I'm with you. I see no good reason to declaw, especially for the cats benefit. I understand some don't realize what declawing does to a cat and may make the choice in error or in misinformation, but I would hope your vet tells you 'no' in this day and age. When we first took our babies to the vet, he brought up that he would never recommend declawing, and I voiced that we weren't even thinking about it.....I know owners think it's better for the owner and their belongings, but my argument is if the cats possible clawing of the furniture or carpet bothers you, maybe you shouldn't have a cat. Dogs naturally tear things up with their teeth (how many shoes have you had to throw away cause of puppy chew?), we don't remove those do we?! No, we train them, just as cat can be trained with love and positive reinforcement (ok and a squirt bottle) not to claw certain things. And I can't buy the argument that the cat may accidentally hurt you or your children. Keep their nails trimmed! When the claw is dull, even just snipping the tips of the nail off works, it does no harm. If malicious clawing is occurring, please find and treat the real root of the problem.....don't resort to tearing their knuckles out.