 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / January 2004Protecting leather furniture
I'm about to buy a leather sofa. Any advice about training/preventing cats from damaging it? TIA Stuart Reed >From: "Stuart Reed" stureed@ntlworld.com >I'm about to buy a leather sofa. Any advice about training/preventing cats >from damaging it? Hi Stuart, I have a leather sofa and my cats really don't care for it at all. I suppose some cats might like leather, but mine don't. I would just make sure you have other more enticing scratching surfaces for your cats like a nice tall cat tree and some of those cardboard scratching pads. I would also recommend keeping their claws trimmed. Lauren ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm >> From: "Stuart Reed" stureed@ntlworld.com > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html > Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm I think the biggest worry would be *if* they like to sit on it (mine aren't super fond of the couch unless there is a soft throw on it) is accidental scratching by jumping off it. I would invest in a pretty throw (can be had cheaply from target or walmart etc.) kept on it. Also, if they have a favorite scratching pole or tree, if they would show signs of wanting to scratch (leather isn't terribly attractive; no texture) put it nearby. Karen >I think the biggest worry would be *if* they like to sit on it (mine aren't >super fond of the couch unless there is a soft throw on it) is accidental >scratching by jumping off it. I would invest in a pretty throw (can be had >cheaply from target or walmart etc.) kept on it. Also, if they have a >favorite scratching pole or tree, if they would show signs of wanting to >scratch (leather isn't terribly attractive; no texture) put it nearby. That, plus kneading (if your cats kneed) -- Our kittens have done some damage to my brand new (office) chair, leather. They love it, probably because I cuddle them and let them sleep on me when I'm working, so they're used to the area.  Signature"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! > I think the biggest worry would be *if* they like to sit on it (mine aren't > super fond of the couch unless there is a soft throw on it) is accidental > scratching by jumping off it. I would invest in a pretty throw (can be had > cheaply from target or walmart etc.) kept on it. Also, if they have a > favorite scratching pole or tree, if they would show signs of wanting to > scratch (leather isn't terribly attractive; no texture) put it nearby. Try using a citrus scented spray on it as a deterrent as well. Worked for my Christmas tree... Signature-- ~kaeli~ Never say, "Oops!"; always say, "Ah, interesting!" http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace >Try using a citrus scented spray on it as a deterrent as well. Worked >for my Christmas tree... My wonder product for ceasing peeing on furniture! Haven't wanted to try it on the leather though - may not be very good for it. I keep scat mats on the leather. Scratching has never ben an issue on the leather (but it isn't on the cloth either...) Janet Boss Best Friends Dog Obedience "Nice Manners for the Family Pet" Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com > My wonder product for ceasing peeing on furniture! Haven't wanted to try it on > the leather though - may not be very good for it. I keep scat mats on the > leather. Scratching has never ben an issue on the leather (but it isn't on the > cloth either...) But would a scat mat keep a cat from clawing the side of the couch? Signature-- ~kaeli~ Practice safe eating - always use condiments. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace >But would a scat mat keep a cat from clawing the side of the couch? no - it's only good for the pee problem! Never showed any interest in clawing, and "launch" marks disappeared easily, as good leather "heals" itself. Janet Boss Best Friends Dog Obedience "Nice Manners for the Family Pet" Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com Our cats hate the smell of cocoa butter body lotion so ive just got some rubbed into the leather around the bottom and they won't even go near it > > I think the biggest worry would be *if* they like to sit on it (mine aren't > > super fond of the couch unless there is a soft throw on it) is accidental [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Try using a citrus scented spray on it as a deterrent as well. Worked > for my Christmas tree... > I'm about to buy a leather sofa. Any advice about training/preventing cats > from damaging it? > > TIA > Stuart Reed Hi Stuart, I have 2 cats. Prior to the purchase of a leather sofa and loveseat, one of the cats destroyed an upholstered chair in the living room. I could not get her to stop clawing it, despite various scratch pads and posts. We got the leather loveseat and couch for the same room, removing all upholstered furniture from the room. THEY HAVE NOT touched the leather!!! They refuse to even sleep on it. I guess that the texture is too smooth and they would not get a good "claw" out of it. That was last June and all is still well. Tips would be to keep the claws trimmed (check them weekly!), provide plenty of other places to scratch, etc. Good luck! Beth > We got the leather loveseat and couch for the same room, >removing all upholstered furniture from the room. THEY HAVE NOT >touched the leather!!! I wish we could say the same..We have a new leather deskchair (well, okay, new a year ago) and my cat has shredded the seat of it. She loves the feel of it, and she just claws away. It's like a $300-400 chair that we got for free from work when new furniture was purchased. She has other places that she can claw and she claws those also, but she likes to sleep in the chair, then STRETCH out and claw on the seat. Whatcha gonna do? She's 16, she's going deaf, she's got a problem with one ear. (Small polyp that's deep inside, needs to be removed, but the vet doesn't like putting her under to do it because of the lumpyness of her kidneys. No problems with them yet, but she has had a few problems with sudden weight loss, & elevated calcium for no reason found despite $1000 worth of testing last year...it went away after 4 months.) I suppose we could cover the chair, or put foil on it, or something to make it not "nice" to her....but she loves that chair and she's old. Why do something we'll regret after she dies? The chair makes her so happy, we should let her keep sleeping and clawing it, it's only a chair. If company doesn't like the fact that it's messed up, oh well. They probably won't like my cats either in that case. Angela (Aol.com doesn't hop!) www.rabbitadoption.org Rabbits & small animals for adoption--worldwide links, including vet referrals & other rescues, care tips, mail order products, etc. The only thing our cat does to our leather furniture is crawl in the back and hide. We have a Lane dual reclining leather sofa and our kitty goes in through the back where the couch separates for use as a recliner. One day we could not find kitty and called for her. We heard her meow and thought she was under the couch. She then appeared through the split opening in the back. This is the ONLY time she ever goes near the leather sofa. She has never scratched or even jumped up on it. She always jumps on our cloth furniture, but rarely scratches these as well. We purchased a floor to ceiling platform climbing tower ($29 - walmart) and she is content to scratch on that. Best purchase we ever made. Fun to watch her climb to the ceiling. She also loves to scratch our carpet runner when we roll it up to clean the floor. In fact, I may just make a scratching post out of the material. She loves that carpet runner. > > We got the leather loveseat and couch for the same room, > >removing all upholstered furniture from the room. THEY HAVE NOT [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > www.rabbitadoption.org Rabbits & small animals for adoption--worldwide links, > including vet referrals & other rescues, care tips, mail order products, etc. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.