California could soon take a big step to protect cats from being declawed with legislation that would make it illegal statewide.
The bill (AB 1230), which was just introduced by Assemblymember Bill Quirk, would make declawing illegal, unless it's medically necessary to treat an underlying condition.
While declawing remains a controversial topic among vets, animal advocates and cat owners, the fact remains that it isn't a simple procedure that merely removes a cats' nails. Rather, the procedure, which is formally known as a onychectomy, involves surgically removing the last joint in a cat's toe to which the nail is attached.
While many cats find themselves the victims of this procedure because they scratch furniture — or us — their advocates point out that this is a natural behavior, whether we like it or not.
They scratch to mark territory, maintain their nails and stretch, while their claws help them climb and defend themselves.
Sadly, for the cats who become victims of this procedure, they may end up suffering from a number of behavioral problems, including avoiding the litter box, biting, showing aggression and grooming themselves excessively, along with medical problems, including chronic pain.
There's no longer any excuse for this procedure to be performed for our convenience when there are dozens of safe and effective alternatives — that do not include physical mutilation — for cat owners to turn to if they are dealing with destructive behavior.
Declawing has already been banned in eight cities in California. Now it's time to take it statewide.
Please sign and share this petition urging California lawmakers to take a compassionate stand for cats by making declawing illegal.
