well, you might think they're being snagged, but they actually chop off the tip of their fingers at the last joint. look at your own hands and you'll see what i mean. cats don't have the same textile sense as we do with that last bit, but they have their own senses where they can manipulate their nails in a way. removing that ability is cruel, imo.
expensive furniture and other stuff can be replanced.
not that i'm suggesting sacrificing ypur expensive stuff. dw has thousands of $ of business suits, shoes, and handbags that the cats think are neat to scratch. we're talking mutilation versus training.
cover your furniture , offer something better to scratch, and train the cat where scratching is ok using both negative (audible) and positive (treats) reinforcements.
the most expensive couch i've ever bought in my life was around $5k, so i know about freaking out when it gets damaged.
but that couch is gone now, and i wish i still had my old cats.