Animal Welfare Advocates Want to Protect Cats' Claws

Animal welfare advocates want cats to be able to keep their claws in New York state.

The practice of removing a cat's claws is often done to protect furniture, an owner, or other animals from an aggressive cat. But Brian Shapiro with the Humane Society of the United States said the procedure, known as declawing, is not that simple.

"Many people think it's simply a manicure or removing the nail, but it's not," said Shapiro. "It's a painful convienence surgery."

He said after a cat loses its claws they're more likely to bite and even less likely to use a litter box. According to Shapiro, that's because cats can't scratch the litter like they could before, so they will relieve themselves elsewhere.

Veternarian Eileen Jefferson said that's a problem because declawed cats are more likely to end up in a shelter.

"The top two behavioral reasons for relinquishment to shelters are aggression in cats--biting is the worst form of that--and also house-soiling," said Jefferson.

A bill introduced in Albany would ban declawing, but the state's largest veterinarian group  opposes it. They said declawing is a necessary last resort procedure for aggressive cats that won't stop scratching. 

If passed, New York would be the first state to ban declawing.