I'm going to approach this from a little different standpoint. First of all, I'll say, I don't believe in declawing. But this is a shelter cat, who has to get used to his new environment. My Butter was a stray, as you know, and he has all of his claws and some pretty sharp teeth too. We give him lots of attention, let him have his way, feed him good, pet him gently, only on his head and back, and he still bites and scratches like the dickens! And he has been here almost 1 1/2 years. He isn't in pain, he isn't abused, but we don't have a clue what happened to him before he was here.

I'm just saying that all declawed cats are not aggressive, and all cats with all of their claws aren't gentle. Each cat is different, and even if they have a perfect history or an unknown history, and still not fit the personality mold that they "should" or "shouldn't" have. All you can do is make sure he isn't in pain, talk to him gently, spend time with him, and above all, don't punish him for his actions. Just learn your limitations and at some point he might just come around. I'm certainly hoping for that outcome myself.

Best of luck to you.
Logan