At least 42 countries have made scratching illegal, including England, France, Wales, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland and Israel. In Canada, scratching is prohibited in eight provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Alberta, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. When I started as a veterinary assistant in a clinic in the early 90s, spraying was a daily occurrence. The clinic with four doctors where I worked performed at least one or two ten-claw surgeries a day. Although scratching is entirely up to Illinois owners, Yanko said owners have decided to abandon their cats due to behavioral issues such as scratching. She said she would rather see the animals go to a good, loving home than remain homeless because they are scratched. „There is absolutely no use, period, no doubt, if a cat is scratched,” – Jennifer Conrad, DVM, founder and president of The Paw Project As of January 2022, aesthetic/convenience decoding is illegal in: Cat hoarding, also known as onychectomy, was widespread and even routine in the United States. Over the past 20 years, claw surgery has become highly controversial as social activists aggressively try to convince veterinarians to stop. So, are veterinarians still stealing cats from the United States? Is it even legal? Many other U.S. cities and states have pending laws to ban cats.

(7) I created a database detailing the state of decay legislation in all 50 U.S. states in April 2022. You have the power to protect cats in your community by supporting laws banning claws. We have the tools to help you! Alley Cat Allies has been instrumental in many landmark decisions to ban cat claws, including the first statewide claw ban enacted in New York City in 2019. We are committed to educating and engaging compassionate advocates like you to take action to lift bans wherever they occur. On the other hand, the official position of the American Association of Feline Practitioners on declawing is to speak out strongly against this practice. They note that elective catching of cats is unethical and medically unnecessary. There are only two states in the country where it is illegal to scratch a cat.

The first state to ban the practice was New York. New York completely banned this procedure in 2019. The second state was Maryland, which passed a similar ban in 2022. In the other 48 states besides Washington DC, you are allowed to remove your cat`s claws if you wish. In states where this is not allowed, there is an exception for therapeutic purposes. You will need to talk to your veterinarian if you are interested in an exception that will allow you to declaw your cat for therapeutic reasons. They also point out that declawed cats are more likely to bite people. You are also more likely to urinate outside a litter box. Yes. In the vast majority of states, you are allowed to declaw a cat if you wish.

It is important to note that there are several options if you want to remove your cat`s claws. There are people who choose to remove the claws from all their paws and there are other people who simply choose to remove the claws from their front paws. As with any other procedure, it`s important to talk to your veterinarian before deciding on a path. This way, you can make the best decision for your cat and family. The American Veterinary Medical Association has an official statement that „discourages” cats. But they refrain from condemning this practice. This is probably because there is a sense of not limiting veterinarians` ability to make medical decisions. There are generally two schools of thought among American veterinarians.

It is believed that scratching is never acceptable for aesthetic or practical reasons. The other believes that whether or not a cat scratches should be a decision between a veterinarian and a cat owner. Thanks to increasing educational efforts, more and more people are beginning to understand how damaging cats` claws are. The negative consequences of elective claw formation range from short-term pain to long-term adverse behavioral changes. It is difficult to draw conclusions with 100% certainty due to the lack of research in recent decades. Recent studies have revealed the following negative consequences after scratching: Cat hoarding is LEGAL in most parts of the United States. Only a few cities and the states of New York and Maryland have banned the procedure. It`s legal everywhere else. But that doesn`t mean it`s easy to find a veterinarian willing to do it! The American Animal Hospital Association amended its statement in 2015 to „strongly oppose” scratching when it comes to elective proceedings.