Question about cats and new leather couches

[rusafee1183]

My DH and I just bought new leather couches this weekend and they are being delivered tomorrow. I have 2 cats that scratch the corners of my couches now and am looking to see if anyone has used the "Feliway" spray

Does it work on leather? Do you have a better suggestion? Anything different that works for you?

I have been reading all day and there are so many suggestions - but there's always someone right around the corner that says that it doesn't work

TIA!

 

[suzanna1066@comcast.]

One word----slipcovers!
My cat destroyed our leather sofa (cost over $5000). No cat "repellent" worked. Needless to say, we have been sitting on a pretty ratty sofa for years so I can get my $5k worth of use out of it.

 

[Angelhalo]

Our cat never had any interest in scratching the leather. Cloth yes, leather no. I think it didn't feel the same to her or something so leather has always been enough of an answer for us without any sprays

LOL Edited for a really weird typo. I must be tired!

 

[kathmzh]

Our kitten will scratch cloth furniture, but she has never scratched our leather couch -- good luck!!

 

[Scurvy]

My cats don't intentionally claw any of our furniture - they got sprayed with water the first few times they tried and learned pretty quickly not to do it. They have accidentally scratched our leather chair when running across it, but as long as we keep their claws clipped it isn't a problem. So those are my suggestions - clip their claws and spray them with a squirt bottle any time they start to claw any furniture. Good luck!

 

[TiggerTails57]

Don't forget to clip the back claws......I've kept my cats off my new couches and recliners, so it can be done. They are trained to only sit on our laps on their special blankets.

 

[Stephanie218]

They have accidentally scratched our leather chair when running across it, but as long as we keep their claws clipped it isn't a problem.

Same here. Our cats don't intentionally scratch it at all, but we have a few nicks and a few larger marks from them running around. I try to keep their claws short, and hope that helps. I love my cats, but those little marks drive me crazy.

 

[rusafee1183]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I am sooo hoping that they leave the leather alone. They liked the cloth and they like carpet type material - but not wood or anything very hard. So I really hope I am safe.

I went to PetSmart tonight and bought the Feliway spray, a new scratching post (in addition to their old one), catnip, treats for good behavior and a pair of clippers for their nails. Tomorrow I will pick up a spray bottle.

I considered getting the softpaws - or softclaws whatever they're called... they sound RIDICULOUS, but they got excellent reviews everywhere that I looked. That's going to be my last resort though.

Thanks so much for all the help!!