California Banned Declawing. How Can You Manage Your Cat’s Claws Now?

It’s a sound familiar to nearly all cat owners. Sinking into your couch after another long day —and then you hear it: your kitty determinedly digging its small but sharp claws into your most treasured furniture.

“People always ask, ‘Why does my cat have to scratch on my favorite chair?’” Santa Monica-based veterinarian Jennifer Conrad said. “Because it is your favorite chair. It’s where you sit. Cats know that, and that’s why they scratch there.”

As detrimental to your household furniture — and your stress levels — it may be, scratching is a perfectly natural behavior for cats, Conrad said. Not only is it a way for them to stretch, relax and mark territory, it’s also about you as their owner. “When your cat scratches where you sat or where you are, it’s to tell other cats that she loves you and you’re hers,” she added.

While cat owners around the world have found different ways to manage what kitties do with their claws (more on this below), the United States is unique in its widespread reliance on declawing.

While some might assume this process is akin to filing down a cat’s claws, it’s actually a surgical procedure in which a veterinarian removes a segment of the bone on each toe, taking out the claw entirely. A similar procedure on a human would cut the fingers on a hand down to the first knuckle.

• Jump straight to: In what situations does California’s new law still allow declawing? 

Animal advocates have long criticized this practice, arguing that declawing is excessively cruel, negatively impacts a cat’s ability to take care of itself, and often results in long-term pain. Dozens of countries have already banned cat declawing, and on Jan. 1, 2026, California will prohibit this practice, following the lead of states like New York and Massachusetts.

“The problem is that too many people value human and furniture convenience over the well-being of their beloved cats,” said state Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-San José, who authored the new law.

“This bans declawing for any cosmetic or convenience purpose,” Lee told KQED. “But if there’s some medical reason that amputation is necessary, then it can still happen.”

So, as California moves to end declawing, how can you, as a responsible pet-owner, better manage your beloved cat’s claws — keeping them safe and happy while hopefully preventing expensive damage to your home? Keep reading to hear the expert advice veterinarians want you to know.

How can I stop my cat from scratching everywhere?

The short answer is: You can’t completely stop your cat from scratching.

“Scratching is a normal behavior for cats,” reiterated veterinarian Jennifer Scarlett, who is also the CEO of the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “It’s like yawning or stretching. This is part of their normal repertoire of behaviors.”

Experts recommend these two strategies:

1. 1. Manage the sharpness of your cat’s nails
   2. Encourage your cat to scratch different things (e.g., not furniture)

1. How to cut down on sharpness

Just like with human nails, cat claws can be clipped. Using a specialized nail clipper, you can gently trim the sharp tips on your kitty’s claws. This won’t stop them from scratching, but it will reduce the sharpness with which they scratch.

But if you haven’t clipped your cat’s claws before, you will have to train them. And cats are — to put it gently — tricky when trying new things.

However, it’s not impossible, said Conrad, who also leads the Paw Project: an animal advocacy group that helped author the state’s declawing ban. “You can train a cat if you figure out what sort of reward the cat wants,” she said.

“If the cat is food-motivated, find out which treat the cat likes,” she recommended. “And then you can begin to train them to allow you to trim their nails.”

Conrad advised starting by getting your cat comfortable with you just touching their paws. You can do this by offering a taste of their favorite treat after you touch their paws.

“Your cat will want you to touch their paws because they get a lick of their treat,” she explained. “And then you build up a little bit and say to them, ‘If I clip one nail, you get a lick.’”

Remember, it’s normal for cats to feel anxious while you touch their paws, so don’t be dissuaded if your pet is initially reluctant.

“Don’t try to clip all of their nails in one fell swoop,” SF SPCA’s Scarlett said. “What you want to do is build on good experiences.”

Meaning, “If you can clip two claws, that’s great,” she said. “Stop on a good note.”

Another reason to take it slow: When we push a kitty beyond what they’re comfortable with, they most likely will end up really hating getting their claws trimmed, explained Scarlett. “Don’t ever do it if it’s gonna be a fight. It’s just not worth it.”

And if the nail clipper is not working out for you? Remember that you can also try gently filing their claws with an emery board (and while you’re at it, consider a cat spa day?). But if it feels that your cat is really not having it, don’t be afraid to ask your vet or a pet groomer for help reducing the sharpness of their claws.

2. How to redirect where your kitty scratches

Did you buy a scratching post that your cat has refused to use?

First of all, it might be that they don’t like what the post is made out of.

“You can get different types of scratching posts, some cats like sisal, others like jute twine and some like wood or cardboard,” Scarlett said. “Get a variety and put them in different places that your cat likes to be in.”

Observe what kind of material your cat enjoys scratching the most. It might be that they’re drawn to a surface similar to the furniture they like to scratch on.

“Give them lots of options to do the right thing and make the couch — and things that you don’t want them to scratch on — a little less desirable,” Scarlett added. If you are keeping a tight budget, remember that it’s also possible to make a scratching post on your own: materials like corrugated cardboard, felt and wood are often available at your local crafts or home improvement store.

And to convince your pet that your furniture is not scratch-friendly, you can place double-sided sticky tape on surfaces they are drawn to. Another option is to make a homemade mix of citrus and water that you can gently spray on furniture. While citrus is not harmful to cats, they are not the biggest fans of the smell.

“One thing I don’t recommend is punishment. You can shoo them away, but remember it’s a normal behavior. They just chose the wrong thing at that time,” Scarlett said. “So give them a good choice.”

Also, take into account where you place the scratching posts in your home. For one thing, cats usually don’t like scratching posts that are hidden away, since scratching is also used to mark territory, Paw Project’s Conrad said.

“So you can’t ask them to use a scratching post that’s in the garage behind the dryer,” she said. “It has to be centrally located because what they’re doing is they’re telling other cats — and the world — that you are their human, and this is their territory.”

In what situations does California’s new law still allow declawing?

AB 687 does allow declawing, but only when it’s considered “medically necessary.”

“A cat may have an injury to a claw, a deep infection, or a tumor where we would need to amputate — that would be a medical necessity,” Scarlett said. “Declawing because you don’t want your cat to scratch the couch: that’s an elective procedure, and that’s being banned.”

If a vet continues to offer declawing for aesthetic or convenience purposes, they could potentially have their professional license suspended or removed by the California Veterinary Medical Board.

This law does not prevent cat owners from seeking out the procedure in other states where it’s still widely permitted. But advocates urge owners to first consider the long-term impacts this procedure could have on their cat’s life.

“Once you amputate their toes, cats will feel pain when they dig in their litter box, and many of them will never ever use the litter box again because it hurts so much,” Conrad said. “Without their claws, they don’t have a good way to protect themselves, and they could start to bite.”