yeah, it's pretty inhumane. now that i think about it, i'm surprised it hasn't been brought up before. i can't say i would ever de-claw my cat. she's good, though, and she uses her scratching post. cats CAN be trained. to play devil's advocate, though, if this gets passed, what next? will they make laws against cropping dog's ears and tails? (i kind of think they should, considering most of that is done for aesthetic reasons and not functional...although sometimes there are actually are functional reasons, in which case they should make exceptions).

Yes, it is quite cruel and completely uncalled for. I was always disgusted that this is allowed and even more disgusted that veterinarians will perform the procedure. Obviously they'll do anything for money, but either they or their version of the ama (avma?) should put a stop to this.

It's illegal in the UK. Has been for as long as I can remember. I actually thought it was a joke when I first heard of it but then realised it wasn't.

I still think these look cute but I wouldn't use them. I chose to have cats so I have to accept that they have claws. We have scratching posts and they get shouted at for scratching the furniture but it's in a cats nature to scratch.

Put simply if you want a cat then accept the claws.

I'm SO relieved to see all of you supporting this! *hugs everyone*
My vet still does declaw surgery, and I'm HUGELY against it. I would totally support a law like this nationwide AND a ban on tail docking and ear cropping.

We adopted our cat from the humane society and were told ahead of time that he was declawed, but I was more than a little shocked that all four of his feet were declawed. What is the point of removing the claws from a cat's back feet?

I also think declawing should be outlawed.

Declawing is the worst thing you can do to a cat. I have a cat that is not declawed and I would be insane to consider it. When his claws get sharp enough to tear into me while kneeding, I just trim them with these claw scissors thing that the vet recommended I get for my cat.

Yeah, my vet is against declawing too :)

Yeah, I see your point, but then when I mess with my cat she can claw me!

Honestly, though, look at what they have to do to declaw a cat - here is a visual:



(The red marks are obviously where they cut off the cat's paws at...)

EDIT: sorry the pic is small, I hope you can see it

I've got six cats and though the thought has crossed my mind to declaw some of them I would never do it.

Well maybe one claw... what can I say, I'm Italian and I think it might send a message to the cat!

I would be ok if all of those stupid practices were banned.

When I was a kid, we had a cat who was declawed. He lost control of his "knees" (don't know what they're actually called on the cat). It was the saddest and most pathetic thing I'd ever seen. He'd walk around with his paws bent back under him, and when he tried to jump and land on his paws they'd give way and he'd fall. It took over a month before he regained full use of his front legs, and everyone involved was very concerned, including the vets. So concerned, in fact, that when I took my kitten in to be spayed more than ten years later, they asked me about him. I was about 12 at the time, and swore I'd never put a cat through that.

My mom has a new kitten and they just did the spay/declaw thing on her (the cat, not my mom). I fought it tooth and nail (no pun intended), but didn't really have any say what she did with her cat. Poor kitty is pathetic and her little paws look mangled :(

My kitties are very full of claws and I have the scars to prove it! :) I'm all for outlawing the practice.

Couple of things really bothered me in this article.

This is a total deflection of the issue, but it probably passes as a response for anyone who's never watched a de-clawed cat coming out of its anesthesia. Sure, (general) anesthesia is used. Sure, they're well taken care of (until, and after, the amputations). But it's what happens when they awaken from that anesthesia that's a real problem for me.

I worked P/T for a vet when I was 14, feeding, changing, and tending to various recuperating beasties. Seeing cats groggily wake up, paws bandaged, trying to stand up only to have their legs collapse under them was not fun. In later stages of wakefulness, they'd still be trying to stand up, and with anesthetic more worn-off, they'd fall even harder as the pain registered that much more. It was heartbreaking to witness.

That sucks for some with diabetes, but if you're diabetic and at risk from cat scratches, WHY OWN A CAT? They've got teeth, too, huh? (I was once badly bitten by my cat while trying to extirpate him from a boot-rack he'd got his legs tangled in. While trying to help him out, in his panic, he bit me good. We're both fine, thanks.)

One may be diabetic, and may love cats, and want to keep one as a pet, but health problems often require sacrifice and compromise. Deal with it: "Since I'm diabetic, and a cat's scratch would be a problem, I can't have a cat, no matter how much I love them. The alternative is subjecting an animal to weeks of intense pain, and maybe a lifetime of disfigurement, for MY own health concerns." Talk about a bizarre and distorted sense of entitlement, just so someone in an at-risk situation can interact with the animal.

I greatly admire Great White sharks. But if I could have one as a pet, I wouldn't have its teeth pulled, just so I could swim with it.

Putting one's health/comfort/nature/furniture before another animal's health/comfort/nature should never come to an elective, cruel, and unnecessary surgery.

Reverse the roles: would cats take us to a plastic surgeon to have our fingers amputated, so we couldn't squirt them with the water bottle?

It would be great to see this Bill passed, to set a very necessary precedent.

get soft paws ;)

I could never do such a thing to my cats and I hope this goes through.

For those who don't want to deal with a cats claws, either clip every week or two, it is not hard to do at all or just buy Soft Paws as Gammerus suggested.

Soft Paws -

What are Soft Paws®?

Soft Paws® are an excellent alternative to declawing. They are easy to apply at home and cats and their owners love them. They are completely safe and humane and can be used on cats of all ages. Soft Paws® are vinyl nail caps that are glued on to your cat's existing nails. They look like a cat's nail, only hollow. They are easy to apply and cats tolerate them extremely well.


They make them for dogs as well.

I've done those, liked them okay, but had a tendency to glue myself to the cat, the cat to herself, and the cat to other objects. I'm not so good with glue ;) My older cat (the one I used to Soft Paws) doesn't really care to scratch much anymore, and my kitten has been fantastic about it so far (she's about 8 months old now). She'll only scratch the couch if I'm looking at her, to see if she'll get in trouble, and then runs away with an evil look on her face when I yell at her, little turd... :)

Now I think it's unfair to say that vets would do anything for money, that's a sweeping generalisation. I'm sure there are some like that, as there are in any profession, but I think that most of them are in it for the animals. Obviously the AVMA needs to put a stop to it but change takes time as you have to change people's perceptions. A lot of people are convinced that tail docking, removal of dew claws, etc. are actually necessary for the animal's health, and of course showing standards dictate that some dogs have to have docked tails or cropped ears. I'm sure there are some apartments that won't allow cats that haven't been declawed, and people don't realise how cruel it is.

That would be the equivalent of the human wrist (carpus). The 'knees' are on the back leg (called the stifle joint in animals).

Ah, I was just going to call them fetlocks, but I figured that would be more confusing! ;)

Thanks for the 411.

Depending on your groomer/vet, you could probly get them to assist you for like $10 or so.

Problem is, they lose the things one at a time, pretty quickly sometimes too. I'd have to go to the vet every few days to keep them all on. Don't think I could afford the $100-150 a month rubber claw cover application fee. I'll just glue myself to the cat... Pretty happy without them now though.