Cat declawing could be banned in New York, if Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal gets her say. According to the New York Post, Rosenthal wants to ban the practice except when medically necessary, because animal-rights groups have declared it cruel and inhumane.

Rosenthal is a Democrat, and is one of the Legislature's most prolific writers of bills to protect animals. She stated, "It's like taking off your first knuckle... [Cats] are born with claws and they are meant to have claws. It's cruel to remove them for the sake of human convenience and saving your furniture."

She continued, "It's really an amputation. It's like if you amputated your finger or your toe at the last joint. Humans can be very cruel to animals and this is just another example of the kind of behavior that we have to stop... We can't mutilate them to serve our own selfish needs."

Rosenthal also reminded others that declawing is very painful and shocking for cats. According to CBS Local, she stated that the procedure is not only "terribly painful," but it also "might cause arthritis, it changes the way they walk, it continues to be painful and it's also not good for them. Cats may get out of the house, run into other animals and cannot defend themselves."

The New York Daily News reports that Rosenthal's bill has yet to be introduced to the Senate, but is backed by the Humane Society of New York and the Paw Project, a California-based group dedicated to stopping cat declawing.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) also believes cat declawing should be a last resort, but has done nothing legislative about it. Its policy states, "Declawing of domestic cats should be considered only after attempts have been made to prevent the cat from using its claws destructively or when its clawing presents an above normal health risk for its owner."

If passed, the bill would be the nation's first statewide ban on cat declawing.