Share your experience with owning a declawed cat and provide your perspective on declawing and potential bans on the procedure.
My cat, which I adopted last year when he was somewhere between 7 and 11, was declawed and appears to have not suffered any ill-effects from the procedure.  I am told, however, that many cats never are the same again.  My little guy has had a rough life - he lost one eye 5 years ago and had all his teeth extracted on Friday before I adopted him on Monday a little over a year ago.  Nonetheless, he is the sweetest, most trusting guy in the world.  I would totally support a ban on declawing.  I almost didn't adopt Phillip because he was declawed and I had heard about problems declaws cats can have, but then I thought, "It wasn't his fault that some jerk had him declawed.  Give him a chance."  I'm glad I did!