"I do agree with you however vets who do not explain the potential problems are also responsible than naive owners like this lady who just declawed on vets advice (from the sound of it)"

PIF, I'm glad that you mentioned this. I was very ignorant on declawing and yes, I should have done more research which was my own fault...so cannot completely blame the vet here. However, when we first talked to the vet in Tucson about getting Callie declawed I asked if she would be in pain and if there were any side effects from removing her claws. The vet told me "no"
Come to find out, this vet was so bad that she would even let her vet techs do the declawing. ARGH ARGH!!! Let's just say when I found this out, the cats never went back. Callie was the sweetest kitten, but her behavior did change after we had her declawed. She became more independent; wanting to have less and less to do with us. Though she does ask for scritchies, she doesn't beg as often as the other and prefers their company over ours.

I will NEVER EVER declaw another animal. This website has taught me a lot and there are so many other ways to train your animals not to scratch on furniture. But then again, my cats mean more to me than some stupid piece of furniture anyway.