Leather furniture and cats....do they mix?

[sherry7]

I'll call this budget related, since I don't want to buy new furniture again in a couple of years.

We BADLY need new living room furniture...the cushions on the old stuff are totally smashed down after only 5 years, the recliners on the ends of the couch keep breaking, and it basically looks like rejected furniture from a college dorm. On the other hand, the fabric itself (microfiber) has worn great. Spills are super easy to wipe up, and even ink pen marks wipe right off. Even though the cats are constantly on it, I can't see any claw marks.

So I went looking at furniture earlier today, and found a couple of leather sets that I really like. I've had leather before, but that was B.C. (before cats).

2 of my cats are declawed on the front, but the 3rd one still has all of his. Generally, he's pretty respectable with his claws, and is good about using his scratching post. That being said, you never know when a stray claw is going to hit the furniture though. All 3 cats are frequently on the furniture, and at this point, they're not going to be trained to stay off it.

So...do any of you have leather living room furniture AND cats? How does it hold up? Is a stray claw going to ruin it? I'd really rather have the leather set than another microfiber set, but only if it's claw safe.

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[Brendita]

Have 2 cats.
Both front declawed.
Had leather furniture before.
Even with them being declawed.
We had scratch marks on the furniture.
They like to run and jump, chasing each other.
My DXH got the furniture.
I got the cats.
I now have cloth furniture.
No scratch marks, just fur.
So I do have it vacumn a little more often.
As I love the cats more than the furniture.
I'm happy with my choice.
GOOD LUCK.

 

[catgirl]

I have 1 cat that has front feet declawed. My cream colored leather furniture is 5 yrs old. There are scratches on it, from her jumping on to it, but not bad. Animals are generally hard on all furniture/carpet in some way. I like my leather better than fabric, because it is easier to clean (hairball messes wipe up very easy) and their hair doesn't stick. I would definately purchase leather again. Hope this helps!!!!!!

 

[sherry7]

Thanks for the info ladies.

From the sounds of it, I'm going to get scratches regardless on leather. But, they'd probably show less on ivory colored leather, right?

Decisions, decisions! It would probably be easier if I just ditched the furniture and got a few beanbag chairs.

 

[WDWorBUST]

We had fake leather and cats with back claws only. OMG - we had little holes all in it from them chasing each other. They would dig in with their back claws when they would stop or change direction.

 

[GinCar]

As we were furniture shopping last year, the salesman asked if we had cats because we were looking at leather furniture. He said cats and leather do not mix.
Good luck, I really despise furniture shopping ( I am missing that particular female gene!)

 

[cinnamon-sugah]

Our cats have DESTROYED our leather couch! They don't touch the cloth recliner other than to lay on it but we will have to replace the couch soon. Small scratches would be the least of our problems. We finally had to buy a slipcover to make-do until we buy a new cloth couch because they clawed the back corners until the stuffing started coming out!

 

[nolacindy]

Our two cats are declawed in the front and we have a dark red/maroon leather chair. No clawing but I will agree with others that when they get to playing or chasing tails we do get small scratches. Nothing really to worry about though! I finally put a throw blanket in the seat and no more scratches

 

[NYCDiane]

My darling kitties absolutely DESTROYED my leather office chair. Jumping on it, jumping off it, they put claw holes and scratches all over it....

I would never have leather furniture with pets in the house.

 

[coastiewifern]

Wow I am really surprised. We got leather furniture 7 years ago (maroon). We've had a cat with all her claws for 3 years now. Our furniture looks great. She has never scratched it and she does jump up there. She doesn't have another animal to chase but she loves chasing balls and sometimes jumps off the couch to do it. We are getting a new kitten in a few weeks hope she is kind to it. Our leather furniture is so easy to care for. We did invest and bought Lane furniture(I don't know if there is any difference in the leather quality between brands).

 

[sherry7]

Well, it seems like the general consensus is that cats and leather furniture don't mix. I'll definitely buy something different then. Other than microfiber (which I know works well), does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[sunnyday123]

Well, it seems like the general consensus is that cats and leather furniture don't mix. I'll definitely buy something different then. Other than microfiber (which I know works well), does anyone have any suggestions?

Something the same color as the cat(s) so you can't see all the hair....my next set of furniture is going to be a mix of black,brown and white.

 

[sherry7]

Something the same color as the cat(s) so you can't see all the hair....my next set of furniture is going to be a mix of black,brown and white.

Ha ha! That's actually a good idea, but my cats are black, orange & white, and a siamese mix. That would be some darned UGLY furniture!

On a sad note, I've actually heard of people who got rid of their cat because it didn't match the color of the new furniture/carpet.

 

[sunnyday123]

Ha ha! That's actually a good idea, but my cats are black, orange & white, and a siamese mix. That would be some darned UGLY furniture!

On a sad note, I've actually heard of people who got rid of their cat because it didn't match the color of the new furniture/carpet.

yea, me too. I have a calico ( black, orange, white ) a tortie ( black, orange) and a ahem...Ragdoll ( seal point mitted-which just means he's white and a brownish-greyish long haired diva ) and they all shed like it's a contest.

 

[PinkRhombus]

Are you looking at inexpensive leather furniture? You're going to run into more problems with that as if you were buying a quality piece. My dad has one that you could try all you want to damage it, but it's 30 years old and was probably expensive at the time, but the thing looks practically brand new.

Religiously conditioning it keeps it softer and less apt to issues. My sister has one that she ignored and it has the small cracks in it.

When they're chasing each other, it's the back claws, obviously, that are doing the damage. If you trim those back claws often, you shouldn't have too much of a problem.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I'm surprised to read the replies. I have 3 (fully clawed) cats, a 72 lb Golden Retriever (who gets on the furniture) and a small terrier mix. I would never buy anything BUT leather furniture in my house and leather interior in the car! I can't imagine the hair I would have all over if I had cloth, especially the microfiber stuff. That stuff looks like a hair magnet to me!

My set has a couch and 2 chairs w/ottoman and it is a brown distressed leather so that may hide scratches a little but really we've had it for over 4 years and it is in fantastic shape. Now our old cloth couch in the basement is shredded from the cat claws but they have no interest in clawing leather. No hair sticks and they play and jump normally off of it and there are no holes and very few scratches. I would tell anyone with children or pets to look at leather with no question!

 

[PinkRhombus]

I actually have a 20 year old sofa in the living room that is off-white. My mother had it custom made and it sat in the living room was never used except to take pictures on. After she died, my dad sold the house and I got the sofa. How's that for budget friendly???

I keep white slip t-cushion cover over it (fits great!) and that gets washed about every other week. You can bleach it if needed. Perfect for being kid and pet friendly.

 

[onemaybaby]

As we were furniture shopping last year, the salesman asked if we had cats because we were looking at leather furniture. He said cats and leather do not mix.
Good luck, I really despise furniture shopping ( I am missing that particular female gene!)

I wish I would have had an honest salesman like that. The one I had told me that the couch I was buying was a very sturdy leather and sure enough my cat has made many scratches in my furniture from her back claws. She is front declawed.

 

[hrslvr142]

I got microfiber for the same reasons as above and it has worked well...except for that fur thing. Love the comment from PP about "shedding like it is a contest". Way too true. I know you all will appreciate this-I have a cat calendar and today's is two cats looking at a computer screen with the comment "I found a website that shows how to turn fur balls into festive holdiay decorations"--Ewww! I am the proud mom of 4 rescue kitties who make me smile everyday!

Good luck OP on finding some "cat" friendly furniture that will fit your decorating style.

 

[AristocatFan]

Guess I'm in the minority here. Our leather furniture is almost two years old and still looks brand new. No marks at all from our cat. We only have one, front declawed, while she doesn't haven't a playmate, she is feisty and runs through the house like crazy. Especially when there is a storm coming! Anyway, maybe it depends on each individual cat? Our cat only gets on the leather furniture to get on someone's lap. She prefers the micro-suede furniture as her sleeping grounds.