Oh boy, I wish you didn't bring that up. There are plenty of other options than declawing.

I'm sure some people will give you good links to declawing, just so you know exactly what the poor cat has to endure.

Myself personally, I had one cat declawed as I didn't know at the time what it involved. Once I did know, I vowed I would never, ever get another one of my cats declawed.

Good luck on finding the right cat for you, or I should say, the right cat finding you. I'm also glad to hear that you are looking for a shelter kitty.