American Cats: The Good, The Bad and the Cuddly – Director Todd Bieber and Subject Dr. Jennifer Conrad

In the documentary, AMERICAN CATS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE CUDDLY, comedian Amy Hoggart (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee) dives deep into the controversial world of cat declawing in the United States. On the surface, it appears as a simple, harmless surgery for the convenience of pet owners, but as Hoggart digs deeper, a disturbing nationwide conspiracy unfolds. 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. As Hoggart navigates the maze of misinformation, she discovers the profound physical and psychological effects declawing has on our feline friends. AMERICAN CATS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE CUDDLY 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. Director Todd Bieber and film subject Dr. Jennifer Conrad stop by to talk about the history of declawing, the enormous sums of money made from this procedure, the effort being made by Dr. Conrad’s PAWS project to end this cruelty, enlisting Amy Hoggart to be the charming and effective inquisitor, holding declawing advocates own paws to the fire.

 

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For more go to: pawproject.org/americancatsmovie

About the filmmaker – Todd Bieber is a Peabody Winner and Emmy Nominee who has spent 20 years making documentaries. Recent highlights include being embedded with a militia in Georgia for the Comedy Central special, “Jordan Klepper Solves Guns”; directing the comedy improv tribute, “Thank You, Del: The Story of the Del Close Marathon”; and following the adrenaline-fueled steps of bank robbers in Beirut for The New York Times. In addition to being a Producer/Director for “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” and “The Opposition” with Jordan Klepper, Todd served as Creative Resident at Viceland when the network launched, Creative Director of UCB Comedy when it was still cool, and Writer/Footage Coordinator for The Onion when the footage was coordinated most impressively. 

About the Subject – Dr. Jennifer Conrad has cared for wildlife on six continents for over two decades. Dr. Conrad has participated in many programs to protect and improve the lives of wild animals. She has traveled to Namibia to de-horn rhinos, making them unattractive targets for slaughter by poachers who prize the horns for ornamental uses. While in Africa, she worked with the Cheetah Conservation Fund, collecting information to help fortify the dwindling numbers of this species. In Nepal, Dr. Conrad treated endangered Asian elephants, and in the Galapagos Islands, she joined government scientists treating a threatened population of sea lions. Dr. Conrad is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine and is a member of the American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA), the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV), and the European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians (EAZWV). Currently, Dr. Conrad’s professional responsibilities are divided between working with nonprofit wildlife sanctuaries for unwanted and abused animals in southern California and administering her own company, Vet to the (Real) Stars, which provides humane veterinary care to animals appearing in television and movies. Dr. Conrad founded the Paw Project, which rehabilitates big cats, such as lions, tigers, cougars and jaguars maimed by declawing. Actually an amputation of the last bone in the cat’s toe, declawing often cripples these magnificent creatures, both from the pain caused by the bone fragments left behind, and from the progressively debilitating arthritis produced by abnormal stress on other joints as the cats try to avoid walking on their painful, amputated toes.

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