New York bans cat declawing

[Catherine]

I actually witnessed a declawing when I worked for a vet in 1974. It is worse than the description. It is a crude procedure. The vet used claw clippers to cut through the bone and take the end off of each toe. There was no stitching or post surgical pain killers. I don't think he even sterilized the clippers before he used them.
He had me wrap the cat in a towel and hold it when the anesthetic wore off because the pain was so great that cat would have thrown itself against the bars of the cage and been hurt. He didn't want the cat to get hurt.

I still feel sick about it. I am sure the owners cared about their cat and had no idea what declawing really does.
I don't want to say anything about karma, but that vet had a nasty end. He cut a lot of corners and exposed himself to radiation and developed a nasty cancer.

There is no reason or excuse or anything that justifies the kind of operation I witnessed. Nothing justifies the pain it caused and nothing excuses the lifetime of pain the cat must have endured.

That is over 40 years ago and we still have not fully banned declawing. 
Why has this taken so long?