NY Becomes First State to Ban Declawing Cats

New York made history today, becoming the first state in America to ban declawing cats. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law, expressing to Spectrum Local News his belief that the practice is inhumane.

Declawing is a cruel and painful procedure that can create physical and behavioral problems for helpless animals, and today it stops. By banning this archaic practice, we will ensure that animals are no longer subjected to these inhumane and unnecessary procedures.

Drew Weigner is a veterinarian in Atlanta and a former president of the Academy of Feline Medicine. In an interview on Pets WebMD, Weigner said the declawing procedure requires veterinarians to not only remove the cat's claw but to also remove the small bone the claw grows from so it won't try to grow back. He said the process is extremely painful for cats and can cause physical and behavioral issues after the procedure.

There's an instrument with a sliding blade, almost like a guillotine, and it cuts a straight line through the joint between that little piece of bone and the next piece of bone, which is bigger. When you do that, right underneath that is the pad, and you actually cut that right in half, too. So it's like cutting the tip of your finger off.

Democratic Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal has been at the heart of the bill and told Spectrum Local News about how she feels now that it is law.

It’s a wonderful day for the cats of the state and the people who love them. Now that my bill has become law, New York has been catapulted onto the leaderboard of humane states, and we expect other states to quickly follow in out footsteps.

While New York is the first state to ban the declawing procedure, it is already illegal in most European countries, Denver, and a number of cities in California.