Many landlords require cats to be declawed before they will rent to a cat guardian. Sadly, because it's already hard to find a place that allows pets, many cats fall victim to this unfair requirement. If you're thinking about declawing your cat in order to find a place to live, please print out this article, show it to your prospective landlord, and ask them to waive the requirement. Landlords need to know the truth about declawing, and the property damage and legal liability they may face due to such a requirement.
6/12/10: A bill prohibiting landlords from requiring tenants' pets to be declawed or debarked has passed the California State Assembly and the Senate Judicial Committee; it will be heard in the full Senate any day now. Please see the bottom of this page for info on how you can help make this a state law!
Declawing is excruciatingly painful for the cat. It involves ten separate amputations of the cat's toes at the first joint. In other words, this catastrophic surgery amputates 1/3 of a cat's front paws. (For more info on declawing, click here). Declawing severs not only the cat's claws, but also the attached bones, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, and nerves. The surgery carries significant risks of lifetime physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences. Adult cats are at higher risk of medical and behavior complications; the older the cat, the worse the risk. Landlords probably do not realize how cruel this procedure is.
Declawed cats often cause far worse property damage than clawed cats. At least 15% of cats develop litterbox aversion after declawing, likely due to intermittent or chronic pain. Declawed cats are twice as likely to avoid the litterbox as clawed cats. Cat urine can penetrate and damage floors, floorboards, sub-floors, carpet, drywall, baseboards, woodwork, and furniture, creating long-lingering urine smells, and major property damage. Landlords will reduce damage to their property by not requiring declawing.
Up to 18% of cats become biters after being declawed. Increased aggression results from chronic pain. Because aggressive biting is a known consequence of declawing, requiring the surgery may invite litigation should a visitor get bitten. Cat bites tend to be deeper and are far more dangerous, and much more likely to become infected, than cat scratches. Landlords can protect themselves from potential liability by not requiring declawing.
Many alternatives to declawing exist for preventing scratching damage. Cats can wear Soft Paws (soft vinyl nail caps). Their nails can be trimmed frequently to keep claws blunt and unlikely to snag carpet or leave deep scratch marks. Scratching posts, vinyl carpet runners, double-sided sticky tape are proven to reduce or eliminate scratch damage. For more alternatives, click here.
Cat declawing is legally declared to be animal cruelty. Eight cities in California have already outlawed it: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berkeley , Santa Monica , Beverly Hills , Culver City, Burbank, and West Hollywood. Other city and county governments throughout the country are considering similar legislation. Such laws apply to anyone who participates in the illegal declawing of a cat in any of those jurisdictions. Landlords who require declawing could be criminally liable under such laws.
If you are a tenant who is being asked to declaw, show your landlord this article and ask them not to require it. If they don't agree to waive this requirement, you must not rent from that landlord. Don't agree to this cruel surgery for your beloved pet.
Help pass a law in California that will prevent landlords from requiring tenants to declaw their cats and/or devocalize (de-bark) their dogs as a condition of the lease. State Senator emails are:
