New York ban on cat declawing a humane proposal all states should consider

When Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal proposed a statewide ban on declawing cats, it made headlines.

Some people said it’s another example of New York becoming a “nanny state.” Just a law to strip us of another one of our decision-making rights, they hissed.

But it’s not.

It’s more like a law to prevent the torturing of cats.

Because most well-intentioned cat owners have no idea what the procedure is really about. And many veterinarians won’t tell you, either.

Declawing is actually an amputation of the last bone in each of the cat’s toes. If we had something similar done, our fingers would be cut off at the last knuckle.

Often declawed cats develop other problems, ones that don’t involve scratching the couch. They can stop using their litter box, become lame, suffer from constant pain and are much more likely to bite.

And scratching your furniture isn’t something Fluffy does to get even with you, but rather very normal behavior for a feline. Cats scratch to stretch their muscles, “file” their nails and even mark territory with glands between their paw pads.

So scratching is something every kitty will do. And “training” your cat to scratch where you want him to is certainly more humane than amputating his toes.

Some ways to do that include:

• Trying different kinds of scratching posts. If carpeted ones don’t work, try cardboard or ones wrapped in sisal rope.
• Rub some catnip on the places you want kitty to scratch on.
• Try scratching posts that go in a different direction. If flat or horizontal ones don’t attract your cat, try vertical ones. There are even scratching posts that hang over door knobs.
• Keep your cat’s nails trimmed. Often, cats who don’t enjoy a manicure will allow you to trim their nails if you wrap them in a towel with their eyes covered, taking out one leg at a time. If your kitty is too wild for home nail trimmings, ask your vet’s office if you can bring your cat over and have a technician do it for you.

And if having a declawed cat is a “must” for you, keep checking at your local animal shelter. Declawed kitties get surrendered just like other cats do.

And at least you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you might have saved an innocent kitty’s life.

Source:

“New York state may be first to outlaw declawing of all cats” Nicole Pelletiere, January 15, 2015, ABC News, abcnews.go.com