Prohibit Cat Declawing (California)

Declawing is a permanent, surgical procedure in which all or part of the last bone in a cat’s toes is amputated. It can have lifelong medical implications and stops a cat from performing natural behaviors.

Banned in over 10 major cities and the states of New York and Maryland, California could become the next state to prohibit this outdated procedure. AB2606, sponsored by Assemblymembers Wendy Carrillo and Alex Lee, passed the Assembly in May but failed to move through the Senate. If enacted in the future, California’s cat declawing ban would prohibit, except for a therapeutic purpose:

• performing surgical claw removal, declawing, or a tendonectomy on any cat; or
• otherwise altering a cat’s toes, claws, or paws to prevent or impair their normal function.