From Franny Syufy,
Your Guide to Cats.
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As long as there are still uneducated people, there is no perfect solution to the problem of casual declawing in the U.S. For years, animal advocates have been trying to educate the public to the unhumaneness of declawing, with somewhat limited results. Perhaps it's time for mandatory education, at the dawn of a new Century.

Ideally, the procedure would be banned, as it is in many other countries, but the members of AVMA might not support such a proposal.

My thoughts are this: many so-called "cooling down" laws exist with the purpose of preventing ill-conceived decisions by consumers. We cannot voluntarily accept a lien on our home, for instance, without a three-day waiting period. Why should we then make such a hasty decision when our cat's health and well-being depend on it?

The Proposal

I propose a law to be passed State by State, in which an owner would be required to review certain educational material, along with a three-day waiting period before a veterinarian could perform the declawing procedure. Veterinarians would be required to disclose in writing the following facts about declawing:

1. The exact nature of the procedure: how the surgery is performed. Ideally, the written disclosure would be accompanied by a video, but lacking that, color photographs should be included.
2. The pain factor: both short and long-term
3. Possible physical downside (crippling, infection, claws growing back)
4. The potential psychological and behavioral effects on the cat
5. The need for keeping declawed cats indoors permanently.
6. All of the humane alternatives (training, scratching posts, clipping claws, Soft Paws)

The owner of the cat would be required to read the material at home and view the video (if supplied) during a mandatory three-day waiting period. If the owner still wanted the surgery to be performed, a written release would be required.

An alternative to the three-day waiting period, would be a 30-day waiting period during which the owner would attempt to utilize the alternatives. However, it is hoped that after reading the other material, the owner would voluntarily decided to try the alternatives. Many people on the Cats Forums have written that they would never have had declawing performed, if they had known in advance what it entailed.

Getting this kind of legislation passed in 50 states is a daunting project, and can only remotely be hoped to succeed by organization, cooperation, and heavy promotion by various participating organizations. We'll discuss that in the next section.

Next > A Possible Plan