New York is in the process of becoming the first state to ban the declawing of cats and thank goodness!
The New York Congress officially passed the bill on Tuesday and now all we need is for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign it into law.
Declawing cats is an incredibly inhumane procedure which involves amputating a cat’s toes up to the first knuckle. The surgeries are not only medically unnecessary but can come with severe side effects.
The bill is being supported by the Humane Society of United States whose director told the NYT,
“Declawing is a convenience surgery, with a very high complication rate, that offers no benefit to the cat.”
The reason that some owners declaw their cats in the first place is because they don’t like it when their cats scratch up their furniture or scratch the owners.
But anyone who doesn’t want their cat tearing up their furniture shouldn’t have a cat in the first place. Any cat owner will tell you that you can buy as many scratching posts as you want, but your furniture will inevitably be ruined. It’s pretty much part of the gig.
As for your cat scratching you, there’s an extremely easy solution for that: trimming your cat’s nails! Cat nail clippers are very affordable and you can learn how to do it via YouTube videos.
If you don’t feel comfortable safely cutting your cat’s nails yourself, you can take your cat to the vet or to a local salon every six weeks.
As far as declawing laws go, the United States is actually quite behind (shocker!) — the practice is already banned in much of Europe.
If Gov. Cuomo officially signs the bill into law, pet owners could be fined up to $1,000 for breaking it. We’ll wait with bated breath until then.
READ THIS NEXT
‘Pet Sematary’ Used Rescue Cats (And Yes, They’ve All Been Adopted!)
