Lifes Like That

We have had our cat now for over two years and just love him to death.  He is a great pet for the kids and they really enjoy having him in the family.  There is only one problem with this cat, he scratches everything.  It is because of him that we can’t buy new furniture for our living room as the furniture that we now have is completely ruined due to his scratching.  We have spoken to a vet about this and his only solution is to get the cat declawed.  Unfortunately to do this we have to pay a pile of money that we just don’t have.   But, we can’t continue to have him ruin our furniture.  So, it looks like we may have to say goodbye to him.

My husband has found him a good home to go to but I know that the kids will be heartbroken and this is what is bothering me at the moment.  So, my question to you all is do you have any experience in this type of thing or do you have a solution to our problem?