We do not declaw unless the cat can't be sidegtracked from scratching. Both that we have now are declawed, even though I hate to do it to them. In the mere 3 weeks before we declawed him, my daughter's cat took the wallpaper off in 3 places, ripped blankets, and started on the furniture. He would have become an outside cat, but we have a busy street and cat-killer dogs next door.