I'm not sure what kind of fabric was used to upholster my couch and recliner (both of which are hand-me-downs from family) beyond the fact that it's blue and comfy. The cat hair battle is pretty much a losing battle no matter what kind of fabric it is, though. I just whip out the vacuum cleaner every now and then and vacuum both pieces of furniture thoroughly.

Cats are going to shed no matter what your furniture is upholstered with. Even if you go with leather where you could just wipe the hair off, you'd still end up vacuuming to get the hair you just wiped off of the couch out of the floor.

So my advice would be to go with what you think looks best and is comfy.