The Paw Project Celebrates the End of the Inhumane Practice of Declawing in California

Cat Declawing is now prohibited in California. Paw Project-sponsored bill is signed by Governor Newsom

LOS ANGLES, CA, UNITED STATES, October 10, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A ban on cat declawing, an inhumane procedure that unnecessarily amputates the animal’s toe bones, has passed the California State legislature. The Paw Project (https://pawproject.org), the world’s largest nonprofit dedicated solely to ending declawing was the bill’s sponsor. Assemblymember Alex Lee and his staff expertly ushered the bill, AB 867, through both houses, passing this popular bipartisan bill without a single NAY vote.

Declawing is already prohibited in New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia, nine of the ten Canadian provinces, and nearly two dozen cities and counties in the United States. It is estimated that 23 million domestic cats (over 20%) are declawed in the United States. This highly invasive and painful surgery is performed primarily to protect furniture from cat scratching. It is widely recognized that declawing cats does not make them safer for humans with health issues, nor does declawing guarantee homes for cats.

Declawing is a nontherapeutic surgical procedure in which the animal’s toes are amputated at the last joint. A portion of the bone, not just the nail, is removed. It would be similar to cutting off the first knuckle on the human hand. Humane World for Animals, Humane Veterinary Medical Alliance, Animal Legal Defense Fund, In Defense of Animals, and veterinarians all over the world also oppose the procedure.

“Many people don’t realize that declawing is one of the most painful, routinely-performed surgeries in all of veterinary medicine and that it has no benefit whatsoever for the cat. It often results in long-term physical pain and behavioral problems,” said Jennifer Conrad, DVM, a veterinarian and the founder/director of the Paw Project. “When I first started advocating for cats over couches in 1999, someone told me it takes 20 years to change the world. It's now been more than 20 years. Thank you, California, only 46 states to go!"

West Hollywood was the first city in the United States to ban the procedure (2003) for domestic animals, followed in 2009 by Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Burbank, Culver City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica, and later by Denver, Madison, Pittsburgh, Evanston and several other US cities. California has already passed legislation to stop declawing of captive and wild exotic cats due to Paw Project’s efforts. The practice of declawing any cat is illegal or considered unethical in most of the world already, including the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries. Great Britain’s Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons goes so far as to declare declawing “unnecessary mutilation.”

Veterinarians working with the Paw Project have developed and performed reparative/salvage surgery on lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, jaguars, and domestic cats who had been maimed by declawing. The results have been dramatic. Enjoying relief for the first time after years of suffering, cats that could only hobble a few agonizing steps before surgery, now are able to leap, run and play as nature intended.

Dr. Jennifer Conrad, DVM
Paw Project
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