Leather couch and cat: This won't work, right?

[onelanerode]

DH and I are looking at new furniture. We don’t love leather, but we love that pet hair doesn’t stick to leather. We also love the greater resistance to dust mites that leather offers.

However, we have a cat. She is saucy and sassy and likes to do butt-scoots across our furniture at approximately 90 mph. We suspect this has resulted in the little tears our current, 13-year-old chenille sofa has (it is done for, I’m afraid). Although I keep her claws trimmed, I’m not convinced that a leather sofa is going to stand up to 90 mph butt-scoots, and I would not be really impressed to find puncture marks in what I suspect will be a rather expensive piece of furniture.

What are your experiences? Are there better materials out there for couches/chairs/loveseats? I’m not keen on chenille again; while soft and comfy to sit on, it’s a freaking pet hair magnet, and once cat hair is on it, it is never coming back off. :no:

I want something that is impervious to kitteh butt-scoots and doesn’t grab hair and keep it.

[grayarabpony]

I just use a cover for my couch and matching towels at the corners and wash them regularly. I would think a cat would make a pin cushion out of a leather couch.

My parents had a leather chair and the cats didn’t tear it up, but they were largely outdoor cats and were lap cats at night. That thing was cold in winter though!

[2tempe]

We had one cat who LOVED to “knead” on a leather briefcase. and a leather tote bag. Now we have a cat who does not even go on the leather couch. She has left a few claw marks on the leather bar stools because she jumps up onto them…
I’d worry a bit, though the couch will probably hold up quite well even if its not so visually perfect.

[cowboymom]

I have a leather chair and the sides are shredded by the cats. I’ll get leather again b/c I love it for being easy to clean ect but I just won’t spend a ton of money on it. You could try throwing a blanket over ect to protect it and that will buy some time. I sleep better at night not spending big money on furniture!

[clint]

Quite a few years ago we bought leather furniture, a couch and love seat. We have a gazillion cats, but we loved the idea of something cat hair wouldn’t cling to. Our cats are quite good about not scratching furniture, but when they cantered across it, they left little scratches and holes. What I wish we had done was bought furniture made out of that heavy saddle leather instead of plushy, soft stuff. I have heard that holds up pretty well to anything except using the sofa as a scratching post, which my cats don’t do. As it is, we have throws over them and those work well.

[JanM]

There are many finishes, and styles of leather. A really soft, pliable leather won’t hold up at all, but a really thick leather should be just fine.

Definitely avoid the part vinyl (usually sides, and back), leather seat and cushion type. I bet the vinyl parts will be easy for the cats to rip up, and the leather is generally soft in the types I’ve run into.

[baxtersmom]

I am the happiest woman in the world that I bought a twill slipcovered couch (think Pottery Barn style) – machine washable AND I bought an extra set of slipcovers. Cat hair doesn’t stick too bad, what does comes off with the vacuum, and barfs (and kitties tipping over my coffee) wash out.

[Coyoteco]

Most of the furniture in our family room where the cats hang out is micro fiber. That works really well. We have a couple of leather chairs - and for the most part the cats have treated the leather well, too. So, both have worked for us. I will say there was a leather office-type chair that was shredded, but when it was replaced with another leather office-type chair, I said “No.” and they listened for the most part.
That micro fiber material (Lazy Boy) has worked well with the cats as it doesn’t hold the cat hair. My chair is leather, though, because if I’ve done something with hay, the hay does stick to the micro fiber.

[SuckerForHorses]

We have an all leather, high quality leather couch, and both dogs and the cat are on it all the time. The only sign of wear is where my cattle dog is too lazy to pick up his feet when he jumps up, and his back toenails (even though I keep them trimmed) have left scuff marks on the leather. But, they are where we sit…so we cannot see them…and the couch is so comfortable, once we sit, we don’t worry about it! :lol:

[WinsomeTK]

This takes some work, but soft paws: http://www.softpaws.com - nail caps that make the nails not sharp. So no scratching, even though they still can perform the stretchy moves that they like without hurting furniture. So that’s one less thing to think about, but the hair… I only have couch fabric regrets in my house.

Not recommended if your cat turns into the devil when you trim his/her nails.

[BuddyRoo]

I have had the same leather furniture since 2001. It was handmade of butter soft leather in Italy when I lived there. Custom. My dogs are all over it and we don’t have any issues. For your kitty, I’d consider nail trims and/or soft paws.

Personally, I feel like high quality leather is way more able to stand up to use than the cheap rough stuff. My DH had some leather furniture (cheaper stuff–although he paid more than me!) and it looked like hell in just 2 years with only KIDS and ADULT humans using it.

[dbtoo]

I have three cats with all their claws and a leather sofa and chairs that all look brand new. The cats have no desire to sleep on the leather and never even thought about using it as a scratch pad. I think any kind of nubby cloth is a much worse option.

[tabula_rashah]

My parents have 4 mostly indoor cats and quite a bit of leather furniture- They’ve never had a problem with the cats doing any damage to it.

[cloudy18]

We’ve had good luck with microfiber. Surprisingly, hair doesn’t stick to it too badly. It’s easy to vacuum and spot clean. I’d like leather too, but have visions of the cats trashing it.

[talkofthetown]

Haven’t read all the comments, but here’s my experience. We have leather living room furniture, but we bought it used so we weren’t as concerned. Honestly, the dogs have caused more damage by jumping on and off the couch than the cats have. Our cats haven’t really caused any noticeable scratch marks, except for the kitten when she is killing an imaginary creature in the leather chair and she scratches it to death. Bensmom’s leather balm helps buff it out, though.

[rockonxox]

I have a cat and 3 dogs. The cat is not declawed and while I try to keep up with trimming his nails I confess they at times grow into daggers. However, I have never had a problem with him and my leather couch. My problem is from the dogs running and jumping off of it like idiots

I’m going to try that Bensmom’s idea as one corner of my couch (which I call the launching pad) needs some love.