Bill AB209 in Nevada and the Effort to Ban the Declawing of Cats

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Nevada could become the second state to ban the practice of declawing cats if bill AB209 is passed. A similar bill passed in New York State in 2019.

Here at home, the bill has moved from the Assembly to the Senate Natural Resources Committee. However, supporters are concerned that if the bill does not pass through this committee, it will not pass at all and cats in Nevada will continue to suffer the torment of being declawed.

Declawing a cat amounts to the same thing as amputating a human’s toes. It can cause lifelong pain. It can make cats fearful and mess with their health in the long run. Many nations around the world including most of Canada and Australia, have made declawing cats illegal.

According to the SPCA of Nevada website, “Cats use their claws for a variety of reasons. Scratching is a very natural and instinctive behavior for them, and satisfies both physical and psychological needs. They use their claws to leave their scent and mark their territory. By using their claws, they are able to stretch their muscles and tone their bodies.

Could you imagine not being able to stretch your muscles when you wake up in the morning? Yeah, neither could we. Their claws are also their primary means of defending themselves” (SPCA, NV).

According to Project Paw, Nevada Assembly Bill, AB 209, was introduced by Nevada Assemblymember Susie Martinez (Project Paw). Project Paw is leading the push to educate and encourage similar bills across states in America. Their “mission is to educate the public about the painful and crippling effects of feline declawing, to promote animal welfare through the abolition of the practice of declaw surgery, and to rehabilitate cats that have been declawed” (Project Paw).

“The bill would generally prohibit the declawing of cats, unless needed for medical purposes, with an escalating penalty for violators starting at $1,000 — quite a bit of scratch.

The other section prohibits veterinarians from unlawfully declawing a cat, imposing a civil penalty and various actions that the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners can take against violators” (Carson Now).

For more information check out Project Paw or our local SPCA.

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