A Florida lawmaker wants to ban elective cat declawing statewide, calling the procedure painful, outdated and unnecessary.
State Rep. Rob Long said he plans to introduce legislation during the 2027 Legislative Session that would prohibit elective cat declawing across Florida while still allowing veterinarians to perform the procedure when medically necessary.
"Declawing is still widely misunderstood," Long said. "It is not simply removing a cat's claws; it involves amputating the last bone of the toes."
Long said the proposal would revive and update a bill first introduced by former State Sen. Lauren Book in 2020.
"The basic framework is simple: prohibit declawing for cosmetic or convenience reasons while preserving a veterinarian's ability to perform the procedure when it is genuinely medically necessary," Long said.
Long said the issue hits close to home.
"My wife and I have three rescue cats, we care for community cats and regularly foster rescues, and my mother-in-law fosters as well," Long said. "We have volunteered with Peggy Adams and worked with Animal Rescue Force."
Long said a recent visit to Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control during the height of "cat season" reinforced his concerns about animal welfare and overcrowded shelters.
"The rising cost of living is making an already difficult situation worse, with more animals being abandoned or surrendered because families simply cannot afford to keep them," Long said.
Long said he learned about a cat that was recently adopted from Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control and later returned after being declawed, which he said led to behavioral issues he believes are commonly associated with the procedure.
Supporters of the proposal argue declawing can leave cats with long-term physical and behavioral issues, including pain, biting and litter box problems.
Janet Steele, director of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, said declawed cats that come through the shelter often need extra accommodations.
"We ensure that they have litter that doesn't irritate their sensitive paws, give them plenty of spaces to retreat to that don't require large distance leaps, and work with local adopters and rescues that focus on 'special needs' animals," Steele said.
Steele said the procedure can also affect how cats interact with people and other animals.
"The behavioral impacts of declawing can cause pain redirecting actions (biting or swatting) towards people or other pets, difficulties using certain litters resulting in urinating/defecating outside the litter box, and an overall pulling back from social activities," Steele said.
Long pointed to a growing shift within the veterinary industry.
"Banfield and VCA, two of the largest veterinary systems in the country, no longer support elective declawing," Long said, adding that organizations including the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Animal Hospital Association also discourage medically unnecessary declawing.
Animal advocacy group The Paw Project said Florida would not be the first state to act.
"Five states (New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and California) have banned declawing within the past 9 years, as have all ten Canadian provinces," the group said.
The Paw Project also pushed back on concerns that a ban could lead to more cats being surrendered to shelters.
"There is no evidence that declaw bans result in cats losing their homes," the group said. "To the contrary, shelter intake numbers declined in every jurisdiction where data is available."
The group highlighted Los Angeles as one example, saying shelter intake of cats dropped by 43.5% in the years after the city banned declawing.
For Long, the debate comes down to necessity versus convenience.
"An irreversible amputation should be performed because the animal medically needs it, not simply for human convenience," Long said. "Senator Book started this conversation in 2020, and my goal next session is to update that work and get it across the finish line."
