Prohibit Cat Declawing (California)
A.B.867
The Animal Legal Defense Fund supports this bill.
Sponsors: Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-24)
Introduction Date: February 9, 2025
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.
A.B.867, sponsored by Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-24), passed with a 13-0 vote by the California Assembly Business and Professions Committee. If enacted in the future, California’s cat declawing ban would prohibit cat declawing procedures, except for a “therapeutic purpose” for the cat.
“Therapeutic purpose” means a medically necessary procedure to address an existing or recurring infection, disease, injury, or abnormal condition in the claws, nail bed, or toe bone, which jeopardizes the animal’s cat’s health, and does not include a procedure performed for a cosmetic or aesthetic purpose or to make the cat animal convenient to keep or handle.
California has an opportunity to protect countless cats in the state from a painful and unnecessary surgical procedure that needlessly jeopardizes the health of these animals for the convenience of their guardians rather than their own well-being.
Banned in eight major California cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Berkeley, Culver City and Burbank, and the states of New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts, California could become the next state to prohibit this outdated procedure.
Why is this legislation important?
Declawed cats are at risk of experiencing paw pain, lameness, infection, dead tissue, nerve damage, bone spurs, back pain, and more. Since declawing inhibits a cat’s normal means of movement and defense, behavioral impacts can also result. Humane options exist for addressing the unwanted effects of scratching, such as behavioral training, nail trimming, and providing scratching pads or posts for the cat.
Coalition Support
The Animal Legal Defense Fund co-sponsors the bill with the PAW Project, Humane World for Animals, and Humane Veterinary Medical Alliance.
Opposition
The California Veterinary Medical Association.
For more information about animal protection legislation in California and opportunities to take action for animals, visit aldf.org/california.
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