California cities act to ban cat declawing

Reporting from San Francisco and Beverly Hills - The law of unintended consequences has seldom been more clearly illustrated than by the catfight unfolding from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Veterinarians who did not want cities meddling in their business persuaded the state Legislature to bar local governments from banning the practice of declawing cats -- beginning in 2010.

Not wanting to be pushed around themselves, nearly half a dozen cities are rushing to prohibit the controversial procedure before the January deadline, striking a blow for rights both animal and municipal.

This week alone, the score was Cities 3, Vets 0.

The Los Angeles City Council voted 11 to 0 on Friday to ban declawing. Beverly Hills voted 5 to 0 on Thursday, and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9 to 2 on Tuesday. The cities must finalize their votes in coming weeks.

In the process, city council chambers have rung with testimony about "litter box avoidance" and kitty press-on nails, knuckle amputation and bullying big government.

Just listen to John A. Mirisch of Beverly Hills, where the council voted to ban onychectomy and flexor tendonectomy within its city limits unless the procedures are medically necessary.

"Onychectomy, commonly known as declawing, is the practice of amputating a cat's first paw joints, including the claw at the first knuckle," said Mirisch, the councilman who introduced the measure. "Indeed, I find this practice to be a prima facie instance of animal cruelty, and I don't need Big Brother in Sacramento or a veterinary board to tell me otherwise."

Mirisch's sentiments were echoed at the Los Angeles City Council meeting by Paul Koretz, who co-sponsored the Los Angeles motion: "I don't think we should allow people at the state level to dictate to us our local actions."

The Santa Monica City Council voted 6 to 1 in favor of a ban on Oct. 27. Such a prohibition is scheduled for a vote in Berkeley on Nov. 10. Malibu stopped short of banning the procedure but is working on a measure signaling its opposition.

Jennifer Conrad, founder of the Paw Project, which seeks an end to declawing, said California is at the forefront nationwide in banning the procedure. It has been prohibited or condemned in a number of European countries.

About the only thing both sides in the declawing controversy agree on is what the procedure entails: Using a scalpel, clippers or a laser, a veterinarian cuts off the last bone on each toe on a cat's feet.

"Because each digit is amputated through the joint, this procedure is painful and requires the appropriate treatment of pain before, during and after the procedure," according to the American College of Veterinary Surgeons' website.

Said Koretz, the Los Angeles councilman: "It is an amputation. . . . It often leaves cats crippled and in pain for the rest of their lives."

Such pain, he said, can cause cats to avoid their litter boxes because it hurts them to dig. As a result, they often are sent to shelters by frustrated owners.

But the California Veterinary Medical Assn. said that with modern medical techniques -- especially laser surgery -- and appropriate pain management, cats are often up and walking shortly after awakening from anesthesia.

"If it comes down to a cat being euthanized, losing its home or losing its claws," said association president Mark Nunez, "being euthanized or losing its home is a worse outcome."

Californians can thank -- or blame, depending on their perspective -- a Persian cat named Alexis Carrington for all the fuss.

Alexis, named after the "Dynasty" character, belonged to West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran, who had her declawed "because I didn't want my furniture ruined."

It seemed like a good idea, he said, but "I had no idea what I had actually done to my cat."