Training, soft paws, and distraction should all be considered before declawing. if there is a surgeon around who does it, tendonectomy is something that can be considered too. What this does is remove the tendons so the claws cant be "put out". You have to vigilant with nail trimming, but its less invasive than cutting off the toe tips.
To declaw a domestic cat you do amputate the tip of the digit (basically the third phalanx). Done correctly with adequate pain medication post operatively the vast majority of the cats I've seen don't have residual pain or lameness issues. As a matter of fact the majority of the kittens are too active post operatively and there is a risk of them opening up the incision sites. That said, I've also seen a few cats in which case there was absolutely no doubt they had a botched surgery and they had ongoing problems. The older the cat is, the harder the surgery is on them--unfortunately many cats territorial behaviorial issues that fuel scratching dont come out until the cat is mature.
If the choice for the cat is euthanasia (ie a cat that is scratching the owner or insisting on destroying the house) or declaw, declawing becomes an alternative that needs to be considered. I will only declaw domestic cats, and then only do a front declaw unless there is extenuating circumstances. I flat out refuse to declaw any exotic cat species no matter who the owner is unless there is a valid medical reason to consider that surgery. If you want to own a tiger, you can own one with claws as far as I'm concerned.
And DO NOT think a front declawed cat is defenseless. Some of the scars I've got on my right arm have come from a declawed cat. That cat basically filleted me with its hind feet while it bit the crap out of me.
