Declawing cats solely for aesthetic purposes could be banned in California as lawmakers passed a bill on Thursday in the state Assembly.
According to the San Diego Humane Society (SDHS), declawing is a surgical procedure in which the animal’s toes are amputated at the last joint. The organization explained that if performed on a human being, it would be like cutting off each finger at the last knuckle.
Animal rights activists said declawing is inhumane when done for the benefit of humans. The Paw Project, an animal protection nonprofit, said “this highly invasive and painful surgery is performed primarily to protect furniture” and “ It is widely recognized that declawing cats don't reduce health risks for humans with health issues”.
Assembly Bill 2606, authored by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, seeks to ban non-therapeutic declawing in California through the State Assembly with a 52 to 2 vote. The bill would ban declawing except for “a medically necessary purpose of addressing a recurring infection, disease, injury or abnormal condition that affects the cat’s health”, the Associated Press reported.
The bill heads to the state Senate.
Declawing is prohibited in New York State and Maryland, 13 U.S. cities including West Hollywood, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Burbank, Culver City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica, and St. Louis County. Anti-declaw legislation is currently being considered in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.
Medical drawbacks to declawing cats include pain in the paw, infection, tissue necrosis (tissue death), lameness, and back pain, according to the SDHS. The procedure could change the way the cat’s foot meets the ground and cause pain similar to wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes, the SDHS explained.
