I used to get cats de-clawed...but I will not do that again. While it protects the furniture it is really not a process that you would like to endure!
Additionally, while front claws would not protect the cats from alligators in Florida, (where I was when I got the cats) those claws might in a few instances fend off coyotes which are now the predators of concern in my back yard. Not many alligators in Wadsworth...
Sorry about the video posted above...while I am an animal lover, for some reason that video kills me every time I see it.