“Elegance sought to take form, and it became a cat;” This was said by William I, Duke of Aquitaine, though it is pretty hard to be elegant when one's claws are removed; In fact, declawing cats can cause a cat’s paw to be painful to walk with, plus a number of other issues, for example, hostile or frightened behavior, litter box complications, and infection to the animals paws.

First, declawing cats is the equivalent to cutting off a human's fingers from the knuckle, making them painful to walk with, now, the pain will eventually subside, but one could ask themselves this, will the guilt? After all, 'contrary to most people's beliefs, declawing consists of amputating not just the claws, but the whole phalanx (up to the joint), including bones, ligaments, and tendons! To remove a claw, the bone, nerve, joint capsule, collateral ligaments, and the extensor and flexor tendons must all be amputated. Thus, declawing is not a "simple", single surgery but 10 separate, painful amputations of the third phalanx up to the last joint of each toe.' (source: https://www.declawing.com/the-truth-about-declawing

Second, it could cause hostile behaviors, such as hissing, biting, or warning growls. Some experts say that it is not uncommon for declawed cats to be aggressive, and even to bite. This is likely due not only to pain but also because their primary defense is gone. Over a dozen studies over the years have documented an increase in both aggression and litter box avoidance in declawed cats.

Speaking of litter boxes, that is another issue caused by Onychectomy (Declawing), Cats usually avoid using the litter box after having their claw removed, because they may associate the pain they feel in their paws when trying to cover their waste, with the litter box itself. Causing the owner to have to buy special paper litter for their precious pet. Declawing is already banned in over 20 states, lets make this one of them!

Sign this petition to ban Onychectomy in Washington state