I agree that declawing is wrong. You're basically mutilating a cat to have it live in your house. Imagine if someone chopped off the ends of all of your fingers, how would you like that? I believe if you supply the cat with a scratching post and things to scratch on, and reinforce to them where they shouldn't scratch (like if they are scratching on your couch). I don't have any firsthand experience, but isn't a water squirt bottle a pretty good training tool to use with cats? The bottom line is, don't mutilate an animal to have it in your house, if you're really concerned about them scratching then maybe owning a cat isn't for you. I really think more people need to take realistic pet ownership into account before they get a pet, and decide if they can handle it, then perhaps so many pets wouldn't end up in shelters.
