On July 22, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation enacting an immediate statewide ban on cat declawing. The bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), was approved by state lawmakers in June.
Under the new law,anyone who performs a declawing procedure for any reason other than medical necessity will be subject to fines of up to $1,000.
“Declawing is a cruel and painful procedure that can create physical and behavioral problems for helpless animals, and today it stops,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “By banning this archaic practice, we will ensure that animals are no longer subjected to these inhumane and unnecessary procedures.”
The implementation of the new law is a hard-won victory for animal rights activists, who fought for years to ban cat declawing in New York and compare the practice with mutilation.
Cat declawing is typically done out of convenience, as a way to stop cats from scratching furniture. Many people who resort to the procedure are unaware of what it entails, according to Peter Soboroff, owner and director of the New York Cat Hospital in Manhattan.
Declawing, also known as onychectomy, involves removing all or most of the last bone of each front foot’s toes. Tendons, ligaments and nerves are severed, disrupting the normal functioning of the paw.
“Even with our best efforts, there’s no question this is a painful surgery,” Soboroff stated in an interview with NPR.
Cats can suffer long-term health effects from the procedure, including chronic pain, early-onset arthritis and behavioral issues.
“They can have trouble scratching in a litter box or cleaning themselves, their posture is thrown off and in severe circumstances, it leads to permanent back pain,” Lisa Alter of the Long Beach, NY Humane Society and Kitty Cove Adoption Center explained to NPR.
Most veterinarians applaud the new law, including Soboroff, who pointed out that there are painless alternatives to declawing, such as the use of nail caps, as well as patience and training. She hopes this law will set an example for others.
New York is the first state in the US to outlaw the procedure, but onychectomy has already been banned in many European countries, as well as several Canadian provinces and U.S. cities, such as Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In addition, anti-declawing bills have been introduced in other states, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and West Virginia.
Thank you New York!
Stop the declaring of cats this is inhumane God gave them claws for a reason
Thank God the movement has begun!!!!
Thank you, New York!
Every cat we’ve rescued that had been declawed always had physical and emotional issues. Always.
Anyone who thinks amputating a cat’s last toe bone is acceptable, then maybe you should not have cats.
Or dogs. Or children. If things are more important to you, than that’s on you. You lose.
Our furniture has some pulls, and lots of fur – it is FURniture – but our cats are happy and healthy.
And part of our family. We give each other unconditional LOVE.
It should be $1000 for EACH CLAW !!!! Good going, New York.
YES!
YES! Now let’s have enforcement!
NJ already did.
I applaud the rights of cats to flip their tails at the prospect of this unnecessary surgery! 🙂
This is good news!
thank you new york
Better late than never!!
I can’t write anything “peaceful and family friendly” about the kind of country that needs a F^&%ING LAW to tell them not to rip the claws out of animals so I don’t think I’ll bother signing any more petitions.
If you think torturing animals is more important than upsetting the fragile sensibilities of dumbass people then screw you.
You’re a sh%^hole of a country and I hope the people you have in power burn in hell.
animals must not be tortured…declawing cats is painful torture to them.
Good. Everyone else should be made to follow.
Please stop this, so that cats can have a brighter future.
This is great news.
Some vet did wrong never never let cat pull claws need stop and shame vets will lose jpb can fire vets I don’t trust any vets if I find good vets place only can cut claws not pull how cat protect self outside and cant climb tree cat need be safe I never let my cat pull claws stupid vets I pray cats
Thank You !
it is cruel and dangerous to do.
Thats insane you want a nice house not clawed up furniture. You dont want your nice leather couch all to shreds just because your cat thinks its okay to claw it and trust me spraying them with a water bottle doesnt work they do it again. I have grown up with all sorts if animals and i have cats of my own i declawed them and i dont have to worry about them scratching or tearing up any of my personal items.
Hi Rebecca first of all what are you doing with the leather couch this format is for vegans ,people who respect all animals and not the killing of cows so Rebecca can have a leather couch. Do you eat dead animals too if you can condone the use of their hide to make furniture perhaps you do. and by the way why don’t you have your nails surgically removed or just one Rebecca just one, and see how painful that is maybe you’ll be more sympathetic to cats being declawed
Rebecca, you’re a piece of crap. You put a f*cking sofa over the welfare of a living animal?
The cat doesn’t think “it’s ok to claw it” you utter moron.
I hope your cat leaves you and you never have another pet because you obviously have little to no sense or empathy with any living thing.
I’m just glad you don’t live near me because I would get arrested ripping your nails out of their beds, followed by your face. Hateful, little idiot.
People like you are what’s wrong with this world.
Hey Mike, thanks, glad to see I wasn’t the only astute letter writer to call out that letter written by POS Rebecca. HOW ABOIT I’ll hold her down while you rip out her finger nails, since she thinks it’s no big deal, I’m willing to show her differently ON HER NAILS!
And why in the world do you have a cat? Just for your pleasure in torturing it?
Please take it to the Humane Society, and don’t get any more pets
So glad 2hear some positive news! =) This is a great &promising 1st step, as it will establish a new precedent in the law, upon which other states can depend on/refer to/use as support for trying to change their own state laws in order to ban this cruel practice! =) Once one state has done so, the very hardest part of the battle has been won – &every subsequent state that ends up following this new precedent &changing their laws 2ban this practice will, in turn, make it easier & easier for other states to follow suit. We, the voters/residents of the other 49 states, def need to keep up the pressure on lawmakers to even consider this change in our own states, but it will still be easier to accomplish now that the most difficult work of establishing a new precedent has been completed. This is a HUGE victory! =) Thank you NY for helping to light the way!
Thank you!!
Good for New York! This is cruel and barbaric. It’s amazing that vets are so willing to do this procedure–they know how it damages the cat and they know it is excruciatingly painful. Still, money is a strong motivator. It has to be outlawed or it will surely continue. We are losing our humanity when we thoughtlessly inflict pain and damage on a poor animal that can’t fight back and do it just for our convenience. We must hope that forces who have power over us will not be as cruel and indifferent as we have been.
Way to go Governor Cuomo let’s hope other’s follow your lead you have done an amazing thing & I applaud you.
Take care
Yay yay yay yay yay to gov. Cuomo. Ok so you signed a bill in January allowing nine mos abortions and infanticide and then celebrated this act of pure evil by lighting up major buildings and bridges in pink to celebrate the killing of the unborn and now even killing babies born alive..it’s nice you do have compassion in an otherwise corrupt, empty heart and you like cats enough to ban declawing. I could say thanks but I won’t
WOW-they passed this bill on my birthday & it was the best present I got! Thank You Governor Cuomo for your compassion & passing this much needed bill-useless declawing of cats hurts them & is cruel, inhumane & serves no need!
Yes he is compassionate to cats but in January he signed a bill killing the unborn up to the moment of birth and infanticide, if the baby is born alive it’s ok to kill after it’s born and survives the abortion. And the he celebrated by lighting up major landmarks in NYC in pink. He is pure evil to not only make this law but to celebrate the gruesome.dismemberment of innocent babies. Yeah he’s a good guy alright. He will meet his maker one day and he will face a harsh judgement in hell.
The whole world should ban declawing. It’s cruel and inhumane. If you don’t want
your cat to scratch your furniture, then don’t have a cat ! Any vet will tell you that
it is mutilation,