Claws and leather??

[sirrahbed]

Hubby and I splurged and bought ourselves early Christmas gifts - LEATHER easy chairs:D OH-SO comfy, they rock and recline and go all the way back like a bed.....but we have these critters with needle sharp claws:rolleyes: I am doing my best to keep them trimmed - but....does anyone else have experience with leather and claws??? So far. the babies are VERY good about using their scratching posts so the only time they would likely tear the leather is when jumping OFF the chairs. The big cats have rear claws as well. As you can see - they have already claimed the chairs as their own:D I know they are just pieces of furniture, but it would be nice to keep them intact for awhile!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/sirrahbed/CHAIRS.jpg

[mina'smomma]

We had the same problem with Mina at first too. I've taken to put something called either Soft Paw or Soft Claw on her back feet. With her front claws having the problems I do I just leave them alone. We now don't have any additional punctures in our leather recliner. Another idea is to cover them with a nice blanket or quilt.

[Barbara]

It all depends. When they are little you must follow them whatever they do and immediately use the squirt bottle when they attack the leather. The secret word is "immediately" because they must think it happens in one thing "Me scratch-water comes";) Then they'll learn quickly to leave the things alone.

The claws of F+T are not trimmed (because I prefer to keep my arm) and the only things they attack now are things where we have not been consequent enough when they were babies:(

[Edwina's Secretary]

We just bought a leather sofa....so far there has been no real interest in it unless I am sitting on it....of course....that i know about....:D :D ....we do keep nails trimmed though....

[Tonya]

Our pets have added scratches into our leather sofas, but it doesn't look bad. It adds character. It was heartbreaking to watch at first though. ;)

[Killearn Kitties]

We have had leather settees for all the time that we have had the cats. We used to be quite particular about letting them jump on it and they seemed to realise that they were supposed to be careful! I couldn't say that the leather has not taken any damage at all though over the years. There are a couple of bits that look suspiciously punctured. In all honesty though, they show some human wear as well. ;)

[RedHedd]

My new-to-me leather loveseat came cat-conditioned. It's not flawless and has some well-loved "character" in spots. A stern NO when the M's try to scratch does deter them from using the leather loveseat as a scratching post. I keep their claws clipped too which does help. Most of the time that is where they can be found; usually there's no room for ME to sit!

[RICHARD]

Wow,

I thought this was a thread about one of my old girlfriends.....;)

Time for a squirt bottle and a stern voice.....:eek:

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Originally posted by Tonya
Our pets have added scratches into our leather sofas, but it doesn't look bad.

Same thing here. It is almost inevitable to keep your coaches scratch-free...:rolleyes: ;

[rg_girlca]

Originally posted by RICHARD
Wow,

I thought this was a thread about one of my old girlfriends.....;)


LOL RICHARD. You're so bad.....


Debbie, I was going to also suggest that when not in use by you or your hubby, to cover them with a nice throw blanket.

Very lovely recliners.:)

[NoahsMommy]

I would just keep clipping those claws and keep a squirt bottle out.

Our only leather anything was our desk chair. That was destroyed by Noah before we learned how to stop that.

Soft Paws work well too. We never put them on their back claws, but that may be a good idea to protect the leather.

[sirrahbed]

RICHARD!!!:rolleyes:

You know, I think I will be relieved when they get the first scratches:D Then they will be worn in. Scratched DO add character! I just hope for no punctures:eek:

So far, I am managing to get through the weekly claw trimming and am not so bloody as I was in the beginning. I even did Robbie's front set last night while he slept! Lizzie is another story - she can be sound asleep and lets me play with her paws and claws but awakes the moment I open the clippers!!!

I may just try the SoftPaws. Problem is the kitten size only comes in clear and I wanted pink and blue:p

Thanks everyone! One thing I have NOT tried is the squirt bottle - Maybe I should get one. So far, the babies have been very good about correction.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Beautiful recliners! They look soooo comfy, especially with all the kitties on them, if there was only room for me to sneak in.....;)

Now, to answer your question. We don't have leather anything at home, but the motorhome is all leather. So far there have been no problems at all, even though it's a little hard for Tubby to jump that high. If I see him eyeing up the couch, I just pick him up and put him on it, bypassing the opportunity for those claws to do any damage. I think everyone has good advice on the throws and the squirt bottle. If you do notice that they are starting to use them as scratching posts, they have stuff at PetSmart (forget what it's called) that is like double sided tape that you can put on the chairs. The kitties don't like the feel of it so they stop scratching there.

[iloverat]

Debbie,


We actually had our favorite chairs recovered in leather because Briggs (and 20 years of use :) ) had destroyed the original fabric. I chose leather that had already been distressed, so for us, it was not such a terrible shock when the chairs got their first marks at home. The most prominent scratches have come from Briggs getting startled, resulting in the leap and run which leaves skidmarks. :eek: :D We've had no punctures but they have sustained spills, a heat mark from a laptop and LOTS of use. :)
We love 'em and are so happy that we went this route. Hope you and Dennis enjoy yours as much as we have ours!

Scritchies all 'round - Bobbi

[sirrahbed]

Thanks Bobbi!! I agree that leather looks best when distressed. That and it's durability is what made us choose it over fabric:D So far I LOVE it.
My logic was, if cats jump up on a cow, they aren't going to hurt it are they?:eek: Plus, cows go through briars, barb wire fences and who knows what. Yes, we are trying to keep throws on them when we are not in them, but most of the time, they are occupied by CATS!:rolleyes:

[prechrswife]

We have the same problem with the cats jumping off of the leather furniture. Keeping their claws trimmed seems to be the best thing. We have to go to the vet's to get them trimmed because it is such an ordeal. They only charge us $5 per cat, though. (In fact, we just made that trip this afternoon. You would have thought they were murdering Saphirah instead of just clipping her nails.:eek:)

[PepperRSM]

We've had our leather couch/loveseat/armchair set for a few years now, so when we got Persephone two months ago, that was one of our main concerns (if she'd scratch them up), but so far she hasn't done any damage, or any that's noticable anyway.
She *loves* taking naps on the poofy tops of the couches. :p

[sirrahbed]

OK, MY new recliner is now duly distressed and christened. Three longs scratch marks and two punctures:rolleyes: I DID say leather looks best when distressed, right?

SOOOOO...got out my clippers and clipped back nails on Emily and Eliot (they are front declawed)- not too bad. Emily was an absolute sweetheart. Good ole Dylan came with no claws at all. Did two paws on Robbie since I already did two while he slept last night. He drew blood on me but again - not too bad. He bit me but was pretty good. The came Lizzie. Good Gosh O'Molly!! I don't think the neighbors down on the end of the cul-de-sac could hear her screeching so I got hubby to help me:eek: Between the two of us and a huge bathtowel. I managed to bloody myself as well as cut one of her claws too short when she jumped so bloodied HER up too. My wrists are throbbing. My head aches. My knee and thigh is bleeding. Must I repeat this each week or so??? Don't those baby claws...er....needles... slow down their growth pretty soon??

Isn't it wonderful having cats:D

[christa]

Sounds painful!!! LOL I know that Brodie needs his trimmed about every three days! I've never trimmed Josie's and she has some CLAWS!!! They're deadly weapons! I'd hate to see the damage she'd do to a leather chair!

[catcrazylady]

Oh dear! First off let me say that I LOVE those chairs!! They are gorgeous and look very very comfortable. Merry early Christmas!

Now, I'm sorry, but your last post cracked me up!!:D I'm sorry there is damage to your new recliner already but the nail clipping of Lizzie sounds awful! I could laugh because it wasn't me.;) :D I wish I had some wonderful advice to offer but I can't think of a thing except Good Luck! That was helpful wasn't it?:rolleyes:

I have been wanting leather for the easy clean up but I wasn't sure what the claws would do either. You will have to keep me posted on how it's holding up but something tells me that with twelve clawed cats I might as well forget it.;)

[lbaker]

I'm confuzzled about the spray bottles though. What would spraying water onto a cat that's by or on the leather do to the leather itself? Would the water from the spray not mark up the leather as much as an errant puncture or scratch mark? Or worse??

[sirrahbed]

Actually, the cleaning instructions for the leather say to use only mild soap and water, and no leather food or saddle soap. I have already spilled some coffee on mine and it wiped up without any marks at all - just beaded up nicely. The directions also said that the leather would outlast the best fabric 4:1. I guess we will see. I took a damp cloth and wiped the scatches and they really are not very noticeable - the leather is already distressed anyway and it looks fine. The punctures are very small and I do not think they will get bigger the way they would with vinyl or naugahyde. I hope this is so!!

We have had no new furniture in over 20 years so decided to do with what we hoped would be most durable - although it is expensive as well. I am really hoping it was a good decision. The chairs sure are comfy and surprisingly warm to sit in, even when the air is very cold:D

We are covering them with throws at night - hoping to give them a bit more protection when we are not using them. And, I am going to be a clipper fanatic after those claws!!:eek:

[mina'smomma]

Run Lizzie run. Meowmie is going to get you with the clippers again!..... sorry Deb I just couldn't resist that one after your other story.

[kimlovescats]

Debbie, I was told by a furniture salesman once that unlike vinyl, leather will "breath" and expand ... so like you said, the puncture will sort of reclose itself ... instead of ripping and tearing further like vinyl would! ;)