We splurged and bought two nice leather recliners right before Christmas. So far, nobody scratched them intentonally, but they do have some punctures and scratches from kitties jumping off. What I am doing is clipping mails more than ever and covering the recliners with throws when we are not using them. One very good thing is that the scratches blend in nicely - giving the leather that "distressed" look The punctures tend to seal themselves off instead of getting bigger or tearing the way they would with naugahyde/vinyl. I have read that leather is five times more durable than the best fabric. I wipe the scratches with a damp cloth and they blend in quite nicely. The directions said not to use any leather cream or saddle soap - only soapy water.