American Cats Documentary to have U.S. debut at Hamptons Film Festival

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) The good, the bad and the cuddly. If it sounds like cat video, it is. One that gets pretty serious.

Directed by Peabody Winner and Emmy winner Todd Bieber, the documentary 'American Cats: The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly' navigates what the producers call a maze of misinformation and the profound physical and psychological effects of declawing cats.

"Declawing is a misnomer. It should be called de-knuckling. It's the amputation of the last bone in the cats' toes," Veterinarian, Dr. Jennifer Conrad of The Paw Project told 1010 WINS. "This is a very significant, very invasive surgery done only for the convenience of protecting furniture. But the irony is that a declawed cat is less likely to use the litter box, looking for something that's soft to use and that means that they've very likely to use blankets, couches and beds."

Told through the observations of host Amy Hoggart (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee), the film chronicles efforts both in the United States and Canada to ban the procedure, including the successful passage of such legislation in New York state.

Dr. Conrad credits New York State Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal. "It was her perseverance and her unwillingness to compromise that made the bill go through," said Conrad. "Despite the veterinary trade association in New York's efforts to kill the bill, she would not give up."

The film also follows the story of Burrito, a declawed cat who was nearly euthanized for behavioral issues. "It's very disheartening that a cat who was declawed by the people who had him, and then had behavioral problems which were absolutely because of pain, and they dumped him, and he was going to get killed. This is the story of so many cats," said Conrad.

American Cats had its world premiere at the 2024 Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto and was 2nd on the Top 20 Audience Favorites list. It will make its U.S. debut Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. EDT at the Hamptons International Film Festival. An additional screening will be held October 6 at 11:45 a.m.

Get tickets HERE .