Washington could be the next state in the U.S. to ban cruel cat declawing! After major victories in California, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts last year, Alley Cat Allies is taking action to build on the momentum for declaw bans in 2026. Today, we submitted testimony in support of House Bill 1904, which would outlaw declawing statewide in Washington.
Keep watching alleycat.org or follow us on social media for updates. If you live in Washington, we’ll let you know when it’s time to act with us to protect cats in your state from declawing.
Our team is monitoring pending declaw ban bills in several states, and we’ll keep our supporters and advocates updated. Together, we can make declawing a thing of the past. Learn more at alleycat.org/StopDeclawing.
Re: Proponent testimony to HB 1904
Dear Chair Bronoske and Honorable Members of the Committee on Health Care & Wellness,
On behalf of Alley Cat Allies and our over 36,000 supporters in Washington, I submit this written testimony as a proponent of House Bill 1904 (“HB 1904”), a bill currently under your guidance. Alley Cat Allies urges the Committee to support this bill. If enacted into law, HB 1904 will prohibit the declawing of cats, a cruel and painful procedure that involves severing a cat’s toes at the knuckle.
Alley Cat Allies was founded in 1990 and is the leader of the global movement to protect and improve the lives of cats and kittens. As the leading advocacy organization for cats, we work with lawmakers, shelters, and the public toward humane, nonlethal, effective laws and policies that serve the best interests of cats and the communities in which they live.
Also known as onychectomy, declawing is the surgical amputation of a cats’ toes that is virtually always performed for non-therapeutic purposes. A common but misguided motivation for declawing is to prevent cats from scratching furniture. Many opponents to declawing bans claim that more cats will be relinquished to shelters by frustrated owners, or never find homes at all, if declaw surgery is no longer permitted. This has not proven to be the case.
After the City of Los Angeles banned declawing in 2009, the number of cats being relinquished to shelters decreased by 43 percent. Similarly, a peer-reviewed study on the impact of British Columbia’s 2018 ban on declawing concluded that “legislation banning elective onychectomy does not increase the risk of feline shelter relinquishment – for destructive behavior or overall – and is unlikely to have a significant effect on shelter euthanasia or length of stay.” The facts demonstrate that declawing itself causes the behaviors that lead people to relinquish
cats.
A declawed cat is more likely to exhibit increased aggression and biting to compensate for losing her protective claws, her first line of defense. Declawing also leads to chronic pain, arthritis, balance issues, and back problems. The residual pain associated with declawing also can result in refusal to use the litter box. Biting, aggression, expensive medical issues, and litter box avoidance are among the most common reasons cats lose their homes and are brought to shelters.
Thanks to years of humane education and outreach by Alley Cat Allies and other advocates, Americans increasingly realize how detrimental declawing can be to a cat’s wellbeing. More have come to learn that declawing is a non-therapeutic and unnecessary surgery that is far more severe than a nail trim.
We invite animals into our homes as companions and family members. Having cats means caring for them, providing for them, and using humane solutions to solve behavioral issues. Claws are an extremely important part of a cat’s anatomy and life. We do not remove a puppy’s teeth to prevent him from chewing on shoes. Instead, understanding this is a behavioral need in response to teething, we provide the puppy with appropriate toys that allow him to carry out his instinctive desire to chew and minimize the discomfort.
Similarly, we should not surgically remove a cat’s toes and permanently alter her health and wellbeing when humane behavior modifications are available and affordable.5 Scratching posts, deterrents, regular trimming, nail caps and plenty of toys help to redirect this natural and
necessary instinct.
For all of the reasons above, declawing bans are being considered and enacted in more communities every year. New York state enacted a ban in 2019, and Maryland followed in 2022. Virginia adopted its own declaw ban in 2024, while Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and California all signed a declaw ban into law in 2025. Washington, D.C., and over a dozen major cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and Pittsburgh, also prohibit this procedure. Around the world, at least 42 countries, including Switzerland, Germany, and the United Kingdom, have prohibited the declawing of cats.
The State of Washington has the opportunity to join these cities and states in standing at the forefront of our nation’s humane movement and setting a wide-reaching example to ensure cats no longer suffer from the inhumane and painful procedure that is declawing. I encourage you and the members of the Committee to support HB 1904 and keep cats’ claws on their paws.