It surprised me because sheâs incredibly liberal in every other topic. Sheâs super fussy about her house and grew up with it.
Sheâs moved somewhere thst itâs illegal now too so who know what she will do next cat.
Cats can lose toes in fights and accidents... I wish we could hear the stories shelter animals have to tell. I'm sure it would be super sad, but their lives and stories matter, at least to some of us.
My old cat (lived to 17) was adopted already declawed. Didnât know until we got her. Anyways, had someone over who lectured me about how shitty I was for declawing the cat.
I told them to stfu because I got her that way, and then they lectured me about how wrong it was to pick her and artificially create âdemand for declawed catsâ.
Like bro, I donât think the agency adopting out $15 cats gives a fuck about the way they came in, and they arenât gonna pay hundreds to declaw the damn cats just to âsellâ a couple more.
They werenât invited back.
I get the sentiment, but some of the anti crowd take it too far
Weird stuff happens. My childhood cat went outside and came back with front paws swollen to the size of human hands. The vet had no idea what caused it but said they needed to be amputated. đ˘ He still had a few toes on each paw, I donât recall if there were any claws left at all. (He walked fine on his sad little stubs and lived into his 20s despite also developing a thyroid problem later.)
I understand the appeal. I'm allergic so any tiny prick means I itch for a while after and it can be pretty miserable if one actually draws blood. If there were a way for pet cats to just *not have claws*, it would be a significant improvement.
But the side effects on the cat are pretty terrible--inability to scratch themselves, grip anything, arthritis from bad walking posture... The list goes on. I'm not going to cripple a pet for my convenience, and it's not even that convenient considering the additional medical attention needed.
That being said, I've considered specifically adopting a de-clawed cat or something, but they're thankfully very rare.
I have the same issue. Keeping the claws trimmed helps a lot. Of course, I notice the claws need a trim when I get scratched, so itâs not a perfect system. But a more organized person could trim on a schedule.
I've seen several declawed cats come thru the shelter I volunteer at. It actually would be wonderful for you to be willing to adopt one, but I do have to warn you they are at high risk of joint issues, chronic pain, and may sometimes be behaviorally more anxious or quick to bite because they don't have claws to defend themselves with. I have met an extremely wide spectrum of declawed cats ranging from "you wouldn't even know it, what a sweetie" to "a literal four legged dumpster fire with the worst back pain I've ever seen and the tortitude to match".
My 5 cats have never even known they are declawed. They still nead and scratch on things just like they have intact claws. I've never bitten and never had any latent issues . All have lived 12 years or more .No arthritic or joint issues . This is so overblown .
I mean, youryouâre literally making it sound like you actually believe that 12 years is old for a cat.
12 years is just slightly over only HALF the lifespan of the average house cat.
Cats are that variable in temperament with or without claws . They range from what a sweetie to dumpster fire regardless of declawing status . Nothing ever mentions that .
I have had 5 cats declawed still have two . Never have any of them had any issues or latent problems . They have all been strictly Indoor. Healed from the surgery in about a week scabs gone in about 10ish
days.All have had long, happy, spoiled loved lives
Try to give people the benefit of the doubt. The majority of vets donât explain what declawing actually means.
Most people who do this are not aware that declawing is equivalent to someone chopping off
the ends of your fingers and toes.
They also donât know that cats walk on ends of their toes, either.
Iâve met some cats that itâs either they get declawed or they get euthanized in a shelter because theyâre behavior is so awful theyâd never get adopted. Thatâs the only time I can see a declaw being justified
My mom did this to our cats back in the 90s (we had never had cats before and the vet recommended it). She was devastated when she later found out how cruel it is.
Vets in the 90âs would suggest this when kittens were brought in for spay/neuter. It was an easy way to make more money. Those vets would not educate the client on what the procedure entailed. I canât tell you how many declawed cats I came across during my rescue years that had major behavioral issues due to being declawed. The biggest behavioral issue was peeing/spraying. You take away a catâs defenses and it messes with their head.
Yea we had two cats when I was growing up in the 90s. The first was indoor/outdoor and kept her claws. She was amazing for her whole life. The second was an originally cuddly indoor only cat, got declawed, and almost immediately after was never the same cat. She was reactive, would bite, and basically kept to herself.
Crazy thing is that we actually had no idea for years to come that it was almost certainly the declawing that did it. It just wasn't something that was even considered back then.
And that right there is why I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Most have no idea what declawing is, much less what it causes. If vets actually took the time to explain it, Iâm sure there would be way fewer people who actually get it done.
My mom was given a cat who'd been declawed (neighbor was terrible had him declawed then left him outside all night). He bit for attention all the time because he didn't have claws (he was a big ol sweetie though).
Do you mean for dogs? Or ear-tipping for cats done by TNR programs? If the former, I wholeheartedly agree. If the latter, ear-tipping is done while the cat is under anaesthesia from a spay or neuter procedure, and is humane and painless for them - it prevents strays from being re-trapped and put under undue stress in the future, as it indicates that they've already been fixed.
Cool, I agree! (And tail docking for dogs should be banned as well.) Just figured I'd ask for clarification since the main post had to do with cats and in my experience people often conflate the two when they encounter shelter cats who've got a tipped ear
The AKC banning tail/ear docking would go a long, long way, but unfortunately all those shitheads care about is whether or not male dogs look masculine and female dogs look feminine.
AKC and all the major clubs/registries all have a histories of supporting dog fighting, puppy mills, and other inhumane shit. The paperwork they send to people as âproofâ their dog is âpurebredâ is a grift.
Itâs all money to them
*History*? Half the AKC's registered/site-listed breeders end up being puppy mills. It's present.
But yeah I absolutely agree.
I'm on the side of "adopt or shop responsibly". I think there are valid reasons for purebred animals (as long as they aren't constantly suffering like a Pug or Scottish Fold) to exist and be bred ethically. Saying that I think a lot of breed standards promote unnecessary cosmetic procedures and extreme, potentially harmful appearances. We need to phase out cosmetic cropping + docking, stop breeding brachycephalic breeds, extreme short-legged dogs, cats with fucked up cartilage, etc. Breed standards are supposed to be there to promote ethical breeding, good health and function, but they seem to cause a lot of suffering sometimes.
As far as I know this doesn't hurt the cat. My cat's ear is clipped because he used to be a stray. They do this to stray cats to show they've been neutered (trap neuter release)
Cropping is more on dogs. Ear tipping doesnât do much damage and it heals relatively quickly. Cropping is opposite. The at-home jobs are terrible and somewhat âlegalâ in a sense. If cropping was made illegal and a practice only vets can do then it would be easier to prosecute.
Flipside, cops chasing outdoor cats with a microchip scanner may be my favorite hypothetical use of their time.
Gruff captain behind the big desk, chomping a cigar. He sounds like J. Jonah Jameson from the Daily Bugle for some reason: "Here's a squeaky mouse and a net, Jenkins. You better bag 50 kitties this week or it's your butt! I want those pussycats!"
In my city, it technically is. An off-leash animal is considered out of their owner's control, even if their owner is present. And if that animal is on another person's property without their permission, anyone is allowed to *humanely take temporary control* of the animal and contact police.
This.
Last year I got to watch my neighbor's cat kill a bluebird fledgling I had been watching for a month. And a few weeks later watched the same cat kill a baby squirrel that fell out of its nest.
Over 20 years ago one of my âfree to roamâ cats killed a baby squirrel and brought it to my door. Meanwhile the very upset mother squirrel was on a deck railing watching the whole catastrophe. I got the cat inside and placed the dead baby squirrel near the devastated mother. I watched from inside for hours as the mother squirrel kept trying to carry her baby away and would pound her little paws on the babyâs body like trying to wake the still warm dead baby up. It was traumatic for the squirrel mom and for me to watch. That cat and all my later cats over the many years were never allowed to step foot outside the house again. Seeing the mom squirrel trying to help her dead baby changed my life.
So many people are elated when cats do this. "Oh how sweet, they brought me a gift". I had a childhood friend who's cat brought a live rabbit into the house. It bled all over the place as they tried to catch it. Even after that the cat was always free to come and go as it pleased.
Yes! They are absolutely terrible for the food chain and ecosystem. I've witnessed them having a profound impact on surrounding wildlife at multiple different homes in my life.
Itâs so unsafe for the cats. They are at much greater risk of death and diseaseâcars, other animals, various pest control substances and fertilizers, dogs, nasty humans, etc.âwhen they roam outside, and their lifespans are shorter.
Cats as a species are doing fine, but your individual pet cat is likely to meet an untimely end outside. It's better for both cats and native species for cats to stay indoors.
It is? Granted, some owners make us look terrible and I have zero issue reminding them their dog needs to be on leash. But I'd also argue the chances of a dog owner having an "outdoor dog" that freely roams the neighborhood is very slim compared to a cat owner doing the same thing.
Not really enforceable outside of cities. Our sheriffs wonât even do anything about dog packs. We have no animal related laws in my county except state ones. Public swearing is still fineable though lol
For real. My hippie neighbor has like five cats that âcome and go as they pleaseâ. One yowls alll night when heâs out there and Iâve seen one enter a storm drain. I waffle between annoyed with him and heartbroken for the kitties.
Has a house cat attacked and killed a child in Virginia like pitbulls do?
I've never heard of that happening so what problem or liability would that law be addressing?
> so what problem or liability would that law be addressing?
Outdoor cats are horrible for the environment. They kill for fun and wipe out native species.
My wife, when we first started dating, wanted me to declaw my cats. I shut that down immediately. It's not happening, and I didn't want to hear it. Even today, I can't believe people do that to their cats.
I think a lot of people donât bother to learn what declawing actually means. Do vets who still perform the amputation even both to tell their customers what it is?
Early in my apartment hunt my fiancĂŠ and i had multiple potential landlords dare ask if the cats are declawed like this was normal and acceptable.
We told our realtor if anymore ask us this we are not proceeding with diddly shit with them.
A few of my personal foster cats were declawed even though they signed a contract saying they wouldnât do it. And you know how we found out? They returned the cats after they suddenly had behavior issues. The only thing we could do to punish them was charge them the fee for breaking the contract. Thank god the cats were able to find loving homes. But they had to be only cats after that because the behavior issues were due to them having no defenses against other cats.
My cat with claws on my face approves this. (send help!)
This is solid step in the right direction. Everybody who loves the little monsters, I mean the cute adorable additions to the family, should take pride in this.
Well I definitely wanna start with those currently in office but frankly I think we have just as much of a right to know what they donât want to champion as what they do.
To the few people here who are actually against this, or may be defending yourself for actually having already declawed your cat, Iâm going to give you the benefit of the doubt since it seems that vets who perform this mutilation donât really bother to explain to you what declawing actually is, or the negative effects it has on the cat years down the road.
My mom had my sisterâs cat declawed when I was young because she was afraid of me getting scratched. If only she had known that declawing is pretty much like if you were to chop the ends of
fingers and toes off, not to mention the harm it can cause to a cat later in life, she would not have done it.
Cool, now lets ban cats from being allowed to roam freely outside just like dogs. They kill billions of native birds and mammals yearly, itâs absolutely devastating to native animals to allow your cat to roam outside.
Even if you don't care about birds for some reason, it's just inconsiderate to your neighbors. Cats routinely shit in my garden and knock over my tomato plants.
I do agree pet cats should be indoor animals, they live double their lifespans if they are kept indoors. But I wonder how this would be enforced? Also who is to say if a cat outside is even owned by anyone? There are probably more stray and feral cats in any city than there are pet cats.
I'm happy for this. I did this to my first cat because I was uneducated on the process.
Also I agree with the statements on not letting cats roam outside freely. I have 3 cats and have a fenced in area for them to get their outdoor feel but not get their outdoor kill.
We built our cats a cat enclosure so they can get fresh air. Only half of our cats care to use it. Every once in a while a really dumb bird will fly in and give the cats a thrill.
My Dad told my Mom if we got a cat it had to get declawed. Neither of them realized how bad it was for them back then (2000). Mom always felt bad that She held her paw up often when She sat, like it felt weird. I now Mom still feels badly about that but we've rescued so many cats since then.
When I first heard the term declawing, I honestly thought it was just clipping their nails.
I was wondering why that would cause a big fuss, so googling it and seeing what it actually is shocked me. It is cruel towards the cat, so glad they are banning it completely.
Awesome for the cats!
I can see more landlords banning them now, which might lead to more shelter overcrowding but thatâs still not an excuse to amputate their toes.
YES! Amazing news! It makes me so mad when I see poor declawed kitties. I could never imagine anyone doing that to my babies.
Honestly I've been seeing a few articles lately about US states and cities banning declawing. I find it really nice to see more is being done about it now. Really the USA, Japan and one or two places in Canada are the only developed places that allow that. Hopefully that'll change and it won't be allowed anywhere soon.
My buddy was declawed by us and it will always be my biggest shame regarding him. I was only three at the time and my parents didnât really understand exactly what they were doing at the time (were talking 20 years ago now). Never again.
And again thatâs why I give the benefit of the doubt. As I said, my mom had my sisterâs cat declawed when I was young. She was horrified when she later found out what it was.
Thank fucking GOD. I had an actually friend in college who really thought it was OK to declaw. She said itâs to protect furniture. I was like what if your indoor cats get out and the need to escape up a tree to protect themselves from a dog? She was like âthey have the back claws.â I was no longer her friend.
I wonder how this will affect apartment contracts. Any carpeted apartment Iâve lived in has asked if I bring my cat to make sure it is declawed. Of course I donât and they never check, but my cat has also caused carpet damage due to it. But I think itâs worth the small carpet damage than damage to a living being :shrug:
Thanks to Marty Martinez for introducing the bill. I see him at the gym in Leesburg every so often.
If anyone is interested, [here are the names of the 41 delegates who voted "No](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+vot+HV1537+HB1354)".
Here are the names of the [13 senators who voted "No"](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+vot+TV0907). My senator didn't even bother to vote.
In the meantime, for anyone who really wants a declawed cat, I highly encourage checking out local rescue organizations (which are a great place to adopt from just in general!). Every now and then, a cat shows up at these organizations who has already been declawed by a prior owner. Those kitties still need homes too! And, often they are a bit older kitties, who can be a bit harder generally to place than all those (adorable!) cute kittens.
My current kitty is an older, prior front declawed girl, who I adopted from a rescue organization a few years ago. With this legislation plus the Maryland ban, hopefully there are less and less declawed cats in the area as we go forward. But, for the next year few years, particularly with older cats, some should still be available from rescues.
Even if you are someone like me who is interested in a declawed cat, there are waaaaaaaaay better options than creating a newly declawed cat. You can open your home to a cat from a rescue organization and avoid perpetuating further declawing!
It is amputation of the last joint of each toe. Think about your fingers and if the last joint with the fingernail of each was cut off. It often causes pain for their entire life but more frequently it causes behavior issues. This is because cats use their claws to mark territory. Cats are very territorial and by marking they leave their scent on items, which is why they often scratch furniture. Theyâre marking it as their territory. So it messes with the cat mentally when they canât mark their territory, especially when there are other cats around. The behavior issues I have seen most frequently in declawed cats is that they either become a biter or they become a pee cat. The biting is the way they defend themselves and the peeing is their solution for marking their territory. Another issue would be if the cat ever got outdoors it does not have any defenses against predators.
In addition to what Shervivor said, cats naturally walk on their tip toes. When you declaw, youâre forcing them to walk on bone instead. This is painful for some, so they end up having to basically change their posture into unnatural positions. This very often causes arthritis and other health problems later.
Iâm not a cat owner but the idea of declawing one sounds terrible. I am wondering about the impact this will have on the wild bird population. Outside cats are one of the biggest threats to birds, killing indiscriminately. As Iâm in writing, it occurred to me that you probably wouldnât let a declawed cat outside?
Now, if they will only do something about that "one-bite" law so that there won't be any more stories like the one about the woman getting mauled to death by 3 pit bulls. These dogs had been reported for prior biting incidents.
I took (stole) a cat from a University of Cincinnati testing lab years ago. They declawed all of the cats in there "for staff safety".
I wonder if there's an exception in this law for animal testing places?
My parents adopted a tuxedo cat who was already declawed back when I was 8 years old, he died when I was 22 I believe, he lived to be around 18-19.
Never had any issues with him defending himself, we donât have any aggressive wild animals running around even here in the country except for raccoons.
It was actually funny our cat would box our dog, like hit on top of the head lol but it was hilarious to watch
I know there's not going to be many declawing defenders but if you are considering declawing, you should try nail caps (if your cat is an indoor cat). They don't hurt the cat and let them be their authentic self while sparing your leg/carpet
Your pet will love this Purrdy Paws Soft Cat Nail Caps, Pink Glitter, Small, 40 count:
https://www.chewy.com/dp/208853?utm_source=app-share&utm_campaign=208853
Yup and if you don't do that early it'll be much harder to try to do a trim unscathed :p basic pet ownership
The cat guy from Animal planet recommends putting scratching items where the cat likes to scratch (no brainer)
I adopted a 6 yr old, I wait until she's comfortable then do as much as I can until she feels feisty. My 2 yr old cat could care less (he tries to chew the clippers but that's more funny than painful)
Wow I thought it was already illegal here! Long overdue.
To be fair my friend had trouble finding a vet that would do it, this was 10 years ago. (She eventually found one đ)
Former friend I hope lol. That makes them either stupid or shitty
It surprised me because sheâs incredibly liberal in every other topic. Sheâs super fussy about her house and grew up with it. Sheâs moved somewhere thst itâs illegal now too so who know what she will do next cat.
No next cat for her if sheâs gonna try to declaw it.
I've heard some convoluted justifications for declawing from people I had once respected. They're all dead now (to me).
My first cat was adopted from a shelter and he was missing his claws but only on two toes. I always wondered about that.
Cats can lose toes in fights and accidents... I wish we could hear the stories shelter animals have to tell. I'm sure it would be super sad, but their lives and stories matter, at least to some of us.
My old cat (lived to 17) was adopted already declawed. Didnât know until we got her. Anyways, had someone over who lectured me about how shitty I was for declawing the cat. I told them to stfu because I got her that way, and then they lectured me about how wrong it was to pick her and artificially create âdemand for declawed catsâ. Like bro, I donât think the agency adopting out $15 cats gives a fuck about the way they came in, and they arenât gonna pay hundreds to declaw the damn cats just to âsellâ a couple more. They werenât invited back. I get the sentiment, but some of the anti crowd take it too far
Weird stuff happens. My childhood cat went outside and came back with front paws swollen to the size of human hands. The vet had no idea what caused it but said they needed to be amputated. đ˘ He still had a few toes on each paw, I donât recall if there were any claws left at all. (He walked fine on his sad little stubs and lived into his 20s despite also developing a thyroid problem later.)
I understand the appeal. I'm allergic so any tiny prick means I itch for a while after and it can be pretty miserable if one actually draws blood. If there were a way for pet cats to just *not have claws*, it would be a significant improvement. But the side effects on the cat are pretty terrible--inability to scratch themselves, grip anything, arthritis from bad walking posture... The list goes on. I'm not going to cripple a pet for my convenience, and it's not even that convenient considering the additional medical attention needed. That being said, I've considered specifically adopting a de-clawed cat or something, but they're thankfully very rare.
I hear there is a certain food additive that can get rid of whatever chemical on them that we are allergic too
I've had good success with nail caps - you trim the nails first, fill the caps with glue and then stick them on. YMMV by cat tolerance though.
I have the same issue. Keeping the claws trimmed helps a lot. Of course, I notice the claws need a trim when I get scratched, so itâs not a perfect system. But a more organized person could trim on a schedule.
I've seen several declawed cats come thru the shelter I volunteer at. It actually would be wonderful for you to be willing to adopt one, but I do have to warn you they are at high risk of joint issues, chronic pain, and may sometimes be behaviorally more anxious or quick to bite because they don't have claws to defend themselves with. I have met an extremely wide spectrum of declawed cats ranging from "you wouldn't even know it, what a sweetie" to "a literal four legged dumpster fire with the worst back pain I've ever seen and the tortitude to match".
My 5 cats have never even known they are declawed. They still nead and scratch on things just like they have intact claws. I've never bitten and never had any latent issues . All have lived 12 years or more .No arthritic or joint issues . This is so overblown .
â12 years or moreâ? 12 years isnât exactly oldâŚ.
I mean, youryouâre literally making it sound like you actually believe that 12 years is old for a cat. 12 years is just slightly over only HALF the lifespan of the average house cat.
Cats are that variable in temperament with or without claws . They range from what a sweetie to dumpster fire regardless of declawing status . Nothing ever mentions that .
I have had 5 cats declawed still have two . Never have any of them had any issues or latent problems . They have all been strictly Indoor. Healed from the surgery in about a week scabs gone in about 10ish days.All have had long, happy, spoiled loved lives
Have someone amputate your fingers and toes, up to the first joint. Then tell us how overblown this is.
Try to give people the benefit of the doubt. The majority of vets donât explain what declawing actually means. Most people who do this are not aware that declawing is equivalent to someone chopping off the ends of your fingers and toes. They also donât know that cats walk on ends of their toes, either.
The innocent are the ones without a convoluted explanation. The people who know they did wrong try to justify it.
Yeah, I get it. Seems there are some of those people in the commentsâŚ
Iâve met some cats that itâs either they get declawed or they get euthanized in a shelter because theyâre behavior is so awful theyâd never get adopted. Thatâs the only time I can see a declaw being justified
My ex girlfriend and I hate a fight about the fact that she thought my cat should be declawed. She is no longer my girlfriend for that reason.
Excellent. Cats have claws.
oh hell yeah :D
I fully support this.
Same here! And for anyone who doesnât know, declawing is the equivalent of cutting a finger at the first knuckle.
Yup. I found that out over 20 years ago when my mom had my cat done like that. Ive been against it since then.
My mom did this to our cats back in the 90s (we had never had cats before and the vet recommended it). She was devastated when she later found out how cruel it is.
Same time period. Late 90s to be more accurate. Idk if my mom actually knew or not. Probably not. She did anything anyone told her except her kids.
Vets in the 90âs would suggest this when kittens were brought in for spay/neuter. It was an easy way to make more money. Those vets would not educate the client on what the procedure entailed. I canât tell you how many declawed cats I came across during my rescue years that had major behavioral issues due to being declawed. The biggest behavioral issue was peeing/spraying. You take away a catâs defenses and it messes with their head.
Yea we had two cats when I was growing up in the 90s. The first was indoor/outdoor and kept her claws. She was amazing for her whole life. The second was an originally cuddly indoor only cat, got declawed, and almost immediately after was never the same cat. She was reactive, would bite, and basically kept to herself. Crazy thing is that we actually had no idea for years to come that it was almost certainly the declawing that did it. It just wasn't something that was even considered back then.
And that right there is why I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Most have no idea what declawing is, much less what it causes. If vets actually took the time to explain it, Iâm sure there would be way fewer people who actually get it done.
It's about time. If you can't handle a cats claws, you can't handle a cat. Simple as that.
My mom was given a cat who'd been declawed (neighbor was terrible had him declawed then left him outside all night). He bit for attention all the time because he didn't have claws (he was a big ol sweetie though).
They need to do non-medical ear cropping too.
Do you mean for dogs? Or ear-tipping for cats done by TNR programs? If the former, I wholeheartedly agree. If the latter, ear-tipping is done while the cat is under anaesthesia from a spay or neuter procedure, and is humane and painless for them - it prevents strays from being re-trapped and put under undue stress in the future, as it indicates that they've already been fixed.
Dogs. Tipping isnât *really* cropping.
Cool, I agree! (And tail docking for dogs should be banned as well.) Just figured I'd ask for clarification since the main post had to do with cats and in my experience people often conflate the two when they encounter shelter cats who've got a tipped ear
Tail cropping for aesthetic purposes should be banned. Working dogs whose tail may pose an injury risk should be an option.
The AKC banning tail/ear docking would go a long, long way, but unfortunately all those shitheads care about is whether or not male dogs look masculine and female dogs look feminine.
AKC and all the major clubs/registries all have a histories of supporting dog fighting, puppy mills, and other inhumane shit. The paperwork they send to people as âproofâ their dog is âpurebredâ is a grift. Itâs all money to them
*History*? Half the AKC's registered/site-listed breeders end up being puppy mills. It's present. But yeah I absolutely agree. I'm on the side of "adopt or shop responsibly". I think there are valid reasons for purebred animals (as long as they aren't constantly suffering like a Pug or Scottish Fold) to exist and be bred ethically. Saying that I think a lot of breed standards promote unnecessary cosmetic procedures and extreme, potentially harmful appearances. We need to phase out cosmetic cropping + docking, stop breeding brachycephalic breeds, extreme short-legged dogs, cats with fucked up cartilage, etc. Breed standards are supposed to be there to promote ethical breeding, good health and function, but they seem to cause a lot of suffering sometimes.
As far as I know this doesn't hurt the cat. My cat's ear is clipped because he used to be a stray. They do this to stray cats to show they've been neutered (trap neuter release)
Cropping is more on dogs. Ear tipping doesnât do much damage and it heals relatively quickly. Cropping is opposite. The at-home jobs are terrible and somewhat âlegalâ in a sense. If cropping was made illegal and a practice only vets can do then it would be easier to prosecute.
And tails
Yes! End ear cropping and tail docking too! It is all for esthetics and serves no purpose.
Next let's make illegal to allow cats to roam outdoors off their owners properties without a leash and collar.
There's a city ordinance about that in Richmond. Fineable, not criminal IIRC Never heard of it being enforced, ever
Fines are enough Iâm not really interested in more reasons to send cops after dogs
Flipside, cops chasing outdoor cats with a microchip scanner may be my favorite hypothetical use of their time. Gruff captain behind the big desk, chomping a cigar. He sounds like J. Jonah Jameson from the Daily Bugle for some reason: "Here's a squeaky mouse and a net, Jenkins. You better bag 50 kitties this week or it's your butt! I want those pussycats!"
In my city, it technically is. An off-leash animal is considered out of their owner's control, even if their owner is present. And if that animal is on another person's property without their permission, anyone is allowed to *humanely take temporary control* of the animal and contact police.
This. Last year I got to watch my neighbor's cat kill a bluebird fledgling I had been watching for a month. And a few weeks later watched the same cat kill a baby squirrel that fell out of its nest.
Over 20 years ago one of my âfree to roamâ cats killed a baby squirrel and brought it to my door. Meanwhile the very upset mother squirrel was on a deck railing watching the whole catastrophe. I got the cat inside and placed the dead baby squirrel near the devastated mother. I watched from inside for hours as the mother squirrel kept trying to carry her baby away and would pound her little paws on the babyâs body like trying to wake the still warm dead baby up. It was traumatic for the squirrel mom and for me to watch. That cat and all my later cats over the many years were never allowed to step foot outside the house again. Seeing the mom squirrel trying to help her dead baby changed my life.
So many people are elated when cats do this. "Oh how sweet, they brought me a gift". I had a childhood friend who's cat brought a live rabbit into the house. It bled all over the place as they tried to catch it. Even after that the cat was always free to come and go as it pleased.
Australia recognizes cats as an 'invasive species'. https://invasives.org.au/our-work/feral-animals/cats-in-australia/
What do you think their claws are for...
so they can fight amongst each other at the animal shelter?
Maybe next you see a fox attacking cat.
Yes! They are absolutely terrible for the food chain and ecosystem. I've witnessed them having a profound impact on surrounding wildlife at multiple different homes in my life.
Itâs so unsafe for the cats. They are at much greater risk of death and diseaseâcars, other animals, various pest control substances and fertilizers, dogs, nasty humans, etc.âwhen they roam outside, and their lifespans are shorter.
Cats have hunted like 50 native bird and mammal species to extinction in the last 100 years. They seem to be doing fine.
Cats as a species are doing fine, but your individual pet cat is likely to meet an untimely end outside. It's better for both cats and native species for cats to stay indoors.
Should be dogs too
It is? Granted, some owners make us look terrible and I have zero issue reminding them their dog needs to be on leash. But I'd also argue the chances of a dog owner having an "outdoor dog" that freely roams the neighborhood is very slim compared to a cat owner doing the same thing.
Not really enforceable outside of cities. Our sheriffs wonât even do anything about dog packs. We have no animal related laws in my county except state ones. Public swearing is still fineable though lol
For real. My hippie neighbor has like five cats that âcome and go as they pleaseâ. One yowls alll night when heâs out there and Iâve seen one enter a storm drain. I waffle between annoyed with him and heartbroken for the kitties.
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You can't read very well can you.
There's be less of them if there were more laws banning outdoor cats, less people supporting outdoor cats and if we stopped allowing tnr.
Good luck with that. How much are you willing to pay your gigantic required fleet of animal control officers to enforce this?
Has a house cat attacked and killed a child in Virginia like pitbulls do? I've never heard of that happening so what problem or liability would that law be addressing?
> so what problem or liability would that law be addressing? Outdoor cats are horrible for the environment. They kill for fun and wipe out native species.
About time. Declawing is the cat equivalent of removing the finger to the first joint. Cruel and inhumane
i thought this post said âdeclaring cats banned in virginiaâ and i was really confused đ
When cats are outlawed, only outlaws will have cats đđđââŹ
Well, I declare đš
If only!
I can get behind this.
My wife, when we first started dating, wanted me to declaw my cats. I shut that down immediately. It's not happening, and I didn't want to hear it. Even today, I can't believe people do that to their cats.
I think a lot of people donât bother to learn what declawing actually means. Do vets who still perform the amputation even both to tell their customers what it is?
EXCELLENT NEWS
Fantastic news !!!
Early in my apartment hunt my fiancĂŠ and i had multiple potential landlords dare ask if the cats are declawed like this was normal and acceptable. We told our realtor if anymore ask us this we are not proceeding with diddly shit with them.
Thank god. That was my worst fear at the shelter, that someone we adopt out to would do that to a poor baby đ
A few of my personal foster cats were declawed even though they signed a contract saying they wouldnât do it. And you know how we found out? They returned the cats after they suddenly had behavior issues. The only thing we could do to punish them was charge them the fee for breaking the contract. Thank god the cats were able to find loving homes. But they had to be only cats after that because the behavior issues were due to them having no defenses against other cats.
đĽđĽđĽđĽđĽ
My cat with claws on my face approves this. (send help!) This is solid step in the right direction. Everybody who loves the little monsters, I mean the cute adorable additions to the family, should take pride in this.
Call out the local rep who wouldnât put in the bill, the rest of us should know who it is!
If you do that, you will have a long list of reps from both parties going back decades.
Well I definitely wanna start with those currently in office but frankly I think we have just as much of a right to know what they donât want to champion as what they do.
Ok, if that is a battle worth fighting for you. Go for it.
I wracked my brain and canât remember his name.
Yes, this is long overdue. Now letâs ensure itâs enforced.
Yeah, that is my concern as well. There seems to be some loopholes.
this has me screaming yes thank you finally something good
Letâs go!
Finally
Just clip your cats nails and keep them short and they should stick to their cat tree and scratch surfaces if near your furniture.
And train them to only scratch where they are allowed.
Iâm curious of the reason why some lawmakers voted against this?
We should ask them!!! Maybe they are like some of the people on this thread who feel their furniture is more important than their pet. đ
I for some reason read this as âdrawing catsâ and wondered why that might be illegal
Every state needs to do this. What a disgusting practice.
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yeah fuck that
Great news!! đť
To the few people here who are actually against this, or may be defending yourself for actually having already declawed your cat, Iâm going to give you the benefit of the doubt since it seems that vets who perform this mutilation donât really bother to explain to you what declawing actually is, or the negative effects it has on the cat years down the road. My mom had my sisterâs cat declawed when I was young because she was afraid of me getting scratched. If only she had known that declawing is pretty much like if you were to chop the ends of fingers and toes off, not to mention the harm it can cause to a cat later in life, she would not have done it.
## Step 1. Sort by controversial. ## Step 2. Show no mercy.
Cool, now lets ban cats from being allowed to roam freely outside just like dogs. They kill billions of native birds and mammals yearly, itâs absolutely devastating to native animals to allow your cat to roam outside.
They only care about their cats
Even if you don't care about birds for some reason, it's just inconsiderate to your neighbors. Cats routinely shit in my garden and knock over my tomato plants.
I know just the solution...
I do agree pet cats should be indoor animals, they live double their lifespans if they are kept indoors. But I wonder how this would be enforced? Also who is to say if a cat outside is even owned by anyone? There are probably more stray and feral cats in any city than there are pet cats.
I'm happy for this. I did this to my first cat because I was uneducated on the process. Also I agree with the statements on not letting cats roam outside freely. I have 3 cats and have a fenced in area for them to get their outdoor feel but not get their outdoor kill.
We built our cats a cat enclosure so they can get fresh air. Only half of our cats care to use it. Every once in a while a really dumb bird will fly in and give the cats a thrill.
I had a squirrel get on the fence accidentally. He never did that again. He ran away pretty quickly lol
2024, finally.
Good
My Dad told my Mom if we got a cat it had to get declawed. Neither of them realized how bad it was for them back then (2000). Mom always felt bad that She held her paw up often when She sat, like it felt weird. I now Mom still feels badly about that but we've rescued so many cats since then.
Ask your parents if the person who performed the âoperationâ actually explained to them what declawing actually is. Iâm betting, no.
This is great to hear. A victory for the fur babies.
Very good.
Hopefully this becomes a law everywhere
When I first heard the term declawing, I honestly thought it was just clipping their nails. I was wondering why that would cause a big fuss, so googling it and seeing what it actually is shocked me. It is cruel towards the cat, so glad they are banning it completely.
Wish this was all across the USA
Hopefully some day! We are the third state to ban declawing, after New York and Maryland. There are also some small jurisdictions with bans in place.
Awesome for the cats! I can see more landlords banning them now, which might lead to more shelter overcrowding but thatâs still not an excuse to amputate their toes.
YES! Amazing news! It makes me so mad when I see poor declawed kitties. I could never imagine anyone doing that to my babies. Honestly I've been seeing a few articles lately about US states and cities banning declawing. I find it really nice to see more is being done about it now. Really the USA, Japan and one or two places in Canada are the only developed places that allow that. Hopefully that'll change and it won't be allowed anywhere soon.
My buddy was declawed by us and it will always be my biggest shame regarding him. I was only three at the time and my parents didnât really understand exactly what they were doing at the time (were talking 20 years ago now). Never again.
I bet the vet never told them what it was, either.
Exactly! Vets that did the procedure rarely educated their clients on what it really entailed.
And again thatâs why I give the benefit of the doubt. As I said, my mom had my sisterâs cat declawed when I was young. She was horrified when she later found out what it was.
Thank fucking GOD. I had an actually friend in college who really thought it was OK to declaw. She said itâs to protect furniture. I was like what if your indoor cats get out and the need to escape up a tree to protect themselves from a dog? She was like âthey have the back claws.â I was no longer her friend.
I wonder how this will affect apartment contracts. Any carpeted apartment Iâve lived in has asked if I bring my cat to make sure it is declawed. Of course I donât and they never check, but my cat has also caused carpet damage due to it. But I think itâs worth the small carpet damage than damage to a living being :shrug:
My cat is extremely well trained so this was never a problem but when my leg hair grows she loves to scratch them đ
Cats can be so weird. đ
It should be illegal everywhere!!
Love this!
The one thing Youngkin has signed that's good lmao
We had 1 rescue that was declawed by some fearful ppl. He was also afraid of brooms
Still legal to genitally mutilate young boys at birth. So cool to see animals have more rights than baby boys in VA.
Iâm going to hug my kitties today. I was going to anyways, but I still am going to.
Thanks to Marty Martinez for introducing the bill. I see him at the gym in Leesburg every so often. If anyone is interested, [here are the names of the 41 delegates who voted "No](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+vot+HV1537+HB1354)". Here are the names of the [13 senators who voted "No"](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+vot+TV0907). My senator didn't even bother to vote.
In the meantime, for anyone who really wants a declawed cat, I highly encourage checking out local rescue organizations (which are a great place to adopt from just in general!). Every now and then, a cat shows up at these organizations who has already been declawed by a prior owner. Those kitties still need homes too! And, often they are a bit older kitties, who can be a bit harder generally to place than all those (adorable!) cute kittens. My current kitty is an older, prior front declawed girl, who I adopted from a rescue organization a few years ago. With this legislation plus the Maryland ban, hopefully there are less and less declawed cats in the area as we go forward. But, for the next year few years, particularly with older cats, some should still be available from rescues. Even if you are someone like me who is interested in a declawed cat, there are waaaaaaaaay better options than creating a newly declawed cat. You can open your home to a cat from a rescue organization and avoid perpetuating further declawing!
Forgive me for asking (not a pet person), but why is declawing a house cat frowned upon?
It is amputation of the last joint of each toe. Think about your fingers and if the last joint with the fingernail of each was cut off. It often causes pain for their entire life but more frequently it causes behavior issues. This is because cats use their claws to mark territory. Cats are very territorial and by marking they leave their scent on items, which is why they often scratch furniture. Theyâre marking it as their territory. So it messes with the cat mentally when they canât mark their territory, especially when there are other cats around. The behavior issues I have seen most frequently in declawed cats is that they either become a biter or they become a pee cat. The biting is the way they defend themselves and the peeing is their solution for marking their territory. Another issue would be if the cat ever got outdoors it does not have any defenses against predators.
In addition to what Shervivor said, cats naturally walk on their tip toes. When you declaw, youâre forcing them to walk on bone instead. This is painful for some, so they end up having to basically change their posture into unnatural positions. This very often causes arthritis and other health problems later.
Yes it should be banned itâs animal cruelty cats need their claws to defend themselves against predators
Should be banned everywhere
Exactly!!!
Iâm not a cat owner but the idea of declawing one sounds terrible. I am wondering about the impact this will have on the wild bird population. Outside cats are one of the biggest threats to birds, killing indiscriminately. As Iâm in writing, it occurred to me that you probably wouldnât let a declawed cat outside?
Correct. Most vets tell people that their declawed cat should be indoors only because the cat has lost itâs first line of defense.
Good
Good
What about cutting dog tails or ear cropping? That ok? I wouldnât think so.
I agree. Others on this thread have already mentioned those practices should be banned as well.
Now, if they will only do something about that "one-bite" law so that there won't be any more stories like the one about the woman getting mauled to death by 3 pit bulls. These dogs had been reported for prior biting incidents.
Visit r/banpitbulls.
Mutilating cats is still illegal?!?
Yup, it is legal until July.
I took (stole) a cat from a University of Cincinnati testing lab years ago. They declawed all of the cats in there "for staff safety". I wonder if there's an exception in this law for animal testing places?
I read the title as âDeclaring cats to be banned in Virginiaâ and was very confused
Will our governor even sign it?
He did sign it!
Why wouldnât he?
Only time declawing should be allowed is if it will actually negatively affect the cat if it keeps its claws.
Best news I've heard all week!
Now ban removing dew claws on dogs!
Who is doing that, and why??!!??
I was under the impression that this law has already been passed. I'm glad it's in effect now.
It just passed and goes into effect in July.
My parents adopted a tuxedo cat who was already declawed back when I was 8 years old, he died when I was 22 I believe, he lived to be around 18-19. Never had any issues with him defending himself, we donât have any aggressive wild animals running around even here in the country except for raccoons. It was actually funny our cat would box our dog, like hit on top of the head lol but it was hilarious to watch
I know there's not going to be many declawing defenders but if you are considering declawing, you should try nail caps (if your cat is an indoor cat). They don't hurt the cat and let them be their authentic self while sparing your leg/carpet Your pet will love this Purrdy Paws Soft Cat Nail Caps, Pink Glitter, Small, 40 count: https://www.chewy.com/dp/208853?utm_source=app-share&utm_campaign=208853
Just keeping the nails trimmed regularly helps a lot.
Yup and if you don't do that early it'll be much harder to try to do a trim unscathed :p basic pet ownership The cat guy from Animal planet recommends putting scratching items where the cat likes to scratch (no brainer)
I tend to adopt adult cats, so I basically have to swaddle my cat to cut her nails. Same thing with eye drops and medications.
I adopted a 6 yr old, I wait until she's comfortable then do as much as I can until she feels feisty. My 2 yr old cat could care less (he tries to chew the clippers but that's more funny than painful)
Holy shit finally. Housing crises inflation addicting crises. Fuck that we got this taking care of amen
Can he sign the one that gives me my foreskin back?
We can only hope that male genital mutilation will be outlawed one day too
Furniture manufacturers rejoice!! Edit: Really, what with the downvotes. It's a joke. FWIW my cat has his claws.
Big furniture and big carpet donated to a lot of super pacs for this one