Leather furniture + claws = AHHHH!

I just purchased a new leather and suede recliner. I DO NOT want my kitties sharpening their claws on it. How do I prevent that? Maybe those plastic colored nail caps?

We used a "scat mat" (a mat that gives a static shock--unpleasant but not harmful) on our new leather furniture. After several months of daily use (although the cats didn't "test" them daily), we removed them and the cats still stay off. We also have dogs , so the nail caps wouldn't work for them, but I imagine they'd do fine if you have kitties.

Cally

Oh yikes... I wouldn't resort to shocking my cat over having a leather couch...

I think those snazzy nail caps are a good way to go. I think they look cute too...

But I'm sure someone will give you some more ideas on what they did with their cats. We have old crappy furniture and when we catch them scratching on it, we make a loud noise. They really don't scratch it often as we have tons of cat furniture which they'd rather hang out on!

Angel is the only one who does it. SHe does it on the couch I have now, which is cloth, and I make a loud noise to get her to stop. I think I'll look into the nail caps, they're fairly inexpensive, though I think I'll need an army to help me get them put on!!

You can do the nail caps, that's a good one, or try double sided sticky tape on the corners of the couch (or wherever they're prone to scratching) and lots of supervision int he beginning.

Soft claws is an idea. Though I have to ask, what are you thinking getting leather/suede furniture with cats? Some luxuries you have to give up to avoid these situations
Heres the direct link from this site for Soft Paws
http://www.discountpetdrugs.com/softpaws3sizes.html

Originally Posted by cheylink

Soft claws is an idea. Though I have to ask, what are you thinking getting leather/suede furniture with cats? Some luxuries you have to give up to avoid these situations

Heres the direct link from this site for Soft Paws
http://www.discountpetdrugs.com/softpaws3sizes.html

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We buy leather furniture because we have (a) cat(s), as it doesn't seem as attractive to sharpen claws on as cloth. I'm not so sure about suede, though.
We "collect" old cloth covered chairs, and keep one out for Jamie to destroy. He's happy, and we don't have to worry about the "good" furniture.
Soft claws should do the trick, though.

Well, I liked the suede and leather for mainly the fact that cat hair will not weave it's way into the fabric. I also have a lab and he sheds like crazy! The microfiber/suede does a great job at almost repelling the fur, it's very easy to just wipe off. My mom and dad have leather couches and it's so much easier to keep clean. Their cats don't like the leather either.

I have a leather couch and the cats do not sharpen their claws on it. It has some small scratches, from when they've been chasing each other over them. I think leather is a much better choice than cloth!

our leather sofas have all been attacked by one of our cats I think we'll have Miss Moofs in for questioning

I was keen to see if anyone had some suggestions (apart from soft-claws)

During the time we are in I can watch what goes on, so whoever is the culprit keeps away.

When we are out, or go to bed - we have a 'anti-scratch' procedure I put things in front of the areas that are potential scratching posts - just things like cushions, a bag of cat-lit, waste paper basket etc.......it all looks a rather unattractive, but if we're not in I dont care and cos these things are in the way, those little scratchers cant reach to have a manicure

Theres go to be a better solution

I've had cats for years and never had a proper scratching post. (Ex-husband: "Don't spend money on a scratching post - I'll make one!" - THAT never happened!)

Along the way, the cats got used to tearing up the hand-me-down couches we always had.

A few years ago I decided that enough was enough, because I figured I may want nicer furniture some day. The book Tribe of the Tiger suggests to change a cat's behavior offer him a more attractive alternative. I bought them a large cat toy with sissle and poles to climb and different levels - you've seen them. I put it in the livingroom and sprinkled cat nip on it when I got it home and called my cats to come see.

They stopped using the couches right away.

We've had two kittens for several months now and we have ALL leather furniture! Luckily, as long as their nails are clipped short they don't seem to scratch up the furniture badly. They have fallen off a few times playing and caught claws in the top corner's but so far they haven't gone all of the way through the leather. Most small scratches can be rubbed out with oil and a soft cloth.

Have you ever seen cardboard cat scratching posts? Like a rectangular cardboard box with a sort of beehive texture inside.They are really cheap - under 5 euros - and have catnip in them.

I have found that my girls like to scratch these over anything else, and because they're cheap you can put them allover. As long as there is a fresh cardboard cat scratch thing nearby, my girls will use that instead of wallpaper, or furniture and if they forget, there is something nearby I can redirect their attention to. (Say 'no' firmly when they scratch the sofa, redirect to the cat scratching box and praise like mad when they dig their claws in)

So if I were you I'd try getting my hands on a couple of those.
I'll see if I can't find a link. Yes here, but this one's really expensive, you should be able to find cheaper. http://www.amazon.com/Worldwise-Smar.../dp/B00062B84O

Originally Posted by Elania

Have you ever seen cardboard cat scratching posts? Like a rectangular cardboard box with a sort of beehive texture inside.They are really cheap - under 5 euros - and have catnip in them.

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I have those and they are really good - the only problem I have is that they lie on the floor - and the culprit leather sofa scratcher likes to stretch upwards - I´ve tried leaning them against the sofa, but of course they just get kncoked over. Other than that they are a good distraction

You can slightly modify them. If they come with the a flap at the top to hang on a store rail, you can reinforce it with some duct tape (if the flap is doubled over, you can cut of bit of coat hanger so it's no longer than the flap is wide and slide it inside the flap along the fold at the top , then duct tape it closed). That way you can hang them on your wall with a nail, and voila, vertical scratchy thing.

If you hang the just with the card board flap, then the nail will pull through in just a few days (if that long), but by reinforcing them they can last quite a while .

Alternatively, in one of my rental houses, the owner had clad the walls with some weird plastic stuff, so I was able to duct tape directly to that top and bottom and it semed to work OK.

We like our leather sofas because only one cat has ever scratched them, and we redirected the scratching elsewhere, and because we do eat, drink, and snack on them a lot, so spills of anything can be wiped off instantly with no damage done at all, and that makes them terrific compared to any other kind!