[DATE]

[NAME OF ALDERMAN]
[ADDRESS OF ALDERMAN]
RE: In Support of City Ordinance 367
Dear Alderman [NAME],
I am writing to ask for your support of City Ordinance 367, which
would ban the declawing of cats, and any other animal, within the city
limits. Declawing is a painful surgical procedure that requires the
complete amputation of each of the last bones in a cats toes.
Declawing can cause severe behavioral problems (including biting and
liter box avoidance), which can lead to a cat losing its home. Statistics
show declawed cats are more likely to be relinquished to shelters. As
we all know, Chicagos shelters are currently over-burdened and
declawed cats cast an extra burden on an already over-taxed system.
Declawing a cat to protect immunocompromised persons and prevent
human illness is not recommended by The Center for Disease Control,
The U.S. Public Health Service, The National Institutes of Health, or by
infectious disease experts. In fact animals deprived of their claws often
resort to biting, which is more dangerous than scratching. There are
many humane alternatives to declawing, including: routine nail trims,
scratching posts, and Soft Paws (vinyl nail sheaths).
Declawing is illegal in much of the rest of the world because it is
considered inhumane mutilation. Please make the city more humane
towards our companion animals. There is no disadvantage to passing
this Ordinance.
Thank you for your support,
Sincereley,
[Your Signature]
[your name]
[your address]
[your phone number]