Declawing a cat in the city of Chicago is legal because nobody has cared enough to put an end to this inhumane way of treating a cat. I work in a shelter and I have encounter many cats, mostly young that are surrender by their owner and these cats are declawed. People think that declawing a cat is a good way to keep your furniture safe, that the cat will grow to be happy and nonaggressive since it doesn't have its claws. What people doesn't know or doesn't understand is that declawing is an amputation. When a cat gets declawed the veterinarian is not only removing its claws, it is also removing part of his knuckles; cutting through bone, tendons, skin and nerves. Its the equivalent of removing the finger or toe at the last joint in the human body. This procedure is extremely painful to the cat and it also causes health risks like infection in its paws and arthritis. It is not right to make a cat crippled just because a selfish person wants to keep its furniture safe.