There’s no cat proof couch. When it comes to sofa materials for cat owners, leather is likely #1 or #2. In my opinion, no material is better overall for scratch and spill prevention. Velvet can be more hard-wearing for scratches, and pleather is better at handling spills. IKEA Rens 100% Genuine Sheepskin Fur – Amazon / eBay. We’re here to talk about protecting leather furniture from cats. You must have a leather sofa or seat you want to protect.
Meaning your cat likes to claw leather. Many cats do this. Before we continue, let’s discuss declawing and nail caps. Declawing is unethical and not an option. Nail caps like Soft Claws are not permanent or damaging to anatomy, but can be dangerous. Some cats remove and swallow them, which is a hazard. Vets have reported caps growing into toes. If your cat doesn’t have these issues, they’re still dangerous. Imagine your indoor cat goes outside. Nail caps mean trouble. Your cat can’t defend itself, climb, or hunt. Your cat’s survival is limited. If you know your cat can’t escape, they’re fine. But if your house isn’t a fortress and your cat might get lost, don’t use nail caps. There are still ways to protect leather furniture without modifying nails. Keeping cat nails trimmed helps minimize damage but doesn’t prevent scratching. What I’ll discuss are three effective options for stopping cats from scratching leather furniture.Discover three effective strategies to safeguard your furniture from cat scratches. The first option involves purchasing products to place on or attach to your couch, preventing it from succumbing to the ravages of cat claws.
The second option focuses on training your cat to cease scratching furniture entirely, which is particularly beneficial if you have multiple furniture pieces you wish to safeguard.
The third option, best when combined with the second, is to increase the number of scratch-worthy items in your home and strategically place them to make your couch less appealing for scratching compared to these designated scratch items.
Let’s delve into each option in detail.
WARE Wood Angled Sisal Cat Scratcher Pad – Available on Amazon / eBay
How to Stop Your Cat from Scratching Leather Furniture
Option 1: Cat Scratch Furniture Protectors
The most immediate and straightforward solution to the issue of cat scratches on leather furniture is to invest in furniture cat scratch protectors. There is a variety of these protectors on the market, and here’s a brief overview of each type.
Couch protector covers can fully or partially cover chairs, sofas, and other furniture, safeguarding them from scratches and, in many cases, spills such as cat urine or vomit. They come in the form of transparent plastic covers that can cover the entire couch when you’re away from home and unable to supervise your cats (e.g., Kitty Cat Protector Plastic Couch Cover For Pets).
They also come as waterproof slipcovers in case your cat has frequent accidents (e.g., Mambe 100% Waterproof Furniture Cover). Some, made from fabrics ranging from cotton to velvet, can transform an old, scratched sofa into one that looks brand new. Consider this if you’re content with your couch’s comfort but not its scratched appearance (e.g., Chunyi Jacquard Sofa Covers).
Clear plastic cat scratch guards are, in my opinion, the most advantageous type of furniture protector if you’re aiming to prevent damage or further damage to specific parts of your couch. They are transparent with either adhesive tape backing suitable for leather, or if you have re-upholstered fabric furniture you’d also like to protect, you can opt for versions with push pins (e.g., Couch Guard the Cat Claw Protector).
Couch cat scratchers embody the adage, “If you can’t beat them, join them!” by addressing cats’ natural tendency to scratch furniture. These are essentially scratching posts and mats you can place on your sofa, typically on the front corners or sides where cats usually scratch. This not only covers existing damage but also satisfies cats’ scratching urges in a non-destructive manner. Some of these are aesthetically pleasing and can enhance the look of a shredded couch (e.g., Sofa-Scratcher’ Cat Scratching Post & Couch-Corner/Furniture Protector).
Amazon Basics Large Cat Activity Tree – Available on Amazon / eBay
Option 2: Train Your Cat to Stop Scratching Furniture
If your cat is not only scratching your leather couch but also damaging much more, and you want them to stop and find another place to sink their claws, it’s worth taking the time to train your cat to cease scratching where you don’t want those nails to dig in.
It really is worth undergoing this type of training, though it takes time and effort. It’s not hard, just needs patience. I won’t go through everything about the training process as I have an article on how to train your cat to stop scratching furniture.
That work? Good, now grab as many scratchable things as you can. Up your scratch-worthy item game to the point where your cat’s not interested in human furniture anymore.
Don’t really have the space because you live in a small apartment? There are quite a number of narrow, tall cat trees that work really well for slim areas of your home. Or, if you’re not afraid of drilling into walls or floors, you could go the hyper minimalist, most aesthetically pleasing, cheapest, and most space-efficient route by grabbing floor-to-ceiling cat trees for your crib. Have the opposite problem? Have a lot of space, and thus need quite a lot of scratch able surfaces? Don’t break the bank. Besides scratching posts, you can also grab cardboard cat scratchers for your cat to use instead. They’re really well loved by so many cats, and are so easy to move around to different spaces. You can bring ’em around with you as you move from room to room if you want. Prefer a cat tree, but worried about the price? Try some of these inexpensive cat towers – there are some excellent finds out there. Then there are a plethora of small cat trees – which are essentially scratch posts with beds and other cat-friendly features like toys integrated into them. They’re excellent for rooms in your house your cat goes into regularly, but not regularly enough for a whole cat tree. I have one in the spare bedroom my Avery uses to play with his springs in, for instance. Really hate the idea of having your home overrun by cat stuff? Would prefer it if your cat scratch surfaces were low-key, in cognito and blended in with the rest of your stuff? There are so many different everyday alternatives you can use as replacements for scratching posts – things like furs, rugs, blankets. As long as you have enough of those as approved places for your furball to scratch, and your cat knows what’s fair game for his/her claws and what’s not, your sofa should be pretty safe from harm. That probably means placing a rug (like a nice big Persian style rug, or one made out of sisal!) right beneath your leather sofa’s feet or draping a scratchable mat, blanket, or fur over the side to keep your cat from damaging the furniture. Your Thoughts on Cats Scratching Leather? Do you have any tips, tricks, or stories about cats scratching leather? Do you have a leather sofa at home? Has your cat ever tried to claw it up? Which section of the couch does your cat like to scratch? Have you ever tried to repair a leather sofa that’s been damaged by cat scratches before? Have you tried anything in terms of prevention? What worked? What hasn’t? Please leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments below – I’m sure every pet parent in this boat will be grateful for the advice!
