This week Pittsburgh’s City Council advanced legislation that would make it the first city in Pennsylvania to prohibit the practice of declawing cats. The ordinance, #1877, has the hashtag-ready name “Ordinance amending The City Of Pittsburgh Code, Title Six (“Conduct”), Article III (“Dogs, Cats And Other Animals”), Chapter 633 (“Dogs And Cats”), by adding a new Section 633.25, Prohibiting The Declawing Of Cats“.

Declawing is still a fairly common practice in this country, but in recent years opponents have ramped up their efforts to educate the public on the gory details of this surgery. Although it may seem to be analogous to maybe a extreme version of cutting one’s nails or perhaps the surgical removal of the nails themselves, declawing actually involves removing the last phalange of each toe — the equivalent of cutting of each of your fingers at the last knuckle. (as the Humane Society puts it, it’s not just a manicure.) Opponents say that this is needless surgery at best and may cause the cat residual pain and contribute to other problems down the line.

Like other cosmetic surgeries for animals, declawing is banned in most European countries. In Israel, declawing a cat can land you in jail. Things move more slowly in America (probably having something to do with “freedom”), and as of yet no state has banned declawing, though several municipalities (mostly in California) do have bans in place. Among the groups fighting a ban are some veterinarians who, of course, profit from performing declawing procedures.

Although Pennsylvania can boast perhaps the country’s oldest animal rights organizations, it would be a stretch to say that it is often out in front of efforts like these. Penn Dog congratulates Pittsburgh on its leadership and hopes that the rest of Pennsylvania will follow.

REF: Pittsburgh council advances law banning cat declawing surgery
REF: Fact sheet on declawing