We have a cheer for Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey who recently signed a bill that bans cat declawing.

Declawing a cat is a far cry from a mani-pedi. It’s a brutal surgical procedure—an amputation— that removes individual toe bones from the animal’s paws.

In July 2019, New York became the first state in the country to ban the practice, followed by Maryland in 2022. Cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Pittsburgh and Denver have done the same.

Friends of Animals has been educating the public about how declawing is a painful and unnecessary surgical procedure for decades. We forbid the procedure to be performed when people purchase a lower cost, spay/neuter certificate from us. Declawing means far more than leaving your pet defenseless against an attack if it gets outdoors. It means:

●The severing of ligaments and tendons that bring pain

●The creating of an imbalance that could lead to injury

●A change in personality or temperament

FoA recommends regularly trimming cats’ nails and giving them their own “furniture” to scratch on, such as sisal scratching post or a board covered with a carpet remnant.

To educate your own community about this issue, you can purchase a bundle of 50 of our “Paws Come with Claws” brochure for $4 right here.