Victory! Denver Bans Declawing

This is just purrfect: Last night, the Denver City Council passed an ordinance that bans elective cat declawing, The Denver Post reports. Prior to the vote, PETA sent out several e-mail alerts asking Denver residents to support the proposal. The council’s unanimous decision makes Denver the first U.S. city outside of California to ban the painful and permanently crippling procedure.

According to reports, “the choice was easy for the City Council,” and it’s not difficult to understand why. Painful and traumatic, declawing cats is the equivalent of cutting off part of a human’s fingers. The seven facts below explain exactly why you should never declaw your cat:

1. Declawing cats is the equivalent of cutting a human’s fingers off at the first knuckle.

2. Clawing is a natural, healthy, and important type of behavior for cats.

3. Declawed cats often become more aggressive.

4. Claws are the first line of defense for cats.

5. Cats continue to experience pain long after the surgery.

6. Declawed cats have to relearn how to walk.

7. This could happen to your cat:

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Almost everyone can now agree that it’s selfish and wrong to prevent animal companions from expressing their natural types of behavior just because they may inconvenience us. Declawing has already been banned in England and other parts of Europe. West Hollywood, California, was the first city in the U.S. to ban the procedure, and several other cities in California have followed its lead.

PETA hopes other cities, states, and countries will quickly follow suit.

Don’t Take a Hatchet to Your Cat’s Hangnails

Why should we put someone we love through the misery of being declawed if we don’t have to? The answer is simple: We shouldn’t! There’s a lot that you can do to keep your cats—and their claws—healthy. Try these suggestions:

• Trim your cat’s nails regularly.
• Put out multiple scratching posts.
• Scatter cardboard scratching boxes around your house.
• Teach your cat where to scratch and where not to scratch.

Click the button below for even more fun tips that’ll help ensure that your cat is as happy—and healthy—as can be.