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I just read this article By Jean Hofve, DVM I'd also recommend reading this one from "Paws Need Claws"
Dr Hofve says this:
Some of the saddest cases I've ever had to deal with as a veterinarian were people who needed their cats declawed, because they couldn't find housing where the landlord didn't demand it. Many of these cats were older, overweight, and at high risk of medical and behavior complications from having 1/3 of their front paws amputated (which is what declawing really is...for more info on declawing, click here). You're already pre-paying for pet damage. Because landlords, property managers, and associations usually collect security deposits to pay for possible damage the renter may cause to the property, declawing is an unnecessary additional requirement. It also imposes an additional burden on the tenant for a surgery that typically costs $200-400. In addition to security deposits, landlords and managers can also collect "pet fees" (either monthly or as an additional deposit) if they fear significant animal damage. Their potential expenses are already well covered.
Landlords and property managers probably don't know that declawing is a painful surgery involving ten separate amputations of the cat's toes at the first joint. Declawing is excruciatingly painful because it severs not only the cat's claws, but also the attached bones, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, and nerves. It is a medically unnecessary surgery that carries significant risks of lifetime physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences. Even if they are not concerned about the humane aspect, landlords and managers can be affected by the pain of declawing in unpleasant ways.
Landlords and managers may not know that declawed cats often cause far worse property damage than a clawed cat. Studies suggest that at least 15% of cats develop litterbox aversion after declawing, likely due to intermittent or chronic pain. In fact, declawed cats are twice as likely to avoid the litterbox as clawed cats. Cat urine can penetrate and damage floors, floorboards, sub-floors, carpet, drywall, baseboards, woodwork, and furniture, creating long-lingering urine smells, and major property damage.
Landlords and managers may incur legal liability for human injuries caused by a declawed cat. Studies show that up to 18% of cats become biters or bite more often or more intensely after being declawed. Increased aggression is thought to result from chronic pain. Because aggressive biting is a known risk of declawing, requiring the surgery may invite litigation should a visitor or maintenance personnel get bitten by a declawed cat. Landlords and managers can protect themselves from potential liability by not requiring declawing. Cat bites tend to be deeper and are far more dangerous, and much more likely to become infected, than cat scratches.
There are many alternatives to declawing for preventing scratching damage. Landlords and managers can ask renters for references from previous landlords, or require a statement on how prospective tenants prevent cat scratching. The lease agreement could require cats to wear Soft Paws (soft vinyl nail caps) or receive frequent nail trims to keep claws blunt and unlikely to snag carpet or leave deep scratch marks. Other alternatives include appropriate scratching posts, vinyl carpet runners, double-sided sticky tape, or other assurances of protection for the property.
Eight cities in California have already outlawed cat declawing as animal cruelty: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Burbank, and West Hollywood. Other cities and counties throughout the country may do the same. Landlords and managers who require declawing could be criminally liable under such laws, which apply to anyone who participates in the illegal declawing of a cat in any of those jurisdictions.
Declawing is an ineffective and problematic preventative for behavior that can be avoided in many other ways. Landlords and managers need to be aware of the serious problems that accompany declawing, and protect themselves and their properties without requiring this surgical procedure for resident cats.