California Ends Non-Therapeutic Declawing of Cats
Efforts Continue to Ban Practice Nationwide

In October 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 867, sponsored by Assemblymember Alex Lee, making California the fifth state to ban any non-therapeutic (cosmetic and convenience) declawing of cats!

This victory represents the culmination of decades of hard work on the part of animal advocates, beginning with the groundbreaking work of Dr. Jennifer Conrad, Founder and Director of The Paw Project, and continuing over many years in conjunction with a range of animal protection organizations. HumaneVMA, Humane World for Animals and Animal Legal Defense Fund joined The Paw Project in sponsoring AB 867.

For more information about the legislation and the win, see this press statement released by Assemblymember Lee’s office. California now joins the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island; all have complete bans on these convenience amputations, while Virginia has enacted only a partial declaw ban.

HumaneVMA—in conjunction with Humane World for Animals and various coalition partners around the country—will continue our current efforts at ending convenience declawing in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington, and hope someday to finally end it in all 50 states.

To help further our ending-declaw advocacy efforts nationwide, please consider signing our evergreen Statement of Veterinary Opposition to Cat Declawing here.