Any tips for stopping wet/muddy paw prints on the floor and settees?

[SpanishFly]

We have 2 cats and laminate floors. Doesn't seem to be a great combination. We have a jml magic mat at the door but it hasn't made any difference. I have a blanket over the settee but it's needing washed every 24-48 hours as it's so grubby. There are also marks on the arms of the settee so the blanket isn't solving everything. We got them a few months ago so this wet weather has started this problem we hadn't considered!
I also don't want blankets on my chairs, too. Does anyone have any tips? It's starting to piss me off big time!

Quick rub down with old towel when cats come in and ONE designated cat chair with small blanket which is frequently changed and washed! Settee and all other chairs strictly non felines only - they soon learn…..

The layout of your house will matter, I guess. Until they get in front of a fire or in a comfy place they won't start washing and will traipse paws across whatever is there. Other than a couple more (washable) rugs on the floor between the door and the sofa, I have no ideas, I'm afraid.

Marmalade, the problem on the settee is that they sometimes walk along the top of the back of it - if I lift them off every time they do it, is that enough to teach them, or do I need to do something else?

A firm NO, lift them or shoo them off, and exclusion for repeated transgressions. They'll learn soon enough as Marmalade said - but do get them an armchair or something to use if you have room for it. (A cheap secondhand one with a nice upholstered back might even provide a scratching post for them!)

Thanks. They are allowed on the actual settee and the chairs, it's just the backs and arms that get a bit of a pasting.
So if they even jump onto the arms to walk along them, we should shoo tthe off every time?

Or should they get shooed off the settee totally? We sit on the settee 99 per cent of the time do they're usually jumping up to see us

I would if only to underline your point - I'm not sure that cats distinguish that well between arms and seats. (But I'd get them one to use themselves.)

Maybe try the shooing off and see how it goes? It seems a bit rough to deny them a lap so their future behaviour might be your best guide. You could always relax things if they seem to be observing the 'No Go' areas. (But be implacable on those because they'll try to test the boundaries.)