I am making this petition for North Carolina, but Declawing needs to end everywhere.   Please sign no matter where you're from. 
   Cats are sentient beings--they feel pain, fear, happiness, etc  Yet they have no voice when humans, who are supposed to care for them and Veterinarians who take an oath to do no harm, take away one of their most integral parts--their claws.  It is not humane or fair for us as humans to allow this legalized animal abuse to go on.  Onychectomy known as Declawing, is elective amputation.  I don't think there is a person on earth that would chose to have a healthy body part amputated, so it is not fair for us to do that to an innocent animal.  It is not just a simple removal of their claws--which is in and of itself horrific--it is the cutting of important bones, tendons, and tissue that sets up a domino effect in the cat that lasts a lifetime. Tendons are like rubber bands, once cut, the ability to jump, run, climb and move is changed.  This can and often does lead to lifelong pain.  Cats are extremely good at hiding pain, leading many to think it is no big deal to declaw.  More and more often Vets who have chosen not to declaw, are doing paw repair surgery on cats who are in pain.  They are finding bone chips and pieces of claws that have tried to regrow.  Declawing is a  painful, cruel, unnecessary inhumane surgery that needs to end.