Hooper is a five year old, declawed, Domestic Shorthair available for adoption through the Sonoma Humane Society.
Opponents of the practice of removing claws from cats are marshaling forces to get as many cities and counties in California to pass bans on the practice in advance of a new law, which goes into effect January 1, 2010.
In just the past month, three cities, including San Francisco, have approved bans on cat declawing and more are expected to follow including Berkeley, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.
Why the rush? If the bans are in place before January 1, 2010, they stay.
The California Veterinary Medical Association was a sponsor of Senate Bill 762, signed into law July 2, which gives the state authority over medical scope-of-practice issues and prevents cities and counties from passing ordinances banning medical procedures. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it saying whether to declaw a cat is between a cat owner and their veterinarian.
In Sonoma County, no bans are proposed but Angela Bonnert of the Sonoma Humane Society says their agency “would support a ban on performing declaw surgery on cats. It is an inhumane procedure that is very painful and can cause long-term problems. We do not advocate the declawing of cat, and we do not perform cat declaw surgery in our hospital.”
Declawing means the first knuckle of the cat’s paw is completely removed and along with it the nail foundation. Most cats are declawed in the front only but others also have their rear claws removed.
“Cats have a natural tendency to scratch and most cat owners are accepting of this. If scratching becomes destructive, the goal is to redirect the scratching onto acceptable objects such as a scratching post. Declawing is not the answer,” says Bonnert.
But Dr. Nancy Kay, a veterinarian in Rohnert Park supports efforts to protect the client/veterinarian relationship and keep government out of the decision making.”I can tell you that many of the doctors feel as I do- it should always be a treatment of last resort. Would we rather perform a declaw procedure (with ample and adequate pain medication) than euthanasia because the cat is destroying expensive home furnishings? You betcha,” says Dr. Kay.
Amy Cooper, the director of the Sonoma County Animal Care and Control says at this time, the county is not proposing legislation to ban cat declawing, nor is it advocating for its passage. “It is an owner/vet decision. I think declawing happens less than in the past, in part because both pet owners and veterinarians are more attuned to the physical impact on the cat and also on the cats ability to function normally,” says Cooper.
Placing declawed cats takes special care say Bonnert and Cooper. The effort is to adopt to families who will keep the cats as indoor only. “It is very dangerous for a cat who has been declawed to be left outside. They cannot defend themselves or climb to get out of harm’s way,” says Bonnert.
Cooper says she personally has never declawed her cats. “They occasionally do scratch something – a sweater, a bedspread, etc. – but it is, I think, to be expected when you own a living, breathing animal.”
I just can’t understand why anyone would want to remove the tip of each of their cat’s toes for the sake of saving the furniture. It’s so cruel and unnecessary. 38 countries of the world consider declawing to be inhumane and unnaceptable unless for a medical condition in the cat so why do the USA and Canada continue to mutilate their pets? Sadly some veterinarians promote declawing as part of a package with neutering for kittens, and still others offer discount vouchers for declawing, if ALL vets refused to declaw and if ALL owners valued their cat’s welfare above inanimate objects there would be no need for legislation to ban declawing, sadly this is far from the case.
I HAVE 3 CATS AND ALL THE THEM HAVE BEEN DE CLAWED. BY DOING THIS IT HAS SAVED MY FURNITURE AND MY RUGS IN THE HOUSE. AS YOU KNOW MOST CATS LIKE TO CLAW THE FURNITURE. ALL MY CATS ARE INDOOR CATS AND I DO NOT LET THEM GO OUTSIDE AT ANY TIME.
I work as an Animal Nurse for a wonderful Veterinarian. We cringe when people make appointments to declaw their cats. However, we do understand that for some cats scratching things becomes an obsession and their destruction goes beyong the expected scratches here and there. Many owners complain of being so frustrated and helpless about the damage that they would consider taking the cat to a shelter or putting the cat to sleep. Declawing is a last resort that-in the end-may save the cats life and keep a roof over it’s head. You can buy soft paw nail caps these days, but not every cat will let you put them on, and they tend to fall off frequently or many cats chew them off. They are still capable of doing minor damage to blinds and couches. I definitely agree that the choice lies with the vat and the owner, and any vet worth their salt should educate the owner about the severity of the procedure and attempt other solutions before the procedure.
I provide scratching trees and a lot of cardboard/toys for my kitties. They have never been a scratching problem. They are fixed and no toxic vaccines administered and get holistic food.snuggles and Rascal are the healthiest happiest indoor kitties! Declawing should be made illegal everywhere because is is painful-no matter how well kitties hide their pain, they feel it. If you are willing to torture kittie, give it to a shelter to be killed than you do not love it and are selfish and cruel. DON’T HAVE A CAT IF YOU DON’T WANT THE CLAWS! pawsneedclaws.com
pawproject.com
delcawhallofshame.com
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There is obviously sooo much more to research about this. I think you made some good points in Features also. Keep working, excellent job!
declawing will save your furniture, but you would not think so we disfiguring our pets?