Pittsburgh council adopts ban on declawing cats

Pittsburgh City Council Tuesday approved legislation that would ban the surgery used to declaw cats from being performed in the city.

The measure passed unanimously, without discussion. Mayor Bill Peduto supports the legislation and will sign it, Peduto’s Chief of Staff Dan Gilman said.

Veterinarians who perform the surgery, which involves amputating as many as 18 bones — essentially the last joint of a cat’s front and/or back legs — would face a $500 fine.

Last week, council discussed the issue at length and heard support for the law from animal care groups, veterinarians and others who said declawing contributes to bad behaviors among cats like biting and problematic use of a litter box.

These problems often lead to cats being surrendered and it’s tough to find homes for cats that bite or have trouble using a litter box, Carol Whaley director of humane programming at Animal Friends, the animal shelter based in Ohio Township, told council last week.

Pittsburgh joins the state of New York, St Louis County in Missouri, Austin, Texas, Denver, and several California cities in enacting a ban, which is also in place in much of Europe.