ALBANY — Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, one of the Legislature's most prolific writers of bills to protect animals, is trying to stop cat declawing. 
 
 Rosenthal, a Democrat, has introduced legislation to ban the feline procedure unless it is done to remove a tumor or other medical reasons. 
 
 "It's like taking off your first knuckle," Rosenthal said. "(Cats) are born with claws and they are meant to have claws. It's cruel to remove them for the sake of human convenience and saving your furniture. 
 
 Rosenthal's bill, which has not been introduced in the state Senate yet, is backed by the Humane Society of New York and the Paw Project, a California-based group dedicated to stopping cat declawing. 
 
 Rosenthal's bill is backed by the Humane Society of New York and the Paw Project, a California-based group dedicated to stopping cat declawing. (Janet Winikoff/ASSOCIATED PRESS) 
 
 If enacted, the measure would be the nation's first statewide ban on cat declawing. 
 
 The American Veterinary Medical Association believes cat declawing should be a last resort but has stopped short of supporting a ban on the procedure. 
 
 "Declawing of domestic cats should be considered only after attempts have been made to prevent the cat from using its claws destructively or when its clawing presents an above normal health risk for its owner," the AVMA's policy states. 
 
 The legislation is the newest of dozens of Rosenthal bills dealing with cats, dogs and other fury creations. Last month, Gov. Cuomo signed into law a Rosenthal bill banning the tattooing or piercing of pets. (Richard Harbus/for New York Daily News) 
 
 The legislation is the newest of dozens of Rosenthal bills dealing with cats, dogs and other fury creations. Last month, Gov. Cuomo signed into law a Rosenthal bill banning the tattooing or piercing of pets. 
 
 Rosenthal has also written legislation giving judges the power to issue orders of protection to pets, limiting the testing of cosmetics on animals, giving cities special powers to shut down puppy mills and making the "rescue cat" New York's official cat. 

 New York could be the first state to issue a statewide ban on declawing of domestic, exotic and wild cats. 
 
 The law is being pushed by Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who's an advocate fighting against the mistreatment of animals. 
 
 "This is just the next step in my agenda," Rosenthal says. "People do a lot of cruel and inhumane things to animals and I've passed a number of laws for protecting them. There' s practically no good reason to declaw a cat. It's really a horrific thing to do to an animal and that’s why I want it outlawed." 
 
 The bill, which was issued this month, is supported by The Paw Project, a nonprofit educating the public on the effects of declawing animals. 
 
 "It's not a fancy manicure," says Jennifer Conrad, a veterinarian in Santa Monica, California, and the founder of the Paw Project. "Declawing is actually an amputation of bones in the cats' paws. So really, the last bone in a cat's toe is amputated." 
 
 For both Rosenthal and Conrad, the fight against outlawing the surgical procedure goes deeper than just preventing unnecessary pain for felines. 
 
 "Cats have their claws for a reason," Rosenthal told ABC News. "They kneed with them, they express themselves, and they were born with them. There's too many being procedures being performed and it’s basically to satisfy the whim of the owners.” 
 
 Despite the controversy, however, there are “some situations in which declawing may be considered, such as when a cat’s excessive or inappropriate scratching behavior causes risk of injury to immunocompromised people or remains destructive despite conscientious attention to behavioral modification and alternatives,” according to American Veterinary Medical Association. 
 
 The association emphasizes that the amputation is “not medically necessary for the cat in most cases,” and the decision “should be made by the owners in consultation with their veterinarian.” 
 
 There are eight cities in California that have outlawed declawing wild, exotic, and domesticated cats. 
 
 If it's approved, New York could be the first state to ban declawing all types of felines. 
 
 Rosenthal says she hopes the law will be passed this year.
– An animal rights champion who also happens to be a lawmaker in New York state has introduced legislation to make it illegal to declaw cats, reports the Daily News. The measure by Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal would make exceptions only for reasons deemed medically necessary by a vet—and it would make New York the first state to institute such a ban, reports ABC News. Declawing is "basically done because humans want it done, and I don't think it's our right to mutilate our animals for our own satisfaction," Rosenthal tells Gothamist. The Humane Society backs the proposed law, with a state official explaining that pet owners often think declawing is a harmless way to keep their cats from scratching furniture. "They don't realize that declawing includes amputation of the claw and bone to which it is attached, and can have behavioral impacts that make a cat less likely to use the litter box or more likely to bite." Rosenthal hopes to get the law passed this year.