Cat Declawing Documentary Premieres At Hot Docs Festival

EXCLUSIVE: As we know, cats rule the internet. Countless images and videos are circulating online—perhaps upwards of 10 billion of them, according to one rough estimate. For instance, Puff, a rag doll cat who stars in cooking videos, has more than 60 million followers across social media platforms.

American Cats: The Good, The Bad & The Cuddly, a documentary premiering at the Hot Docs film festival this weekend, explores our love of the cute quadrupeds. But beneath the film’s furry exterior lurks a more serious message: given our collective love of felines, why are we subjecting them to painful and unnecessary surgeries?

The answer: $$

In the exclusive trailer above, the film’s host Amy Hoggart (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee), asks the following: “How much money is there in declawing cats?” The reply from Dr. Jennifer Conrad, veterinarian: “Some estimations are is that it’s a billion dollars a year business.”

The film is directed by Todd Bieber, Emmy-nominated supervising producer-director of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and produced by Grace Leeson, also a Full Frontal veteran. It features the participation of Dr. Conrad, founder of the Paw Project, described as “the world’s largest nonprofit entirely dedicated to ending the cruel practice of declawing.”

The Humane Society of the United States says, “Declawing is the amputation of the last bone of each toe on a cat’s paw,” adding, “It would be like cutting off your finger at the last knuckle.” The ASPCA, meanwhile, declares it is “strongly opposed to declawing cats.”

“Through interviews with veterinarians, activists, and pet owners, the documentary unveils a powerful industry lobby that not only promotes but profits from this inhumane procedure,” notes a synopsis of American Cats. “As Hoggart navigates the maze of misinformation, she discovers the profound physical and psychological effects declawing has on our feline friends. American Cats is a thought-provoking exposé that challenges the ethical implications of our choices and calls for a nationwide reflection on our treatment of animals. And also lots of jokes and cute kittens.”

In the cute kitten department, the documentary includes a special appearance by Nala, an adopted feline known as “Instagram’s Most Famous Cat!” She’s so renowned she has her own logo.

In a director’s statement, Bieber said, “I love cats. I’ve always loved cats. I grew up on a six generation family farm in Pennsylvania, and strangers would secretly drop off pregnant cats at our farm because they knew we’d take care of them. I was in charge of naming the kittens (a self appointed position).

“Many, many years later, I met Dr. Jennifer Conrad and she introduced me to this really complicated and shocking story about cat declawing.  She has been trying to get declawing outlawed for over 20 years.”

For Hoggart, participating in the film became a learning opportunity. “Being from the U.K., I had no idea what declawing is,” she said. “I was truly flabbergasted and horrified to learn what it is and why it’s popular. Honestly, it made me initially really disgusted by a lot of cat owners in America. But after learning more about declawing, I began to realize that most cat owners in America actually don’t know the truth about declawing. It’s all just so sinister and people are really in the dark. So part of why I wanted to do this film was to educate people and try to stop this barbaric practice.”

According to information from the filmmakers, “New York and Maryland are the only states that ban declawing without loopholes. Declawing is illegal is many U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Madison, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Tacoma, and Washington, DC.” In 2004, West Hollywood’s city council banned declawing, making it the first American city to prohibit the procedure.

American Cats: The Good, The Bad & The Cuddly premieres on Sunday morning at Hot Docs, the prestigious nonfiction film festival in Toronto, Ontario. (We understand cat declawing is outlawed in all Canadian provinces, except Ontario). Following the Sunday screening at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, the documentary will screen again on Monday night at the TIFF Lightbox venue.

Watch the trailer for American Cats: The Good, The Bad & The Cuddly above.