Please help......cats and leather

[happycats]

How do I keep the cats from totally destroying the leather furniture?

We got a leather sofa and lovseat and my cats are lying on the backs, and when they start to slide off, ALL nails go into the leather. Sega who has nevr sharpened his nails on furniture now finds the loveseat makes the perfect scratch post......only 3 months old and holes and scratches all over . DH is not happy at all.

Please help!!!

[Love4himies]

Oh no, happycats . I don't have any advice as my cats don't scratch the couch.

[tweety]

You can buy a product called SSSCAT, made by multivet, he detect's movement when your cat are near it's send a spray of repulsif lime odour or a ultrasound that repulse the cat from there.

Here is the link for the product http://www.ssscat.com/


normally it's work you can try it maybe...

maybe another suggestion a carpet stand can help to change is ideas to do it on the couch, you can put cat herb's on it to bring i'm to the carpet stand.

Hope that work and can help you!!

[Saigo]

Oh my, I'm sorry. I don't have any advice either, but our leather couch and love seat are about 5 years old and they don't like being on it. They only come up when we are on it. There is the odd stratch on it but not bad.

[Dracko]

Hmmm...I bought leather furniture specifically so my cats wouldn't claw it as opposed to cloth furniture. Fortunately they don't so I don't have any advice either really. How about putting a blanket on it when you won't be around to oversee their actions on it?

[Frenchy]

Well that's easy , get them all declawed



just kidding

do you have cat trees ? Since I got mine for the kitties , they don't do the couches anymore. Well, barely ....

[cell]

could try these http://www.softpaws.com/

when I worked at a SPCA we adverted them to clients. It would help while your still in the training process. If all else fails its still a safer and kinder method then claw removal. and they are reuseable. Vets might have them in your town.

[happycats]

Great idea's keep em coming!!

My cats are 15, 13 and two 12 year olds. and they never bothered with all the other furniture we have had throughout the years, but now with leather, it's slippery, so when they start to slide they dig right in, and now Sega who has never bothered with the furniture, now finds the leather irresistable to use as a scratch post !!

My cats have their own condo !!We have about 400 square feet of crawl space,(it's about 4 feet high, cement floor) that all belongs to them. Food, water, toys posts and litter boxes, with a convenient cat door, so the dog can't get in. We have 5 floor to ceiling scratch posts in different materials, jute rope, and carpet, and they do use them.

I just rubbed tiger balm all over the backs of the couches , waiting to see if they still try to jump up there..............the smell is starting to get to me though... OMG I can't win

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by happycats

I just rubbed tiger balm

omg I can't stand that smell ! A coworker used to rub that stuff all over himself

[happycats]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

omg I can't stand that smell ! A coworker used to rub that stuff all over himself

OMG I know, it's awful, I'm dying over here........so far no one has tried to jump up there....guess I'll just have to plug my nose

[clm]

I got 3 very pretty patterned chenille carpet runners and draped them over the top of the sofa. The sofa is against the wall, so they stay in place. They weren't cheap, about $30.00 each, but the cats don't feel like they're slipping when on the back of the sofa, so no more claws.

Cindy

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by happycats

OMG I know, it's awful, I'm dying over here........so far no one has tried to jump up there....guess I'll just have to plug my nose

If it works out , at least you won't have to suffer for no reason

[happycats]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

If it works out , at least you won't have to suffer for no reason

Nope Boowee just walked right across it, no problem

[happycats]

Gotta buy me a huge roll of 2 way tape

[krdahmer]

Ha! Our leather furniture was new a whole 2 days... then Buddy slid off the back and dug two claws right in (the back side thank goodness) leaving two holes and stuffing hanging out! All I do is treat it with the conditioner as often as I remember, and breath deeply every time I see a new scratch. I mean furniture is meant to be lived on, so I don't know why we expect it to not look lived on! Luckily none of my guys do it on purpose, mostly accidental slips or digging in running across it to get a good leap at the big cat tree. I do have blankets over the backs and the arms on the one closest the cat tree, but they aren't kevlar so I'm learning to live with that 'weathered' look leather!

[happycats]

Originally Posted by krdahmer

Ha! Our leather furniture was new a whole 2 days... then Buddy slid off the back and dug two claws right in (the back side thank goodness) leaving two holes and stuffing hanging out! All I do is treat it with the conditioner as often as I remember, and breath deeply every time I see a new scratch. I mean furniture is meant to be lived on, so I don't know why we expect it to not look lived on! Luckily none of my guys do it on purpose, mostly accidental slips or digging in running across it to get a good leap at the big cat tree. I do have blankets over the backs and the arms on the one closest the cat tree, but they aren't kevlar so I'm learning to live with that 'weathered' look leather!

LOL I feel the same as you, who cares it's just a freakin sofa! But DH said we have never been able to have "nice" things because of the cats! I just say I'd rather have pets then nice things any day He said it's embarassing to have people over with cat scratched and torn stuff, I said if they don't like it don't visit
I feel lifes to short to worry about furniture and keping everything perfect. Life is to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest with loved ones (furry ones included) Really, 20 years from now will I remember this sofa? I doubt it very much, but I know I will remember all my furry family

[krdahmer]

Originally Posted by happycats

LOL I feel the same as you, who cares it's just a freakin sofa! Really, 20 years from now will I remember this sofa? I doubt it very much, but I know I will remember all my furry family

Wow I needed that today... you should see the new collection of bitey holes I just found near the bottom.... had to take quite a few deep breaths! I love my kitties... I love my kitties...

[Love4himies]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

Well that's easy , get them all declawed



just kidding

do you have cat trees ? Since I got mine for the kitties , they don't do the couches anymore. Well, barely ....

It's only funny, cause it is coming from you, Frenchy.

Maybe placing the cat trees at the corners that they scratch may help.

[faranya]

I love the sound of those Softpaws. Has anyone tried them? My new kitten is a claw maniac. Friendly as heck, but really active and so little he can't jump high enough to handle sofa and chair backs. So of course, he climbs. Hasn't learned to retract his claws when picked up, either. He's 10 1/2 weeks old. I just made a webpage for him.

So these Softpaws are safe for kittens? I notice they need adhesive.

Brenda

[happycats]

Originally Posted by Love4himies

It's only funny, cause it is coming from you, Frenchy.

Maybe placing the cat trees at the corners that they scratch may help.

Sega scratches the top of the sofa cushion The rest of the damage is from using the sofa/loveseat as a kitty Highway (they run across them at high speed, digging all nails in along the way) and the other damage is from slipping off the backs (they dig all the nails in to stop from falling)
*sigh*

[catlover2]

Sorry to hear about your leather sofa....we got a new one a year ago & I have 2 lively Devon Rex cats that go on a tear several times a day. So far I've only had one scratch on the sofa, and it was from one sliding off. Can you put an old blanket on the top of the sofa and secure it with double-sided tape? That might work. As far as scratching at the cushion, I would remove it when you're not on the sofa. Have one of your scratching posts nearby.....rub catnip into it every once in a while to keep them interested in it. Good luck!

[chico2]

Happycats,we too bought leather after having had a few cloth-sofas destroyed and so far so good,we've had them for about 10yrs now(the sofas),only a few scratches,which adds character to the leather IMO.
I have a couple of throws over the armrests and lots of multicolored pillows,which the cats love to run over,hardly touch the leather.
Also,we have an old house,not open concept,so in the daytime I close the living-room door.
When we are there they can be with us.
I would close the door if you have one,it seems they still have lots of space and several cat-trees.

[ancientgirl]

I feel for you. I have a leather sofa someone gave me, and the sides of the back are all torn up. When I got it I thought, great, I read in a few places leather isn't appealing to them and feels weird on their paws so they don't mess with it.

Riiiiiiiiight.

I've got scratchers for them which they use, but they still use the sofa. I'm considering these huge wall type scratchers I saw at Ikea.

good luck.

[happycats]

Originally Posted by chico2

Happycats,we too bought leather after having had a few cloth-sofas destroyed and so far so good,we've had them for about 10yrs now(the sofas),only a few scratches,which adds character to the leather IMO.
I have a couple of throws over the armrests and lots of multicolored pillows,which the cats love to run over,hardly touch the leather.
Also,we have an old house,not open concept,so in the daytime I close the living-room door.
When we are there they can be with us.
I would close the door if you have one,it seems they still have lots of space and several cat-trees.

That's my DH's plan, to put a door up to keep them out when we are not in the living room.

Did I mention that Buddy sneaks up on the sofa and sleeps there when we aren't home, and when we are sleeping . after coming in from outside we see the evidence (muddy fluffy paw prints ) we also hear him jump down when we approach.

So I think your right, a door is the only hope of keeping the sofa and loveseat in half decent shape in the years to come/.......we also have a cutout fro the kitchen to the living room.....I don't want to block it off permanately, any ideas? maybe bifold doors, or roller blind?

[TacoGrl]

Another vote for scratch posts...I have one where the platform is under the side of the sofa...Mooki and Jaeger prefer/ed the post.

I actually had a leather sofa for a few years and I had a fabirc shhh-DOG-shhh basket on one of the cushions and Jaeger would lay in there...course, Mooki would hit at her with one claw stuck into the sofa arm for balance...

Good luck

[chico2]

Happycats,we started closing the door,because of Rockys spraying,a few things had been destroyed from pee,carpeting was removed etc..,we have french doors,so light is still coming in.
For the other opening,we bought a fold-up dark bamboo trellis from the garden center,folds up easily.

[happycats]

Originally Posted by chico2

Happycats,we started closing the door,because of Rockys spraying,a few things had been destroyed from pee,carpeting was removed etc..,we have french doors,so light is still coming in.
For the other opening,we bought a fold-up dark bamboo trellis from the garden center,folds up easily.

Ohhh I like the bamboo trellis idea for our livingroom/kitchen cut out sounds like that would work. And yes I would still like the light to come through, so french door sounds good, unfortunately our opening is bigger then a door....so we're going to have to figure out how to work around that....maybe a privacy screen, although I think my determined cats will be able to push right past that.