Five states, Washington, D.C., and several cities across the country have outlawed declawing cats.

"Declawing" is actually a partial amputation of a cat's paw, akin to amputating a person's hand at the top knuckle.

Frequent nail clipping, nail caps and scratching posts are humane alternatives to declawing a cat.

Ohio would join five other states in banning the practice of declawing cats under a bipartisan bill recently introduced in the Ohio Senate.

Senate Bill 252 is sponsored by State Sen. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) and State Sen. Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus). It is cosponsored by State Sen. Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson). Under the proposal , any procedure that would alter the normal function of a cat's toes, paws or claws would be forbidden unless medically necessary, such as an illness,

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