Prohibition against feline declawing closer to becoming law throughout California

Municipalities throughout California, including the City of Los Angeles, are pushing for immediate legislation to bar the practice of  declawing.    This comes  after the veterinary profession persuasion to the state legislature to bar local governments from banning the practice of declawing cats beginning in 2010.
 
As a consequence, nearly half a dozen cities are rushing to prohibit the controversial procedure before the January deadline.  Cities supporting legislation to ban declawing include Los Angeles, Berkeley, Malibu, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, San Francisco.  The declawing ban has been in effect in the city of West Hollywood for a number of years, and the procedure  is prohibited in  Canada and in many European countries.
 
Onychectomy, also known as declawing, consists of amputating a cat's first paw joints, including the claw of the first knuckle.  Using a scalpel, clippers or a laser, a veterinarian cuts off the last bone on each toe on a cat's forelegs.

Because each digit is amputated through the joint, this procedure is usually extremely painful and requires the appropriate treatment of pain before, during and after the procedure. 
 
Critics claim the procedure is inhumane and can lead to behavioral problems, but advocates say that it should only be used as a last resort and is a better option than having a cat euthanized or being given  up to a shelter.

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