My childhood cat was declawed on the front paws, and I've had multiple cats since then, all with claws intact. It's definitely a significant difference in the

My childhood cat was declawed on the front paws, and I've had multiple cats since then, all with claws intact. It's definitely a significant difference in the cat's existence to be clawless. I'm happy to see this attitude shifting, but as others have commented here, there will almost certainly be more cats returned to shelters (and killed) when they won't stop shredding the furniture and carpet. Even if you trim their claws, in my experience they will always do some damage to anything they can sink their claws into. It obviously feels good and is a compulsive activity like stretching for them. And if you raise them to be aggressive with too much rough-housing in protective clothing, it can be a real problem, like with guests who think it's a good idea to pet the cat that's been unintentionally conditioned to think all arms are as impervious to claws as layers of sweatshirts worn in constant rough-housing. I had a friend who made this mistake long ago, that cat was awesome if you knew how to play with it but it required a safety warning at the entrance or blood would be spilled.