All maps › Declawing cats › United States

Is declawing cats illegal in the United States?

Partly. Declawing cats is restricted in the United States. 6 of 50 states ban it, New York first in 2019; no federal law.

No federal ban (H.Res. 985 of 9 Jan 2026 is a non-binding resolution). State bans: New York (2019), Maryland (2022), DC (in force 21 Apr 2023, D.C. Law 24-346), Virginia (2024, Code s 54.1-3814), Massachusetts and Rhode Island (2025) and California (passed 2025, in force 1 Jan 2026), whose law replaced the Los Angeles and San Francisco city bans. City bans remain elsewhere, e.g. Denver and Austin -> amber.

Source: NY MD VA CA MA RI + DC laws

Banned (29)Restricted (12)Allowed

The United States is one of 29 countries where declawing cats is banned, and 12 more restrict it.
Its neighbours: banned in 0 of 2.
In North America: banned in 0 of 17 countries.