Claws and leather??

[sirrahbed]

Hubby and I splurged and bought ourselves early Christmas gifts - LEATHER easy chairs 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 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 I know they are just pieces of furniture, but it would be nice to keep them intact for awhile!

[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.... ....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.....

[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... ;

[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!!!

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

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

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. 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 So far I LOVE it.
My logic was, if cats jump up on a cow, they aren't going to hurt it are they? 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!