Denver Says NO to Declawing Cats
Read Time:1 Minute, 6 Second
Don’t even think about declawing your cat, even if it’s scratching up your furniture, or clawing down the drapes. Too bad. It’s just doing what cats do.
In Denver, declawing cats is now prohibited. A bill banning the practice passed unanimously at a Denver City Council meeting Monday, KUSA reports. The procedure, formally known as an onychectomy, surgically removes all or most of the last bone on each of a cat’s 10 front toes, severing tendons, nerves, and ligaments that are necessary for normal paw function.
Activists, who fought hard for the prohibition, say it’s similar to cutting off a human’s fingers at the last knuckle, is painful, and can lead to sometimes severe behavioral issues.
A vet tech who fought for the new ban which takes effect immediately says:
“When you declaw a cat, they’re more prone to have some of those behaviors, like urinating inappropriately [or] biting things, that will lead people to relinquish them into the shelters.”
The Denver Channel notes that declawing will still be allowed if it’s deemed medically necessary. Denver, incidentally, is the only city outside California where a number of cities have banned declawing. New York and New Jersey are considering similar bills. In Israel, the penalties for declawing are a year in jail, and up to a 20K fine.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
You are mutilating your cats. Nasty behaviour 😿😿😿
As a long standing and active member of the national British charity Cats Protection I am clearly biased.
Cats should not be declawed simply because their claws are a part of what they are.
It’s like removing everyone’s trigger finger because some people go around shooting others.
I understand the distress of finding a bird killed etc but it’s called nature.
The claws are also for defence. If your cat is declawed it is vulnerable to predation.
I am not, for one second, suggesting you don’t love your cat if you declaw it. I am, however, telling you you are very very wrong to do so.
You are actually allowing your cat to be mutilated. Nice one. 😿😿😿
I’ve had cats all my life all declawed. Happy, healthy, zero destructive problems.
Both of my cats are declawed, but they were adopted that way. Neither of them have behavior problems – in fact, Isa, the older, is the sweetest cat I’ve ever had, and I’ve had cats for 48 years (I’m currently on my seventh & eighth), and for the last 26 I’ve been a minimum two-cat household.
I’m certain my position on this will anger a lot of people, but I don’t see a problem declawing cats, and I’ve done so for 30 years, and have never seen an ill effect. What I have seen are songbirds in the yard, intact furniture, including unscathed leather, and happy cats that don’t decide, on a whim to scratch up my face because the can. There. I’ve said it.