This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.

California's closer to becoming the third state in the U.S. to ban declawing cats, with AB 2606 being passed through the Assembly Business and Professions Committee in April and the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 18. This week it will be voted on by the full House, so there is no time to waste!

This bill still needs to get through this House vote, then the Senate, before it can be signed by the governor to become law, and it's being opposed by the California Veterinary Medical Association. Please urge your representatives to pass this vital piece of legislation to protect cats from this cruel and unethical procedure!

Declawing has been a controversial topic among stakeholders, including veterinarians, animal advocates, and cat guardians, but the one thing that remains true is that it isn't a simple procedure that simply removes a cat's nails. The actual procedure, which is formally known as an onychectomy, involves the surgical removal of the last bone in each of a cat's front toes to which the nail is attached. It's been compared to cutting off a human's fingertips at the last joint, and while that's an unpleasant thought alone, we don't walk on our hands.

Sadly, cats continue to suffer through this surgery and afterward for the sake of our convenience — we just don't like it that they scratch our stuff, or us, but scratching is a natural and necessary behavior for them. Aside from causing immense pain, declawing can also cause other unwanted behaviors, including avoiding the litter box and resorting to biting because they've lost their first defense; these are also issues that increase the likelihood of cats being relinquished to shelters.

Physically, declawing has also been linked to other long-term consequences, including chronic back pain, and other serious consequences, such as bone fragments being left in cats' paws post-surgery.

Fortunately, progress is being made to ban declawing around the world. In the U.S., New York became the first state to ban declawing in 2019 and was followed by Maryland, which banned it this past April. Declawing has already been banned in eight cities in California; it's time to make it a statewide ban!

This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.