LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- The City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday banning the declawing of cats in Los Angeles.

"The council, which initially approved the measure Nov. 6, gave the ordinance unanimous final approval Tuesday without discussion.

Councilman Paul Koretz, who proposed the ordinance along with Councilman Bill Rosendahl, called declawing a form of mutilation.

"We need to ban declawing, which is one of the most cruel practices," Koretz said earlier. "The obvious truth is that declawing does nothing good for cats. It is not clipping nails. It is actually amputation, sometimes leaving cats crippled and in pain for the rest of the lives."

The ordinance states that "no person, licensed medical professional or otherwise, shall perform or cause to be performed an onychectomy (declawing) or flexor tendonectomy procedure for any means on a cat or any other animal within the city, except when necessary for a therapeutic purpose."

Violations would be considered misdemeanors.

City Council President Eric Garcetti added an urgency clause to the ordinance so it can take effect before New Year's Day 2010, when the state will begin banning cities and counties from regulating the practice of veterinary medicine,

Koretz said people who are considering declawing their cats to protect their furniture should instead buy scratching posts; cover their pet's claws with a plastic coating called "soft paws"; clip claws frequently; or adopt a second cat to keep the other feline company.

Koretz said pain from declawing often makes cats develop even worse behaviors than scratching, including biting and avoiding their litter box...."

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