California Cities Ban Declawing

California's battle over whether or not to allow the declawing of domestic cats has reached a boiling point. This summer, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that would block local governments from passing ordinances to ban declawing. The bill was scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2010 and was passed in order to appease groups like The California Veterinary Medical Association, who opposed local bans on declawing. In fact, the CVMA actually took West Hollywood to court to have the city's local ban reversed, but lost. The CVMA was concerned about additional California towns copycatting (no pun intended) the ban on declawing and in order to prevent this, made a push for a statewide law that would prevent individual cities from passing anti-declawing legislation.

But with California's massive economic problems looming and resentment building between state and local officials, city and county representatives are pushing back on this statewide legislation. Towns are now rushing to pass local bans before the January 1st deadline, legislation that would take precedence over the state law. Currently, the cities of Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood have all passed anti-declawing ordinances. More cities may follow suit.

According to the CVMA’s president Mark Nunez,“The decision to declaw a cat should remain between the owner in consultation with his, or her, veterinarian on a case-by-case basis.” Because most people declaw their cats due to property damage or safety concerns, many veterinarians are worried that pet owners may choose to euthanize or give up their cats if they share these concerns and cannot declaw them. However, animal rights activists argue that a cat's claws are used for balance, exercise, and stretching (particularly the muscles in their legs, back, shoulders, and paws). Although it is a controversial belief and one many veterinarians do not share, some opponents of declawing feel that removal of the last digits drastically alters the conformation of their feet and causes the feet to meet the ground at an unnatural angle that can cause back pain similar to that in humans caused by wearing improper shoes.

In a recent survey conducted by The Southern California Veterinary Medical Association, most veterinarians considered the removal of claws to be performed only after every other option was exercised.

How do you feel about declawing: Are you in favor of these local bans on the procedure or against them? Do you feel the declawing saves the lives of cats whose owners would otherwise choose to euthanize/abandon them?