This topic has always somewhat interested me. Because when I think about it logically, I feel, if we are all ok with neutering our pets, what would be the big problem with removing the claws? But then a quick run to wikipedia brings up the following information:
"The incidence of declawing varies widely from country to country, as do the laws governing its practice. Many European countries prohibit or significantly restrict the practice, as do Australia, Brazil, Israel, New Zealand, Japan and Turkey.
Australia
In Australia, legislation concerning animal welfare is enacted at the state level and is highly inconsistent. There are ongoing efforts to develop a National Animal Welfare Act; in its current state, the bill would prohibit the declawing of cats except for medical reasons. However, some pro-wildlife campaigners advocate declawing (and possibly defanging) to protect native wildlife from pet cats.
Europe
In many European countries the practice is forbidden under the terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, unless there is a medical indication for the procedure, or a veterinarian considers it beneficial to the animal. Some European countries go further, such as Germany and Switzerland, where declawing cats is always illegal under their laws against cruelty to animals."
So you've got a practice that really isn't well liked outside of the US. But then you go to AVMA and read this:
"There is no scientific evidence that declawing leads to behavioral abnormalities when the behavior of declawed cats is compared with that of cats in control groups."
The argument that alkemyst has been arguing is also on AVMA's website:
"Scientific data do indicate that cats that have destructive clawing behavior are more likely to be euthanatized, or more readily relinquished, released, or abandoned, thereby contributing to the homeless cat population. Where scratching behavior is an issue as to whether or not a particular cat can remain as an acceptable household pet in a particular home, surgical onychectomy may be considered."
Basically, there are cats you will not be able to train out of their natural clawing behavior. AVMA realizes that declawing them is much better than just outright killing them.
Also, Wikipedia says this regarding cutting the tendons instead of declawing:
"Tendonectomy is surgical alternative to declawing sometimes practiced in North America. This surgery involves cutting the deep digital flexor tendon of each claw, resulting in the cat being unable to move its distal phalanges. Without the ability to expose its claws, the cat is unable to wear down or groom its claws. For this reason, the cat subsequently requires a lifetime of regular nail clippings to prevent its claws from growing into its paw pads. A 1998 study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association comparing cats undergoing onychectomy to cats undergoing tendonectomy found that, although the cats undergoing tendonectomy appeared to suffer less pain immediately post-operatively, there was no significant difference in postoperative lameness, bleeding, or inflection between the two groups.[12] The American Veterinary Medical Association and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association explicitly do not recommend this surgery as an alternative to declawing[13] [14]."
Basically, it is a poor choice, if you are even considering declawing at all, go that route, don't bother with the tendon slicing procedure.
Personally, I think there is an obvious benefit to having an indoor cat that doesn't scratch.