[Sabriel]

My mother-in-law had to have one of her cats declawed because he had too many toes and he was hurting himself. They had to get his back and front claws done which vets in Canada won't due unless in refusing to do it would harm the cat. He would get stuck to things and he would try to rip out his claws with his teeth. The vet was the one who recommeneded it for my mother-in-law's cat, so consult your vet and see what he/she thinks. They will help you determine whats best for your cat. Maybe in this one case the risks of declawing out weight the risks of not declawing.

But you all should have seen this cat. His paws are huge. He has at least one extra toe on each paw. I don't think the soft paws would have helped. His claws were really messed up thoug. He would have two claws comming out of one toe. He is also blind (can't even see light and shadow).

My husband (who lived with him) adds: The cat ripped out a claw in a wooden shelf. He blead so much it would bleed through all the bandages they and the vet tried. It blead for a week. After the paw healed we got him declawed. Now he's a happy fat kitty. Very fat. This poor kitty has lots of problems though. Allergies, he's blind and he has many toes. I thinks it's because it was his mother's first litter and she didn't seem to know what to do.