SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois residents that have a cat have probably dealt with a lot of scratching from their furry friend, maybe even considering getting their claws removed.

A bill in the state capitol, however, would prohibit declawing, except for medical reasons.

One veterinarian said that it is mainly because their cat could be tearing up their furniture and scratching. Larry Baker of the Northgate Pet Clinic said that would be one of the benefits to doing the procedure.

However, he said that the surgery is not performed often and can cause the animal some discomfort afterwards.

Baker said that, overall, he would not encourage people to declaw their cats.

“The best reason to declaw a cat is an owner that likes their cat, gets along with the family well, is they’re ruining the furniture and the owner says, ‘I’m going to have to get rid of that cat or have him declawed,'” Baker said. “Then to me there’s no question about it. I would declaw rather than get rid of the cat.”

For pet owners who do not want to declaw their cats but want to get them to stop scratching, Baker said that they can trim their cat’s nails or use plastic claw tips, or even use a scratching post.