Update:  The Burbank city council will be voting on a ban on declawing today, Tuesday Dec. 8th at 6:00 p.m. Culver City is the most recent city to pass a ban on declawing cats!  Six other California cities have passed declaw bans with your help: West Hollywood, Santa Monica, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Berkeley.  The momentum of this campaign shows there may be hope of overturning or amending California Senate Bill 762 which takes effect on January 1, 2010.  SB 762 will prohibit cities from banning such procedures as declawing.  

Declawing isn't merely the removal of a cat's claws, as the term "declawing" implies, but is a series of extremely painful amputations that cause physical and psychological trauma. The last bone of each of the ten front toes of a cat's paw is removed, and tendons, nerves, and muscles that enable normal function and movement of the paw are severed. An analogy in human terms would be cutting off each finger at the last joint. As alternatives to declawing exist, there is no reason for anyone to declaw a cat.

Though some may argue that de-clawing keeps cats out of the shelters, the opposite is true. There is evidence that declawed cats are disproportionately abandoned at shelters, and that declawed cats may be euthanized more often because of the behavioral and physical problems that result from declawing. Cats may be more prone to bite and a cat whose paws hurt when scratching in a litter box may avoid the litter box altogether.

Declawing is illegal in many countries around the world, because it is regarded as inhumane.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Please consider attending the Burbank City Council Meeting and speaking in favor of the ban.  Talking points can be found at www.pawproject.org.

WHAT: BURBANK CITY COUNCIL MEETING

WHEN: 6:00 PM, Tuesday 12/08/09

WHEN: CITY HALL, 275 E. OLIVE AVENUE, BURBANK, CALIFORNIA

If you aren't able to attend, please consider writing a letter in support of the ban.

Please send e-mails of support to the addresses below.  Please write "IN SUPPORT OF A BAN ON DECLAWING" in the subject line, followed by a brief, polite, and factual message.  Please include your name and city.  If you live in Burbank please state that in your correspondence.

Burbank City Council e-mail addresses:
gbric@ci.burbank.ca.us, areinke@ci.burbank.ca.us, dgolonski@ci.burbank.ca.us, dgordon@ci.burbank.ca.us, jtalamantes@ci.burbank.ca.us

For more information on cat declawing and efforts to ban this cruel practice, please visit www.pawproject.com.