"The front paws of a cat are delicate sensory organs, organs of locomotion, and dexterous tools that perform countless tasks. Cats walk on their toes, like ballet dancers. A cat uses healthy paws and claws to grasp, groom, dig and rake litter material/earth, walk, balance, mark territory, defend itself and others (kittens, et al.), climb, play, knead, communicate, and perform countless ongoing routine tasks of living.

Cats have a dominant forepaw and hind paw, usually the left, just as humans have a dominant hand and foot, usually the right.

The DNA of the cat is closest to that of man of any animal other than the primates.  The same part of the feline and human brain correspond to emotion.  The brain:body ratio is the same for man and cat.  (See: "The Human--Cat Connection" and "Cats: Nature's Masterwork," National Geographic, June, 1997.)

 "Almost prehensile in their ability to grab, cuff, tap, hold, and snatch, a cat's front paws possess a versatility unique to felines." (Wild Cats of the World by Barbara Sleeper, Crown Publishers, Inc., NY, 1995)

A cat at the Vatican independently routinely opened the door to the kitchen at mealtimes by reaching up and turning the doorknob!  See book, (Cat Shots, published by the National Geographic Society in 1998).  

Cat survived ride on top of car at 60 mph  (news clip from Metro, May 24, 2004). "Joe clung on for dear life with his claws to the groove at the top of the rear door.  It's unbelievable."

Information from Harriet Baker, author of  The Shocking Truth of Declawing Cats,  http://catcatalyst.wordpress.com/