We've NEVER considered declawing. It is, in our opinion, one of the worst things you could do to your sweet kitties.
The tribe is 5 cats strong and they all have their claws. We have scratcher posts and pads everywhere they love to scratch and they rarely, if ever touch the furniture.
And just a personal observation...it looks like it feels SOOOOOO GOOOD to stretch up on a scratcher post and scrtich a little bit. Wouldn't sacrifice that for a couch any day!