I want new sofas. I don't want my cats to destroy them. Ha ha ha

[BrandNewShinyThings]

Any hope whatsoever? My sofas are disgusting and need replacing.
Boy cat is a devil for shredding one particular corner. Girl cat likes lie on the floor next to the sofa and pull herself along the length of it using claw power. A bit like spiderman but in horizontal cat form.

You can get a citrus-smelling spray that's supposed to deter them (sprayed onto sofa). It didn't work with mine, but worth a try. The other option is get a scratch-pole and hope they use that instead. Mine didn't.

They have a large scratch post and two horizontal cardboard scratchers. They do use them but the sofa is much better, obviously.

Oh god, mine use claw power. A LOT.
Yes, shredded sofas here. And carpets. I've never had such scratchy cats !
They seem to like that citronella spray, and are fine with claw powering right over it.

We've got a leather sofa. Cats have never shown any interest in it.

Good job we love them, little buggers. I have attractive silver tape along the edges of my carpets to stop them scratching it all up.

@Beamur

We've got a leather sofa. Cats have never shown any interest in it.

Ooh now that's interesting. I was actually looking at a leather sofa the other day.

Our leather ones are 15 years old. The cats have never deliberately scratched them but there are a few light scratches where they have run across them.

Before these - our previous cats destroyed 3 sofas.

I have some plastic that is cut to size and I have added to areas I want for protect. This has broken their habit so would recommend. It’s something from Amazon/eBay and very similar to extra wide sellotape

I got a leather sofa and they haven't touched it. They shredded my previous fabric one.

Sounding positive for the leather, thank you. I will look at the plastic stuff too. It's definitely a habit with boy cat, he comes into the lounge and announces his entrance by scratching one particular corner of the sofa.

Lol. Good luck. My sis had a leather sofa. Cats went nuts for it and shredded the whole side.

@ThickFast

Lol. Good luck. My sis had a leather sofa. Cats went nuts for it and shredded the whole side.

Waaaah

Amazon sell clean panels to put over the sides to stop claws. I agree leather is generally safer than fabric.

Yup I've just bought two luxurious new sofas, why I don't know, they are permanently covered in blankets so Dcat doesn't use them as a scratching post or walk over them with shitty paws.
The covers only come off when I have guests and Dcat is shut in my room (because she likes to bite guests).
She shredded the old leather sofa.
She has never shown the slightest interest in the scratching post which is as new.

She also shreds carpet.

We have a scratch post against the sofa, DCat always uses that.

I bought two, second hand leather sofas last year, because I knew the cats would shred them and didn't want the heartbreak of spending a few grand on them. They have clawed the sofa we sit on most, but (I just checked) they haven't touched the "guest" sofa.

Cats are weird.

I have seen the ads for the very wide sellotape stuff and thought it looked good.

DONT buy leather - my cats have destroyed 2 leather sofas and 6 leather dining chairs

I got my sofas from DFS and actually the salesman in there was pretty knowledgable about what to avoid buying so as not to end up with a giant scratching post - pretty sure he said avoid chenille and velvet as well as leather.

We've got a fabric one which has a very close/non existent weave - hard to describe - so their claws don't get stuck in the threads

They haven't once attempted to scratch it

Water spray? Always worked for us. A firm "NO" and a spray, and they learn not to scratch. I also clip their claws frequently, and have a scratch post.

I guess we're lucky then! But we do have lots of scratch posts, barrels and other items in the house that they can scratch. Plus they go outside. I am turning a blind eye to the stair carpet.

we had a very scratchy cat and got sofas from Habitat that were covered in a really thick, almost corduroy-like (but not ribbed) fabric that stood up to any claw.

Aged scratchy cat died. The next cat was not scratchy, so we forgot choosing really thick robust covers when we replaced the sofas. Now we have two new cats and two shredded sofas. I got some plastic panels for the worst areas but now they shred different places. Short of shrink wrapping them I'm not sure what else to do.

We've got the plastic cover things from Amazon - it was definitely shutting the door after the horse had bolted, but it seems to have stopped Sir Scratchalot's habit. He actually uses one of the 30000 scratching posts now.

Maybe you need reverse phycology. Buy a sofa with the intent that the cats will use it as a scratching post and they will never touch it.

We seem to go through a lot of sofas. I'd just buy a sofa in Ikea and replace the covers when they get too awful.

Oh just seen more replies thank you! Maybe I will chat to someone in a sofa shop like DFS with knowledge of scratchy cats and fabrics. I have thought about a water spray but I'd have to be there the whole time, to deter them, not really possible.

@cliffdiver

We have a scratch post against the sofa, DCat always uses that.

Is this one that attaches to the sofa? I've seen those on Amazon. Or did you just position a scratching post next to the sofa?