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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2016)
4C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2016 PARTING SHOT FROM EDWARD STRATTON A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers Smokey Bear made an appearance in Melanie Williams’ first-grade class at John Jacob Astor Elementary School in Astoria in May. ODDITY For cats, a right to bear claws New York could ban declawing of cats By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press A LBANY, N.Y. — New York would be the irst state to ban the declaw- ing of cats under a legisla- tive proposal that has divided veterinarians. Several vets along with a spokescat named Rubio came to the state Capitol this week to lobby for the ban. They say the declawing procedure, which involves cutting through bone, tendon and nerves to ampu- tate the irst segment of a cat’s toes, is unnecessary and cruel. Australia, Britain and several European countries already ban the practice. It’s also ille- gal in Los Angeles and some other California cities. “It’s a disiguring, inhu- mane and misguided proce- dure,” said Eileen Jefferson, an Ulster County veterinarian who does not perform the pro- cedure. She said about 25 per- cent of cats will be declawed. Rubio, a spokescat While Jefferson and the other vets discussed the bill at a press conference in the Cap- itol, Rubio roamed the room, snifing the reporters and occasionally offering a meow as greeting. The 11-year-old Abyssinian has his claws but chose not to use them on the journalists. The state’s Veterinary Med- ical Society opposes the legis- lation, saying the surgical pro- cedure can often save cats with destructive scratching behav- ior from being euthanized. In a memo of opposition, the soci- ety argues that declawing is a decision best left to cat own- ers and veterinarians and not lawmakers. “It is the veterinarian’s obligation to provide cat own- ers a complete education with regard to normal scratching behavior of cats, the procedure itself, and potential risks to the patient,” the society’s memo reads. “Declawing of domestic cats should be considered only after attempts have been made to prevent the cat from using its claws destructively.” Like amputation The bill is before both the Senate and Assembly, but no vote has been sched- uled. Assembly sponsor Linda Rosenthal, a Manhattan Dem- ocrat, says support is grow- ing as more cat owners learn the details of the procedure. Unlike clipping nails in a human, or even removing the entire ingernail, declawing a cat involves amputating the irst segment of each toe on each paw. Supporters of the ban say destructive clawing can often be dealt with through nail clipping, nail caps or scratch- ing posts. And the vets lobby- ing for the legislation on Tues- day said that declawing a cat can often lead to worse behav- ior problems, including difi- culty using a litter box or bit- ing something disputed by the veterinary society. “In most cases declawing is performed as a convenience to the owner,” Rosenthal said. “I’ve heard so many times: ‘I have expensive furniture! I have nice drapes!’ If your stan- dard is ‘I need pristine furni- ture,’ don’t get a cat.” AP Photo/Mike Groll A cat named Rubio walks in front of the podium during a news conference on Tuesday in Albany, N.Y. New York would be the first state to ban declawing under a legislative proposal that has divided veterinarians. 3 W AY S TO GE T Y O U R CO PY TOD AY ! OR DER ON LIN E w w w .DiscoverO urCoast.com /order S TOP BY ON E OF OU R 3 LOCATION S A storia • 949 Exchange St. Seaside • 1555 N . Roosevelt Dr. Long Beach • 205 Bolstad A ve. E. #2 o r CALL HOLLY LAR K IN S at 503-325-3211, x227 Em ail: hlarkins@ dailyastorian.com