Dback Jon

West Hollywood bans cat declawing

Tuesday, April 8, 2003 Posted: 10:16 AM EDT (1416 GMT)


WEST HOLLYWOOD, California (AP) -- Saying it hoped to send a message to other communities, the West Hollywood, California, City Council unanimously approved a measure that bans the declawing of cats.

"We would just encourage our neighboring cities to follow our lead," Councilman John Duran said Monday night after the council's 5-0 vote.

West Hollywood, a city of 3,500 people surrounded by Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, already has a law on the books designating its residents as pet guardians rather than pet owners.


Although cat declawing is banned in several European nations, animal advocates said they know of no such restrictions in the United States.

"Precedence is so important since other cities such as San Francisco and Berkeley are interested in having the same law," said Jennifer Conrad, a veterinarian who founded Santa Monica-based Paw Project, a group dedicated to raising public awareness about the issue.

The declawing ban will affect all three of the city's veterinary clinics. It takes effect in 30 days.

Only one person spoke against the ban, which was proposed by Duran. Veterinarian Peter Weinstein of the California Veterinary Medical Association noted that declawed cats must always stay indoors.

"I think sometimes it's more cruel to let a cat outside into a community or an environment where they could become the victim of a car or a coyote," he said.

The procedure, known as onychectomy, costs $100 to $300 and removes the first joint of each toe in a cat's paw. It's normally done to keep cats from scratching people and furniture.

Assemblyman Paul Koretz, a Democrat and former West Hollywood mayor, backs a bill that would apply the ban statewide.

He wants to ban the practice not only for house cats, but for larger felines as well. The 4,800-member California Veterinary Medical Association opposes the bill, saying it could prompt some owners to abandon their pets.

The state's film industry also is concerned, fearing a ban on declawing big cats would make movie sets more dangerous and costly.

The veterinarians say only about 5 percent of California cats are declawed, while Koretz said it may be as high as 20 percent.

Some veterinarians who favor declawing say cat owners who are diabetic or whose immune systems are weakened fear being scratched. Other pet advocates say cats are turned in to local pounds because they scratch.

But Conrad said a cat's bite creates a far worse wound than a scratch. Alternatives could include regular claw trimming, coating a cat's nails in vinyl or teaching a cat to use a scratching post.

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elindholm

Are you sure this isn't a joke? It seems like a week-late April Fool's Day prank.

What's next, a bill preventing pets from being spayed or neutered?

Mike Olbinski

No, i heard it on the radio this morning as well...lame.

Mike

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Dback Jon

No - totally serious. From the article:

"West Hollywood, a city of 3,500 people surrounded by Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, already has a law on the books designating its residents as pet guardians rather than pet owners. "

Personally, I think it should be illegal for cats to roam outdoors - outdoor cats kill millions of wild birds every year.

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tommcnabb

Yes, and they walk on your car, crap in your garden or whatever you have, and are a nuisance.

I should go take a schitt in my neighbors garden and see if he likes to clean it up.

I don't own a cat, therefore I should not have to pick up after one.

If I had the strange inclination to own a cat, I'd have it declawed. Maybe I'd go to a declaw friendly state.

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NDSunsfan

what exactly is the reason to have it outlawed? is the procedure itself to 'traumatizing?' or does it make the cat helpless? we've got 3 cats all of which are declawed (front paws only). with kids etc, it's the only way to go, no scratchs, etc. Plus, they are outside (the cats not the kids, well, actually the kids are out alot, too) a lot and they all catch mice, gophers, birds almost every day, so their 'lifestyle' is not hindered by what I have experienced.

Who will be the first to sue the city when a cat scratches someone and causes a problem. The owner will be able to sue saying he would have had the cat declawed to stay away from potential injury but was unable to do so because of the law.

Plus, what about all the back alley/ black market declawing that will now be happening.

Brad

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justAndy

cats are really wild animals that can't be tamed if they are not handled by humans before six weeks of age. They fulfill an important niche in nature by hunting and killing the slow, lame, or stupid birds and rodents. My cat has caught 2 mice in my garage that I know of - head, tail and little mouse feet left by the front door. I know this does not address the declaw/don't declaw debate, but i like to bring a "third side" to debates, if you haven't noticed

Chaplin

There won't be any black market declawing. This is a perfect example of an unenforcable law. Just like copying videotapes for personal use and downloading music from the internet. If people do get paranoid, they can just get their cat declawed in Hollywood or Beverly Hills. As for getting it for the whole state, I seriously doubt that would pass.

And for those that don't know, West Hollywood isn't exactly the most normal of communities anyway.