Bill would make New York first state to ban declawing of cats

[demmiblue]

Source: Chicago Tribune

A push to outlaw the declawing of cats in New York would make the state a feline first in the nation.

Animal-welfare advocates and many veterinarians say declawing involves the amputation of a cat's toes back to the first knuckle and leaves them permanently injured.

The state's largest veterinary association opposes a ban, arguing that the procedure should remain a last resort for felines who won't stop scratching furniture or humans.

The bill didn't get a vote last year but its sponsor, Democratic Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal of Manhattan, says more lawmakers are signing on.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-cat-declawing-ban-new-york-20170502-story.html

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[Wolf Frankula]

1. Does that include Cats with deformed claws?

We had two, and the vet declawed their front paws. She will only declaw cats with deformed claws.

Wolf

[meow2u3]

8. There is a therapeutic exception in the bill

S 380. PROHIBITION OF THE DECLAWING OF CATS. 1. NO PERSON SHALL
PERFORM AN ONYCHECTOMY (DECLAWING), PARTIAL OR COMPLETE PHLANGECTOMY OR
TENDONECTOMY PROCEDURE BY ANY MEANS ON A CAT WITHIN THE STATE OF NEW
YORK, EXCEPT WHEN NECESSARY FOR A THERAPEUTIC PURPOSE.

Text of legislation here: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2015/s5084

[marybourg]

19. Interesting. I remember when NY had a law against abortion.

It also had an exception for " A THERAPEUTIC PURPOSE". After a while it came to be interpreted as "if the patient threatens suicide if required to carry the pregnancy to term, a abortion will be considered therapeutic". Horrible that women had to be driven to threaten suicide to exercise control over their bodies, but it may be instructive as to this NY law.

i.e., Will a threat to consign a clawing kitty to a shelter unless she's declawed be considered
" THERAPEUTIC"?

[marybourg]

2. I'm afraid this could also cause otherwise salvageable

cats to be euthanized. I have to agree with the vets. But how to ensure that's it's only used as a last resort? Education?

[HockeyMom]

3. If you clip Cats nails Yourself

From when they are kittens, no problem. Declawe them to save furniture? My daughter has a polydactile Cat and her nails curve. Declare just for that? She also feeds strays of same family which she has captured and neutered. Do they scratch her? No, because they trust her.

[Archae]

5. I clip my two cats claws myself too.

Not very difficult, they do squirm and "rowr" and bite, not hard.

But they get catnip as a reward afterwards, so they don't mind it too much.

[Blue_Tires]

16. Cats bite? I thought all they did was scratch?

[Archae]

17. Oh, they can bite all right!

I got bit and punctured by a cat when I was very young.

[samnsara]

27. i have a scar on my nose from...

...a bite from a stray cat I was trying to 'help'..

[RobinA]

25. Declawed Cats

especially bite (not saying ONLY declawed cats bite). They have no claws and are essentially defenseless, so they bite.

[LovingA2andMI]

4. As a Cat Parent That Had A Lovely Declawed Cat and a Proud Pet Parent of A Clawed Cat

Don't agree with this. There are reasons some want-to-be Cat Parents can need to Declaw a cat including some who have severe allergic reactions to being snatched by a Cat.

If a Cat is Adopted from a Shelter, most Shelters require the potential Owner sign an agreement to not declaw the Cat. If the Adoption is Private between two individuals, the details of the Adoption should stay private.

This feels like more than a bit of unnecessary overreach and can decrease the number of cats placed in loving homes with Pet Parents.

[snooper2]

6. Oh this thread is going to be epic

LOL

[Ghost Dog]

7. Declawing cats is extremely cruel

and should be a criminal offense.

I'll say no more... Stories I could tell...

[shenmue]

9. Meow

[Coventina]

10. How about the circumcision of pitbulls?

I have high hopes for this thread.

(I am against declawing of cats, BTW, and glad to see this enacted).

[cstanleytech]

11. I fear that if you take this away as an option that some people might simply get rid of their cats

either by abandoning them on the street and or giving them to shelters and thats just sad.

[Yavin4]

12. What's next? Requiring all humans to have tuna at the ready?

When will we ever stand up to the powerful cat lobby in this nation??!

[Warpy]

13. Good, it's a horrible thing to do to a cat

I'm happy to say I've seen fewer ads here for declawed cats because vets just aren't doing it any more. Trimming + rubber claw covers do a much better job and it's fun to watch a kitty knead with red nail polish looking claws.

[HoneyBadger]

14. People are going to have to drive over the border to declaw their cats?

Dog privilege. Attica!!!!!

[Bayard]

15. I trim my 3 indoor cat's claws

They actually need it right now. I'll have to get on that tonight, or they will start shredding furniture.

I worked as a vet tech many years ago in a small animal practice. De-clawing is inhumane. The vet has a crushing tool that basically takes off the cat's first joints. Even though they're knocked out, sometimes they still cry. And its heartbreaking to see them hobble around when they wake up.

I'm also not real keen on ear cropping and tail docking.

[Thekaspervote]

18. Sadly there are times when declawing is the only option

Almost 5 years ago now we took a stray in that was borderline feral. He had been abused and then abandoned when the people down the street moved out. He showed up in our yard starving, flea and parasite ridden. Had he not been a young animal, he would have died. It took us 9 weeks of feeding and just being present to finally get him close enough to trap him in a small enclosure and then move him inside.

There were times he would be less fearful but most times he would claw the sh-- out of both of us. This went on for almost six months. We did everything imaginable and then some to try and tame this animal. We knew if we sent him to the shelter he would not get a home. Finally an adoption person of 20+ plus years said she felt the best option would be to declaw him that it would change his aggressive personality. We were not for that, but his chances of ever becoming anything but a closet kitty were slim! He was sad depressed and hiding 95 percent of the time. We waited another 3 months and decided we would go ahead with the procedure.

It did change him. He became calmer less aggressive and happy to say he is so well adjusted and happy! There are times....

[Ghost Dog]

20. "Well-adjusted and happy"? Really?

Like you would feel, as a well-fed pet/slave with no means to defend/fend for yourself?

[Thekaspervote]

22. Yes,

If you read the entire post this was our last hope and his, and only after great consideration. When a cat rescuer of 20 years and an animal behaviorist says he will not get a home and declawing him may help his aggressiveness we went with their suggestions.

[Ghost Dog]

29. All right. Yours would be a valid exceptional case,

as you describe it.

[SharonAnn]

21. All but one of my cats have been declawed. Only one

Only one could be trained to use the scratching post. Right now I have a rescued Bengal cat who is mostly an outside cat and she was declawed before I rescued her. That sure hasn't stopped her from killing mice and voles, though. And she seems to have won every fight she's been in.

Cats use their rear claws, not their front claws, as weapons. The roll over, reach up their powerful back legs, and can gut an animal in one swipe. And, as far s climbing trees, my Bengal climbs up and down them with no trouble.

If i can't have my cats declawed, then i won't have cats in my home as pets. Sorry.

[Inkfreak]

23. Our cat is declawed.

I found her 5 years ago on a 9 degree F January night under my porch. More accuracy, my dog sniffed her out. She was tiny as hell. All skin and bones. Literally. I couldn't bring her in because I was unsure how my dogs and other cat would react so I gave her water and a can of food and set her up with my snow pants on my enclosed porch. She went for the water first. The next morning I found her buried in my snow pants.

We kept her, took her to the vets. She had been spayed and declawed, the vet said she must've been without food for weeks and weeks. We were never able to find her owner and we live in a rather rural area. Well known to get animals dropped off. Now she pleasantly plump and never uncomfortable.

I'm cool with not allowing them to be declawed. I see her still seemingly missing them. Lots of funny lil paw curling and she has been known to awkwardly fall off a chair or couch unable to sink her claws in for support. Fine for our furniture, bad for her balance.

[JudyM]

24. I hope they have an education outreach through vets to show people how to clip their nails. Dogs too

It's pitiful how many dogs you see with ridiculously long nails, when they get older it hobbles them. You know they aren't cared for the way they should be, and vets ought to say something to the owners. Same for brushing dogs' and cats' teeth. It's easy to do, and saves them having teeth pulled in later life, plus keeps them healthier.

I've volunteered with vets, it's really sad what you see.

End of "pet peeve"

[shanti]

31. I have two cats and I'm anti-declawing

One of them is docile, and she lets me clip her claws. She doesn't really care for it, but allows it. My other cat is very resistant to anyone touching his feet, and I've not been able to clip them, even when I wrap him in a towel. He has huge fangs too and isn't afraid to use them when he's upset; he's usually pretty mellow though. Fortunately, both of them use the scratching pole, and don't touch the furniture. I can't count the number of times, however, that I find shed claws on the floor! My boy kitty bites them off like someone biting their fingernails!

Not sure if I could brush their teeth though. Mother was bitten by a cat a few years ago, and was on IV antibiotics for a week after! Scary shit!

[JudyM]

32. You could give it a try.

At first especially they'll resist, wouldnt any of us?

Then they get to where they'll kind of grudgingly let you. You know how they like to rub their face against something? You can give their gum a long stroke that is kind of like that. I'd mix some of those in with getting the rest of the teeth. With some really calming classical music and a great treat to start and a better one to finish I'd sit on the floor, knees up and put them on their back (against the front of your thighs, like a vertical nook for them) and just lift the lip or start by brushing the lip on the outside and sneak some gum strokes in A different position might work for you, just try to make it feel to them like you're lavishing attention on them, lots of cooing and praise. Some is better than none, just start small! It gets to be kind of an intimate bonding thing, really, or at least that's the illusion I'm under.

There are also calming treats for cats, maybe you've seen those, or Rescue Remedy for pets (kind of expensive but lasts forever) or Feliway if you have that. If you do it, please LMK how it goes! Good luck!

Ps You're lucky they don't scratch the furniture

[Hassin Bin Sober]

35. We tried trimming our dog's nails.

It didn't work out. It ended with her running around the house with the clipper still attached. Lol.

Now we leave it up to the pros. She has one rear dew claw that will curl and grow in to her pad if it gets too long. It grows like a weed. I call it the thousand dollar claw since we constantly have to have it cut. We are probably up to $1500 now.

Last week it split while the tech was cutting it. The tech felt awful. My dog was in a lot of pain while they were applying whatever medicine they apply to stop bleeding. It was terrible. But she didn't hold a grudge. A baby food treat and a bandage and she was happy.

[JudyM]

36. Poor thing!

Both of you, really!

Helps to start when they're young because they get used to it more quickly. Have you looked st those nail grinder-type grooming tools? Especially with what you're paying it could be worth a try https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Adog+toenail+grinder&keywords=dog+toenail+grinder&ie=UTF8&qid=1493901341

[leftynyc]

26. Awesome

My vet has a sign up that he wont do the procedure. And that sign has been up for over 15 years.

[procon]

28. I dismayed that a veterinary association would support such cruelty.

That amputation surgery is based on pure greed and has very little to do with "scratching furniture or humans" as there are many other alternatives to correct a cat's behavior other than mutilating their poor little feet.

I love my kitties cute little Jelly Bean toes!

[hamsterjill]

34. You hit the nail on the head!

The veterinary associations don't want to give up the potential revenue.

But most good vets won't do the procedure.

Likewise, most veterinary associations still insist on one year rabies vaccinations (or the more potent and more expensive 3-year dose where legal) when countless studies have proven that rabies vaccinations are not needed that often.

[Spider Jerusalem]

30. Good, it's needless cruelty.

It should be banned, and it should be a criminal offence. And anyone in this thread defending it? You people shouldn't own cats.

[hamsterjill]

33. As a cat rescuer, I applaud this!

To "declaw" is actually to remove the first segment of the toe. It's cruel and totally unnecessary. Many cats that have been declawed will develop behavioral issues - some of those behaviors surface years after the procedure. Then, the very owners who insisted on declawing don't want the cat any more because of those behaviors.