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Los Angeles and Beverly Hills join San Francisco in moving toward cat de-claw bans
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The Los Angeles City Council today, in a preliminary action, voted unanimously to ban cat de-clawing, the Los Angeles Times reports. The council is scheduled to take a final vote on the measure on November 17,
Similarly, on Thursday evening, the Beverly Hills City Council unanimously approved a cat de-claw ordinance, with a final vote also expected on November 17.
These recent actions follows a 9 to 2 vote this past Tuesday by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to ban cat de-clawing unless for therapeutic reasons. The Board of Supervisors will take a final reading on that vote next week.
Santa Monica has already voted on a ban in a first vote and will have a second reading on November 10. Malibu and Berkeley are also considering similar bans.
Deadline Approaching to Enact Cat De-claw Measures In California
These California cities have taken up the cat de-claw issue now because of a fast-approaching January 1, 2010 deadline that would prohibit such bans. On the first of the year, a new California law goes into effect restricting any California city or county from passing laws that prohibit licensed healthcare professionals from practicing their licensed specialty. The law covers veterinarians and cat de-clawing surgery.
Supporters of the cat de-claw bans point out that contrary to what many people think, cats’ claws are not human nails; they grow from the bone. So in de-clawing, an extremely painful procedure, you are taking off the whole last bone of each of the front toes of a cat or in essence de-knuckling them.
Many veterinarians feel that de-clawed cats become more aggressive whether from a feeling of being defenseless or because of chronic pain. Cats tend to bite when they are afraid or stressed. Also cats experiencing pain from de-clawing potentially develop litter box issues.
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