UPDATE, 10/10/2025:
VICTORY! The state of California has officially banned cat declawing!
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 867, prohibiting declaw surgery, into law on the evening of October 9. California now joins New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Maryland in outlawing this cruel, unnecessary procedure on a state level. The bill passed unanimously in California’s Assembly and Senate before it reached the governor’s desk.
This is a huge win for cats throughout California, who will no longer have to suffer the harmful effects of declaw surgery. From West Hollywood enacting the U.S.’s first declaw ban back in 2003, all the way through today’s statewide ban, it’s been a long road to this moment. But Alley Cat Allies has fiercely championed anti-declaw legislation along with our supporters and advocates, organizations, and veterinarians across the country for decades, and we’re thrilled that we can declare this victory!
Thank you to all who took action with us and urged your legislators to pass the declaw ban bill. Cats’ lives will be saved because of your advocacy. Please stay with us as we continue our work to end declawing around the United States and the world.
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
California could be the next state to officially ban cat declawing! It’s been a long road, but we’re at the very last step to finally make declaw surgery illegal in the Golden State. The bill, Assembly Bill 867, is currently on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature. If he signs it, or does not veto, it will become law in the next weeks.
Alley Cat Allies and advocates across California have been fighting to protect cats from cruel declawing for decades. Earlier this year, Alley Cat Allies sent letters calling for the California legislature to pass this critical ban, and provided education on the irreversible, harmful impact declawing can have on cats physically and mentally. California’s Assembly and Senate both passed AB 867 unanimously in September.
California led the way in this movement years ago, when West Hollywood enacted the first declaw ban in the United States in 2003. Seven more cities followed, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. This statewide ban is what all of our lifesaving work has led up to! We’re so close to declaring victory for California’s cats, so let’s urge that last, lifesaving act from Governor Newsom.
Why Banning Declawing Saves Cats’ Lives
Declawing is not a nail trim—it is far more severe. It is a surgical amputation of the last joints of a cat’s toes. Without their claws, cats can’t perform many of their instinctive behaviors, can feel unsafe without their natural protection, and can experience difficulty with balance and walking.
Furthermore, declawing is virtually always nontherapeutic, with no medical benefit to the cat. Side effects from declawing can include hemorrhaging, paw pad lacerations, swelling, radial nerve damage, lameness, infections, and chronic pain. Cats who suffer from these side effects may develop behavioral issues such as aggression, biting, and urinating outside the litter box. These behaviors, not scratching, are the most common reasons cited for relinquishing cats to shelters. And in many shelters, cats are in danger of being killed, especially if they are deemed “unadoptable.”
Humane alternatives to declaw surgery are widely available, including scratching posts, spray deterrents, and nail caps. There is no need for surgery to be carried out for entirely nontherapeutic reasons that can cause permanent physical and mental harm to cats.
Let’s Declare Victory Over Declawing
California—we’re so close! Let’s end declawing in your state once and for all.