Hi Rosalita,

I have heard that putting blown up balloons all over the new furniture is one way to stop the scratching. If a balloon pops it is supposed to scare them away.
Another way is foil paper all over the furniture for a while. The crinkling is not supposed to sound or feel good to cats. Just be sure they don't want to eat it first, otherwise there might be a big vet bill.
Also supply them with many scratching posts and rub cat nip on them to make them more attractive than the furniture.
I also cut my cats' nails every 2 weeks to keep them short (indoor cats). This helps me a lot.
I'm sure there are other methods also.
Good luck!