i ask as i am thinking of buying new faux leather sofas ,as i have purchased a faux leather footstool this weekend and my cats havent strached it which is amazing,as all my material furniture is strached with great big holes in(i have to cover the sofas with throws ,which is the bane of my life to keep straightening all the time!).
fyi i have cat straching posts etc ,my four cats have access to the outside aswell.
if your cats do stratch faux leather/leather sofas ,have you found a sofa material that they will leave alone?
btw i will only use faux leather as im veggie
thanks :)
2007-03-04 03:19:45 · 20 answers · asked by gigi 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
In my experience, cats will scratch anything that they know will wind you up and get attention - I have scratching posts dotted around the house, but my bunch STILL insist on pulling their claws on the stair carpets, the sofa, the wooden door frame and my most expensive dress! Funnily enough, they only seem to do it when I am around and they are trying to get my attention! But I realised recently while I was in bed that I very rarely have to shout at them to stop scratching at things at night when they know they will not get the attention they want from me. During the day, I have to deal with numerous bouts of scratching at the wrong places.
I have a faux suede sofa in my front room - I purchased it KNOWING that the cats would pull their claws on it at some point, even if by accident! Because of the nature of the fabric with its short suede-like pile, it has stood up VERY well to the cats' scratching activities. Previously, I had a sofa with removable cotton covers - they were easy to remove for washing, but the pulled threads were pretty obvious and the material would not have lasted forever. After 3 years of use, the covers desperately needed to be replaced. But with the faux suede sofa, I have had nearly 6 years of wear from it and it looks ALMOST as good as it did when it was new. With 8 cats in the house - all competing for their share of the attention, I would consider that to be a pretty good recommendation for the faux suede material!
I cannot give you any direct advice on the faux leather in comparison, but it really depends on the finish and how tightly woven it is. If it is like the old faux leathers with a plasticy-rubber finish adhered to a base fabric, then I would think that this would be a mistake once the finish has been pierced and snagged and torn by cat scratches! If the faux leather has a smooth and/or shiny finish , it would probably quickly show any imperfections and jags caused by their claws. The reason that the faux suede has worked so well is that it already has a rougher-looking finish so the damage from claws is less obvious.
When I first brought each of my 8 cats into my home, I was very careful to make sure that they each learned some basic rules and boundaries. The words No, Stop, Oi, and Down are as much a part of their recognised lingo as are food, treats, mouse, and the universal call of a cat to diner - the sound of a tin opener! So, when they do pull their claws on something, at least I can get them to stop quickly enough. But they still do it!
I hope that this helps you with your decision....
Jara
2007-03-04 05:48:26 · answer #1 · answered by Jara 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cats and leather do not mix. (You have probably already found that out though) If the scratches are not deep you can use Murphys Oil soap to try and clean and massage the scratch. (Remember leather is the skin of a cow or what ever type of animal.and it is much more forgiving than vynal (sp?)) For the future it is best to keep the cats away from the leather furniture. (good Luck with that!) There are repellant sprays that you can spray on the leather which discourages cats from going there. Maybe you should spray around the sofa so they don't even want to get near it.
2016-03-28 23:18:37 · answer #2 · answered by Beth 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fake Leather Sofa
2017-01-03 13:49:28 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Faux Leather Furniture
2016-11-11 04:21:56 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have got a leather sofa and the cats do not scratch it on purpose however, they do mark it when they jump up on it to access the window where they like to sleep - because it is real leathger I can get rid of these marks with leather wipes etc but I am not sure if that would damage a faux one
2007-03-04 03:25:55 · answer #5 · answered by lovelylittlemoo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've had a faux leather sofa and I was so paranoid of the cats clawing it that the second Kiki jumped on it I pushed him off. Well his back claws(he is front declawed) dug in and now my couch has a noticible ripple scratch on it.I still haven't found a product to cover it. And when my cats are all lovey and try to get up on my lap they usually knead at the couch first. It drives me nuts since one doesn't like laps in the first place and the other flops on me. I've tried tin foil b/c they're not supposed to like the feel of it. BUT, my kitten loves to hide and play in it. Frusterating really. You can use throws but they slip off easily or try the soft paws glue on nail covers (mine both hate them and chew them off) so I've pretty much been forced to declaw the big on about a year ago, and he is fine, goes through the motions and healed well with proper care, and the male kitten is going to b declawed when it is old enuf for a good neutering. I wish I didn, have to but I don't live in the country anymore.
2007-03-04 03:37:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually it depends on the cat. I have had cats which never scratch true leather as I have others which did and this is valid for any kind of material your sofa is made of. I wish you good luck to you and your new sofa.
2007-03-04 03:24:44 · answer #7 · answered by remy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes but as soon as they do it for the first time get a water spray (like what hairdressers use) and spray them with it. Usually does the trick and they learn to assosiate the spray with the scratching of the sofa (my friends mum does this and they dont touch her leather sofa).
If you have a scratch post spray it with a cat nip spray and they will use it all the time. They will do anything for cat nip.
2007-03-04 20:30:02 · answer #8 · answered by Lady Claire - Hates Bigotry 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's funny yeah a cat would kill that sofa and I'm not just saying that but if you get a scratching post for your cat then maybe you could save the sofa.
2007-03-04 03:31:28 · answer #9 · answered by Jazz 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cats will scratch anything they want to put their scent on or to mark their territory.
You can yell, use a suirt bottle, but chances are they are going to keep scratching it.
We had 2 reclining chairs that my cats pulled the suffing out of. We replaced them and bought covers for them. So they scratch at the covers, but atleast the chairs aren't being damaged.
So get a $40 slip cover for it at Target or something and just take it off when you have company.
2007-03-04 17:40:39 · answer #10 · answered by latchkeykid30 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋