Silent Sunday on Frequently Feline: GREAT NEWS FOR CAT LOVERS

Voting unanimously on Friday, November 6, the City Council of Los Angeles passed an ordinance which bans the declawing of cats. City Council President Eric Garcetti added an "urgency clause" to the ordinance which ensures its taking effect before 1/01/10. This was essential as California has passed a law which prevents cities and counties from regulating any further declawing bans.

Councilman Paul Koretz, and Councilman Bill Rosendahl proposed the ordinance. Councilman Koretz said, "We need to ban declawing, which is one of the most cruel practices.The obvious truth is that declawing does nothing good for cats. It is not clipping nails. It is actually amputation, sometimes leaving cats crippled and in pain for the rest of the lives."

Santa Monica, San Francisco, and Beverly Hills have also passed ordinances which will prevent feline declawing. Malibu is considering a resolution.

Representing over 6,100 veterinary professionals across the state, the California Veterinary Medical Association opposed these ordinances.

Declaw surgery is described by the US Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital as a permanent surgical precedure where the last bone, phalanx and claw of each toe on a cat's paw is amputated.

This is great news for cat lovers that abhor this cruel and inhumane surgery. It is about time!!

The city of Berkeley approved a declaw ban on Thursday, November 5, 2009. They need to hear from folks who support them in a final vote to ban declawing which will be held on Tuesday, November 10.To contact the Board of Supervisors, here is the list of their email adresses. E-MAIL ADDRESSES FOR THE BERKELEY CITY SUPERVISORS:mayor@CityofBerkeley.info, lmaio@CityofBerkeley.info, dmoore@CityofBerkeley.info, manderson@CityofBerkeley.info, jarreguin@CityofBerkeley.info, lcapitelli@CityofBerkeley.info, swengraf@CityofBerkeley.info, kworthington@CityofBerkeley.info, gwozniak@CityofBerkeley.info


I do hope that the rest of the country will follow suit and join the over 37 countries around the world which have already banned declawing.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and share your opinion!

Fabulous Friday on Frequently Feline: Meet Mushu

Today is a very "special" Pet of Week on Frequently Feline. It is no secret that I am a strong advocate for banning declaw surgery in cats, A new support and advocacy group has started on Yahoo groups to work toward that goal. Through this group I have "met" some amazing folks. One of them is Susan.

Susan adopted a purebred Abysinnian from a local, high-kill shelter. Since he was declawed he has caused more urine/property damage than any of her other pets combined. Susan had his paws x-rayed due to the continuing sensitivity in his paws. Her vet suspects that he has developed arthritis in his paws, which is a common "side-effect" of declaw surgery. Her vet also thinks that he has never recovered from the initial shock/pain of his declawing surgery.

He was discovered on Petfinder. An excerpt from the description that Petfinder provided to find a home for this kitty, "Here's a beautiful Abyssinian, Mushu Dragon, that we rescued from a high kill humane shelter. He suffers from chronic urinary tract infections and paw pain, and unfortunately the result of these issues is that he doesn't use the litterbox. He is on several homeopathic remedies & medications, plus a special diet to keep his urinary tract as clear as possible. His diet and remedies cost about $100 a month to maintain. Because of the discomfort from his declawed paws, Mushu will not use them to dig litter in the litterbox. He is a nervous cat and routinely tears the fur from his backside with his teeth so he is mostly bald on his back & sides. Despite his daily discomfort, Mushu still loves a warm lap to cuddle in and his most favorite past time is rolling around in cat nip!"

Mushu has been chosen as our Pet of the Week. He is an ambassador for the cause in helping to spread factual information about the common negative and painful side-effects of declaw surgery. Please save paws and do not declaw.

A hearty welcome and round of conCATulations to this beautiful boy, and thanks to Susan who also cares for over 30 cats a day, combining her purrsonal cats with a feral colony that she protects. Please leave both of them a comment of support.