Do leather couch work okay with cats (declawed in front) (floor, sofas)
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We have 2 cats in our house, and currently have microfiber sofas that are absolute magnets for cat hair and are near impossible to keep hair-free for more than 5 minutes.
We are considering replacing the sofas with leather or imitation leather so we only have to wipe off any hair.
Our main concern is the cats ripping the leather. They are declawed in the front, but not the back.
You can still have cat damage from back claws; they use them to push off when they jump on a surface that seems less than stable, or slippery. However, if you use Soft Claws on their remaining claws, you won't have to worry about damage.
You can still have cat damage from back claws; they use them to push off when they jump on a surface that seems less than stable, or slippery. However, if you use Soft Claws on their remaining claws, you won't have to worry about damage.
Yes, our beautiful wooden dining table is evidence of that Maybe we should consider soft claws. Do you use them? Do the cats seemed bother by them, and try to bite them off?
You will have damage. I have two cats. One with front paws declawed and the second cat with all paws. They love to play and chase each other. We purchased a 1,000 recliner for my husband earlier this summer. So about two weeks ago the cats were playing and chasing each other. The all declawed cat leaped onto the recliner, my second cat with back claws followed. I have a deep scratch across the arm and deep scratches in the seat of the chair. Cats do use their back claws.
I have 2 cats, one just back claws, one with both front and back claws. We have a huge Leather sectional and yes it has a few scratches here and there, but you have to point it out to find them. I find I would take a few scratches then a couch covered in cat hair and constantly have to vacuum. I also have children so I prefer the leather to clean up spills etc. We got our couch as a floor model special so that helped in not felling so bad if it gets a bit banged up. Life happens, The couch won't be perfect forever, cats or no cats, unless you never sit on it or cover it in plastic. I find Leather much easier to maintain with cat hair.
Well - keep in mind there are several different types/grades of leather.
We had a sofa (double reclining, red leather) that was in a very thick, "harder" leather -- not the buttery soft type that is so wonderful, but damages very easily. We have currently 10 indoor front declawed cats. While there were a few minor "scuff" marks, there were no major damage points to this sofa.
Similarly we have a sectional in a dark brown leather of the same type - again 2 years, very minimal damage.
Now, we have a single black leisure chair (Soooooo comfy) in the buttery soft leather (you just love to touch the chair because it feels so nice...) .. that was pretty much damaged (big scratch) the first couple of days it was in the house.
So - leather is practical, but you need to pick the right kind of leather.
The leather that is tougher and meant to "wear" (i.e. distress with age) will do better and as the leather itself is scuffed/wrinkled with age what damage they do will be less and less visible.
A very formal, tightly stretched buttery soft thin leather - will damage more easily, and will be unable to hide the damage that is done.
Good Luck! We love our leather (only have upholstery in one room now) - but you have to pick it out with an eye for durability, not just looks!
Well - keep in mind there are several different types/grades of leather.
We had a sofa (double reclining, red leather) that was in a very thick, "harder" leather -- not the buttery soft type that is so wonderful, but damages very easily. We have currently 10 indoor front declawed cats. While there were a few minor "scuff" marks, there were no major damage points to this sofa.
Similarly we have a sectional in a dark brown leather of the same type - again 2 years, very minimal damage.
Now, we have a single black leisure chair (Soooooo comfy) in the buttery soft leather (you just love to touch the chair because it feels so nice...) .. that was pretty much damaged (big scratch) the first couple of days it was in the house.
So - leather is practical, but you need to pick the right kind of leather.
The leather that is tougher and meant to "wear" (i.e. distress with age) will do better and as the leather itself is scuffed/wrinkled with age what damage they do will be less and less visible.
A very formal, tightly stretched buttery soft thin leather - will damage more easily, and will be unable to hide the damage that is done.
Good Luck! We love our leather (only have upholstery in one room now) - but you have to pick it out with an eye for durability, not just looks!
This is so true! Our last chair was a different kind of leather and hid scratches well but this time around we got the buttery soft and have more gouges and scratches than we had before. I wish I would have thought about that before buying it.
Yes, our beautiful wooden dining table is evidence of that Maybe we should consider soft claws. Do you use them? Do the cats seemed bother by them, and try to bite them off?
I use the, front and back. No problems. I have to replace one or two every other week.
For some reason we never had problems with our multiple cats and our leather furniture. They jump on it and sometimes sleep on it, but no scracth markes. It's not super hard leather, it's pretty soft. We've had our furniture over 10 years. Sometimes they scrath a fabric ottoman we have though.
Years ago we had a leather wingback chair and our cats at the time, indoors only, did a number on the "wings". I guess these particular cats don't like leather.
We switched from fabric-covered furniture to leather for the same reason - pet hair. We chose a "hard" leather in a medium dark brown. Our active cats have scratched the leather, but like peanut24, you really have to look hard to find the scratches ... which are actually few in number because I noticed the cats jump onto the leather differently than they did with fabric - they are less likely to climb the leather because their claws don't grab it as easily as fabric.
This also plays into no more furniture arms as scratching posts!!
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Maybe we should consider soft claws. Do you use them? Do the cats seemed bother by them, and try to bite them off?
