Maryland Becomes 2nd U.S. State To Ban Declawing Cats

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed a invoice into regulation this week making Maryland the second U.S. state to ban the declawing of cats.

“Our beloved kitties, who can not advocate for themselves, want us to guard them,” Democratic state Sen. Cheryl Kagan mentioned in an announcement from The Paw Mission, a nonprofit devoted to ending the declawing of cats.

The new regulation, which works into impact in October, prohibits veterinarians from performing the surgical process, except it’s “crucial for a therapeutic objective.” Those that violate it might face fines of as much as $1,000.

A cat relaxes on prime of a cat tree — an ideal piece of furnishings to provide cats an outlet for his or her scratching.

Aleksandr Zubkov by way of Getty Pictures

Declawing a cat is a significant surgical procedure that includes amputating the final bone of every toe, just like amputating every first knuckle on an individual’s hand. On prime of the preliminary restoration ache and threat of an infection, it could result in lifelong ache because it alters the way in which that the cat walks.

Some opponents of declawing bans have raised considerations they might result in extra cats being given up by individuals who don’t need the cats to scratch furnishings, or who've considerations concerning the cats scratching individuals. Nevertheless, analysis means that that declawing can result in worse behavioral points. As an illustration, cats with out claws could be extra more likely to chunk in the event that they really feel threatened. Declawing may result in litter field issues, like urinating round the home, as a result of cat litter can irritate declawed paws.

The primary U.S. state to ban declawing was New York, which did so in 2019. It’s additionally unlawful in quite a few different nations ― together with a lot of Europe ― some Canadian provinces, and on the municipal stage in some U.S. cities, together with Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco, amongst others.