OK, we have three cats and between them they’ve stratched the heck out of the corners of our sofa and love seat. This furniture has leather seating surfaces, with back and sides made from matching faux-leather. It’s the fake stuff they scratched, yanking the stuffing right out of it.
We’d like to get replacements (furniture, not cats, and no, declawing is not an option). Any suggestions as to what cats don’t like to scratch?
One thing we’ve thought of is Mission style furniture, since most of the vertical surfaces are cat-deterrent wood.
This evening I went looking at a local furniture store, and the sales person told me that cats don’t do much damage to microfibre upholstery.
Anyone had experience with this?
BTW-- we’ve already tried cat repellent sprays, we have scratching posts, etc
This only works when you’re there to supervise: Spray them with a watergun or spray bottle when they scratch. Eventually, the sight of the water device will be enough to send them running.
Now they only scratch on the couch when they do the cute stretch-mew-and cuddle routine.
I also have found that the cats love the corrugated cardboard scratching posts and will spend hours trying to tear them up…especially if you douse it in catnip.
You could also get a couch from the thrift store…the price will make it less painful when they slowly destroy it!
I’ve about given up, but I have noticed that they don’t scratch anything with a slipcover, anyone else notice that too?? And slipcovers can be replaced. Of course, only my tattiest couches are slipcovered…
What cats usually like to scratch is textured surfaces. I think
smoothly finished wood would be quite unsatisfying to scratch.
The fabric should definitely be as untextured as possible. I think
microfiber fits that bill, it’s pretty dang smooth.
Unfortunately, cats don’t think the same way. Smooth wood is wonderful to scratch if it is a soft, yeilding wood like pine. I have the torn up pine furniture to prove it. Plaster walls by doorways are wonderful for scratching, as is any fabric that will catch under their claws and give them something to pull against.
This catching is what satisfies their urge to scratch. If a surface does not yeild to their claws, they won’t continue to try to scratch at it. Very expensive hardwood furniture with a glass finish is the best way to go … or plastic.
I guess that’s why the site BillChin posted suggests oak wood
with a hard finish. I wonder if microfiber was suggested because
the tight weave doesn’t catch as easily?
We’ve had the same problems. We replaced two cat-destroyed couches with leather couches. The current cat “Pete” (who played a major role in destroying the junked couches) has no interest in them. In another room, we slip-covered a sofa and love seat and Pete no longer claws them. We have some mission furniture (wood +leather) and Pete leaves it alone.
Pete’s about 15 yrs old. He still claws at some carpeting (we don’t care) but there’s still a damaged easy-chair and ottoman from the set under the slip covers. He sleeps on them but I haven’t seen him claw them in years. Excessive, strategically-placed fur balls are his current annoying
habit.
I will add another vote for mission style furniture, or similar. In fact, that’s all I would get anymore for the cat reason. Anything with a primarily wood frame where the soft parts sit on top of the frame without providing any firm vertical fabric surfaces.
I will also concur that a very scratchy cat will go for soft pine. In the basement we have IKEA pine shelving (cheap but functional,) and she does love those upright pieces. When it is clawed to the collapse point, the relative inexpensiveness of it will keep me from going berserk.
So the wood in your furniture should be a hard hardwood, and very smoothly finished.
She loves pine 2x4’s which make a terrific scratching post. You can nail them to a wall, or to anything vertical if you want to provide an acceptable clawing surface.
Catching, I agree in general, but it’s no guarantee. As to what they’re likely to scratch on, wagers are destined for failure. In my last apartment, herself only used the door hinges for some reason. I’d never seen that before. And there was PLENTY of wood for her to use instead. Gotta love that, right? Well, now she ignores the hinges (same type) and has a little spot on the frame of a glass door to a built-in cabinet that she goes at when I’m not around 'cause I give her hell when she does. It’s mission oak. The real thing, too. It was smoothly finished. My damage deposit is flown away, flown away. rends garment I’ve got a pine-framed thingy in the living room. She doesn’t touch that.
Moral of the story is, if the cat has its claws, something will be scratched. You can never know what or why.
Mine seems to like the challenge of some things that are less likely to catch, and do them in: outdoors, she’s made a project out of a smooth hard plastic garden border thing, going at it with a big smile on her face. It’s got little marks in it now, all right. Trees and roots are for just because, apparently.
Seriously, I’ve had good luck with a good quality scratching post, and especially a two tier cat hidey (cylindical, about two feet tall, with flat top and bottom - set about an inch inside the cylinder ends, two round entry/exit holes, one upper and one lower, inside opening between the two levels, and covered with carpet - about $20US)… whenever feline felons begin scratching where they are not supposed to, we’d remove the beast from the inappropriate object (without ranchor, just simply move them) and attach them to the proper facility and encourage the climbing, scratching, sharpening activity there… didn’t take too many times to make it the first choice. Furniture lasts a lot longer.
We have 2 soft leather sofas, an old cat and a kitten. I have huge pieces of heavy duty canvas over the sofas, and nice throws over the top. When we have guests round, I can take the cat proofing off them, and banish the cats to another room! It’s the only way!
