California Banned Cat Declawing. Not Cat Roaming.
On January 1, 2026, California's AB 867 took effect, making it a crime to declaw a cat unless medically necessary. Veterinarians who perform the procedure face license revocation and fines. Assemblymember Alex Lee, who introduced the bill, declared: "Too many people value human and furniture convenience over the well-being of their beloved cats."
The bill passed both chambers of the California legislature with zero opposing votes.
Meanwhile, domestic and feral cats in the United States kill an estimated 1.3 to 4 billion birds and 6.3 to 22.3 billion mammals annually. California has taken no action to require cat containment, mandate indoor-only policies, or restrict the free roaming of the single most destructive invasive predator on the continent.
What Declawing Is
Declawing, or onychectomy, involves amputating the last bone of each toe. It causes chronic pain, behavioral changes including increased biting and litter box avoidance, and long-term mobility issues. It is already banned in New York, Maryland, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, and dozens of countries.
Nobody is defending declawing. The procedure is inhumane.
What Free-Roaming Is
Free-roaming means 1.3 to 4 billion dead birds. Every year. In the United States alone. Cats have contributed to the extinction of 63 species globally and threaten 347 species of conservation concern. They consume 2,083 different species across the planet — 981 birds, 463 reptiles, 431 mammals, 119 insects, and 57 amphibians.
Pet cats kill 2-10 times more wildlife than similar-sized wild predators. Their hunting is concentrated in a 100-meter radius around their homes, creating dead zones where local populations collapse. The mortality rate for small birds attacked by cats is 81 percent.
CBS8: New California Laws - Declawing Cats Banned Unless Medically Necessary
The Priorities
California decided that a cat's toes are worth criminal penalties and veterinary license revocation. A warbler's life is worth nothing.
Australia is implementing 24-hour cat containment in multiple jurisdictions, with fines up to $1,600 for roaming cats. New Zealand added feral cats to its Predator Free 2050 eradication list. Hawaii banned feeding feral cats on public property.
California banned declawing.
ABC7: California Ban on Cat Declawing Takes Effect 2026
The Question Nobody Asked
If "too many people value convenience over the well-being of their beloved cats," how many people value the well-being of their beloved cats over the survival of entire species?
The answer, in California at least, is: all of them who vote. And the legislature agrees unanimously.
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