Declawing and Devocalization of Cats as a Condition of a Tenancy
It is that time again when we have to fight for what is right. It is time to politely convince Governor Jerry Brown that there is madness and cruelty in the current practice of landlords insisting on cats being declawed before the cat’s caretaker can sign a tenancy agreement. There was an attempt over a year ago to pass a similar bill, which appears to have fizzled out. I am not sure if this is the same bill resurrected or whether it has taken this long to get to the desk of Governor Brown.
Photo of recently declawed cat provided by a brave and decent vet tech.
I am writing about the Paw Project and HSVMA sponsored bill SB 1229 that is before California Governor Brown for his signature. If the bill is passed into law it will prohibit, in the state of California, landlords from requiring declawing and devocalization of companion animals as a condition of a tenancy agreement.
I am sure there are many thousands of residents of California who strongly disagree with the current situation. What they could do to help California become the first state in the United States to prohibit landlords making these unnecessary and cruel demands is to…
- CALL. Call Governor Brown’s office to ask him to SIGN SB 1229. His office number is (916) 445-2841.
- EMAIL. Follow up with an email to Governor Brown and ask him to SIGN SB 1229. Here’s a link to the governor’s website where you can fill out a form to contact him:
http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php. - SPREAD THE WORD. By using Twitter and Facebook. And of course using good old email.
I think it is a matter of common sense and decency that this bill is passed into law. It is obviously wrong to force cat and dog owners to decide between mutilating their cat for no good reason or turning away a decent home that they are possible keen to live in or have no choice about. The current situation encourages declawing at a time when the opposite should be on the agenda.
Landlords have a wide range of measures to protect their commercial interests when letting to people who keep a cat or dog. What about allowing a small dog and having a clause in the lease that makes it obligatory that a tenant must not cause a nuisance due to noise?
What about a clause in the tenancy agreement between tenant and landlord that allows the landlord to receive a larger than average deposit when tenants keep a cat. That would allow the landlord to replace furniture that was damaged (if the flat was let furnished)? There are many other possibilities. Only lazy, uncaring and dare I say it, immoral landlords would insist on a cat being declawed as a requirement to letting a property
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Picture of Gov. Brown: by League of Women Voters of California