Cats and sofas
Discussion
We're sofa shopping at the moment and have pretty much picked one but we're having a bit of a wobble in regards to material as one of our cats is quite scratchy and has pretty much destroyed one of our old sofas. We had thought that a tight weave velvetfinish may be the most durable material to go for but there's lots of conflicting stuff online and we'd rather not drop £2.5k on a sofa only to have it ruined in a couple of years. Has anyone got any advice or experiences?
Here are the little pricks....
Here are the little pricks....
Quhet said:
Here are the little pricks....
We have two cats, one of which is seemingly incapable of retracting her claws which, combined with her need to remove herself from situations in a panic on an incredibly regular basis, has led to many ruined clothes and soft furnishings! HOWEVER, the one thing that seems impervious to her claws (that last ruined my new pair of Levi's the day I got them...) is our sofa.
It is what I would describe as a kind of "waffle" fabric and, funnily enough, looks like the exact opposite of a material that would fare well in these circumstances. I'm not sure whether it resists the pulls or just disguises them very well.
I can take a close-up photo the fabric tomorrow if you want? I'll also look at what it is called.
We went with something called the resilience range from DFS, it's meant to hard wearing against this type of behaviour. It was the Scafell one we ended up buying but of course, the perhaps 2% of total coverage missed out by this fabric is where our dog has managed to claw. Right at the back of the seat cushion - I doubt cats would be digging that deep, our dog is pretty big and seems to be trying to dig out a comfy spot in the middle of the couch. Other than that though, the actual fabric has held up perfectly well.
WhisperingWasp said:
It is what I would describe as a kind of "waffle" fabric and, funnily enough, looks like the exact opposite of a material that would fare well in these circumstances. I'm not sure whether it resists the pulls or just disguises them very well.
I can take a close-up photo the fabric tomorrow if you want? I'll also look at what it is called.
That would be great, thanks. Where did you get your sofa from? I don't think there is any 'waffle' type fabric available on the sofa we like (or that would meet the approval of my GF unfortunately I can take a close-up photo the fabric tomorrow if you want? I'll also look at what it is called.
)I got those stick on clear sheets to put along the backside of our sofa which did seem to help, also one of those scratch pads that tucks behind the rear cushions and folds over the back of the sofa, doesn't look the best but keeps the sofa from being destroyed.
On a similar note, any tips to stop the little pricks climbing window frames? One of ours insists on trying to jump on the top when its opened slightly and cant make it up, so just climbs the wooden frames and scratches them in the process!
On a similar note, any tips to stop the little pricks climbing window frames? One of ours insists on trying to jump on the top when its opened slightly and cant make it up, so just climbs the wooden frames and scratches them in the process!
Zetec-S said:
wibble cb said:
Get a cat with no claws...ours was a rescue mog, her previous owners had her de clawed (front legs) as she was trashing their furniture....
Umm, isn't that banned in the UK? 
kinglutely. It is a barbaric and cruel thing to do. Anyone who does it should have the tops of their fingers removed to the first knuckle. Because that's what it it. s.We have 5 of the furry pillocks and scratches on sofas. We have found that providing lots of other scratching posts helps a lot. Also velvet is a better material as it shows less scratches. There are also corner scratchers like this one.
https://www.petplanet.co.uk/p19340/sofa_protect_ca...
We have just bought some (for us) hideously expensive sofas. We have resigned ourselves to the fact we have the kitties.
For cats who allow it, you can also use a pair of nail clippers to just snip the pointy end off their nails. Half a millimetre usually does it for ours.
Zetec-S said:
wibble cb said:
Get a cat with no claws...ours was a rescue mog, her previous owners had her de clawed (front legs) as she was trashing their furniture....
Umm, isn't that banned in the UK? Quhet said:
That would be great, thanks. Where did you get your sofa from? I don't think there is any 'waffle' type fabric available on the sofa we like (or that would meet the approval of my GF unfortunately )
It is a French Collection sofa from DFS (one for the council thread?! )
). I’ll take a pic and look it up when I’m home. I say waffle in the loosest sense!WhisperingWasp said:
Quhet said:
That would be great, thanks. Where did you get your sofa from? I don't think there is any 'waffle' type fabric available on the sofa we like (or that would meet the approval of my GF unfortunately )
It is a French Collection sofa from DFS (one for the council thread?! )). I’ll take a pic and look it up when I’m home. I say waffle in the loosest sense!
I *think* the fabric is “ZNW”, whatever that means.
twohoursfromlondon said:
I’ve got a green velvet sofa and my cat doesn’t claw at it, thankfully! Instead I put throws or blanket on it and he kneads those and sleeps on them. He dribbles in his sleep no doubt dreaming of food, and that’s a pain to get off the sofa…
I had my leather sofas (aka scratch posts) removed a while back and have converted the room they were in in to a playroom specifically for the cats. Last week I bought a green velvet sofa for my room. A sofa the cats aren’t allowed on.
Tuxedos suit green velvet. Good taste.
Good luck OP. Beautiful cats.
Gretchen said:
twohoursfromlondon said:
I’ve got a green velvet sofa and my cat doesn’t claw at it, thankfully! Instead I put throws or blanket on it and he kneads those and sleeps on them. He dribbles in his sleep no doubt dreaming of food, and that’s a pain to get off the sofa…
I had my leather sofas (aka scratch posts) removed a while back and have converted the room they were in in to a playroom specifically for the cats. Last week I bought a green velvet sofa for my room. A sofa the cats aren’t allowed on.
Tuxedos suit green velvet. Good taste.
Good luck OP. Beautiful cats.
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