stopped declawing in January 2020. Here's their new declawing policy statement. Banfield Declawing Policy

All the big veterinary organizations, AVMA, AAHA, and AAFP oppose declawing.

Here are some facts vs myths from VCA that show why it is wrong to declaw a cat.

"Studies have shown that if an owner is intolerant of a cat scratching the couch, it is likely that same owner would be intolerant of the cat not using the litter box or beginning to bite harder and with increased frequency.

It is a common misconception among veterinary professionals that scratching behavior is one of the most common reasons for relinquishment of cats to shelters. Our experience and that of shelter operators has taught us differently. Other problems, house soiling and aggression, are listed as the top two behavioral reasons cats lose their homes. Scratching behavior is far down the list, right next to reasons like the cat requires too much attention, and scratching is rarely a reason given for relinquishment.

The Centers for Disease Control, the WHO, the National Institutes of Health, the US Public Health Service, and the Canadian Medical Association all agree that declawing cats belonging to owners who are immunocompromised is “not advised.” AAHA and AAFP agree. We do not believe that declawing a cat to protect human health is a valid reason, and in fact, it could quite possibly give people a false sense of security and put these people in jeopardy of being bitten, which is usually far more threatening to the health of a human than a scratch would be. If the declawed cat were to stop using the litterbox and leave excrement in other parts of the house, that, too, is dangerous for immunocompromised people. We believe common sense methods of protecting oneself from cat scratches are enough. Declawing is not the solution."

Here are more of our petitions to help end declawing.

American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)- http://bit.ly/AAHAstopDeclawing

Cornell- http://bit.ly/CornellCondemnDeclawing
For more information about declawing go to citythekitty.org