NYC Becomes First State To Ban Declawing Of Cats

Wonder if more states will follow this ban?

This is a tough one.   Declawing cats.

I had two cats, Bill and Jarrod - by the way, they were both female...

and I had them declawed.  It's what you did 20 years ago.  But now things have changed.  We now know that its extremely painful for the animals and we should have never done it in the first place.

It's like cropping a dogs ears...

My fear is that since people can't declaw the cats, we will have more cats then we know what to do with...which we already have a problem with now.  I think too many people will just toss their cats after they ruin furniture or scratch a child.  Or people who are "qualified" to remove the claws will do it anyway and it won't be done the right way and the animal will suffer.

This is from the NYTimes

New York on Monday became the first state in the country to ban cat declawing, a practice that animal advocates consider cruel and unnecessary. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the bill into law after state legislators passed the ban last month.

“By banning this archaic practice, we will ensure that animals are no longer subjected to these inhumane and unnecessary procedures,” Governor Cuomo said.

The law goes into effect immediately and makes exceptions for medical purposes. Performing the procedure on a cat for any other reason could lead to a fine of up to $1,000.

Declawing a cat involves slicing through bone to amputate the first segment of a cat's toes. The operation was once commonly performed to protect furniture and human skin from feline scratching but has in recent years come under scrutiny by animal welfare advocates, cat owners and many vets.

While many vets urged lawmakers to pass the ban, the state's largest veterinary organization opposed the bill. The New York State Veterinary Medical Society argued that declawing should be allowed as a last resort for felines that won't stop scratching furniture or humans — or when the cat's owner has a weakened immune system, putting them at greater risk of infection from a scratch.

What do you think?