New Bill Aims to Prohibit Cat Declawing in Michigan

If Michigan becomes the second state to place a ban on cat declawing procedures, violators would face a civil fine of $1,000.

According to WDIV, Rep. Nate Shannon (D-Sterling Heights) and a list of other legislatures introduced House Bill No. 5508 this week which aims to “prohibit certain medical procedures for declawing a cat, and to prescribe civil sanctions.”

I think at this point we all know declawing a cat is a really cruel and painful procedure but that wasn't always the case. Years ago (probably pre-internet) I had a couple of my cats declawed and I really did know any better. I just thought that's what you did when you had house cats and you didn't want them to claw your furniture up. Once I learned what a horrific procedure it really was, I never declawed a cat again.

House Bill No. 5508:

“An individual shall not perform by any means an onychectomy, a partial or complete phalangectomy, or a tendonectomy procedure, or any other surgical procedure that prevents normal functioning of the claws, on a cat in this state, unless the procedure is necessary for a therapeutic purpose.”