Domestic cats across New York may soon be able to rest easy that no one will be attempting to remove their claws any time soon because to do so will be punishable by law.

Cat lovers and animal rights activists gathered at the state capitol in Albany this week to lobby lawmakers to pass a draft bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal that seeks to ban so-called de-clawing of man’s feline friends except in very limited medical circumstances.

While the practice of removing claws from cats, which involves cutting bone and tendon as well as nerves, has been banned in six cities in California, including Los Angeles and elsewhere, New York would be the first to institute a statewide ban if the legislation passes.

Also on hand in Albany to encourage lawmakers to pass the new law - and follow the lead also of several European countries, including Britain - was a spokescat by the name of Rubio.

Some veterinarian groups, including the Veterinary Medical Society, are wary of the bill, however, for fear it will limit their ability to remove claws from cats when they consider it necessary, for instance to mitigate self-harm when the animals are prone to too much scratching.

At a news conference, Ms Rosenthal, a Democrat whose district is in Manhattan, said that in most cases de-clawing is done merely for the convenience of a cat’s owner who doesn’t care for the damage their cats might otherwise cause in their homes or to their own limbs.

“For humans not to respect the integrity of the animal and the animal’s body is criminal,” she said. “However, it’s still allowed, it’s an option, and that’s why we aim to make it illegal.”

But according to the Veterinary Medical Society de-clawing can be vital in saving a cat with scratching problems from being removed from an owner and put in a cattery - or worse.

The practice “is one method to allow a beloved feline companion to continue to live in a household rather than relinquishing the family pet to a shelter,“ the group’s spokesman wrote. ”Declawing should remain a viable alternative to euthanasia if all other options have failed.“

But another group of 130 New York vets has swung behind the Assemblywoman. “The act of declawing has no place in a humane society, and shelters should know, and vets do know,” said Brian Shapiro, state director of the Humane Society of the United States.

On its national website The Humane Society of the United States does not mince words about what de-clawing entails for the animal itself.

“Too often, people think that declawing is a simple surgery that removes a cat's nails—the equivalent of having your fingernails trimmed,” the website states. “Sadly, this is far from the truth. Declawing traditionally involves the amputation of the last bone of each toe. If performed on a human being, it would be like cutting off each finger at the last knuckle.”