How to stop cat from wrecking sofas

[ACatCalledPuss]

Our cat loves using our sofas as scratching posts. We have leather sofas in one room and material ones in the other and both are wrecked. We are thinking of getting new sofas in the next few weeks to replace the leather ones but I will be so annoyed if we spend hundreds of pounds replacing them only to have the cat scratch them within days. We obviously have scratching posts in both rooms which she uses but it doesn't stop her using the sofas as well. Has anyone successfully managed to stop their pet from doing this? She is only 7 so don't want to have to wait till she dies before replacing them!

I had the same problem with one of my cats and tried a few things - pieces of tin foil on the sofa (apparently cats don't like tin foil) i put a dish of lemon juice under the sofa, I got a spray that you use on your sofa which they hate the smell so they won't go to it.
Buy a good few new scratching posts as well.
Good luck

I think it is a thing that cats do I'm afraid. The only things I have been able to do is use the spray - but you have to keep up with it. I forgot to spray my new divan bed base for a couple of weeks and she has plucked it to high heaven, I'm so annoyed with myself and her, and will have to get a valance now.

I did buy this to protect the corner of a particular chair she was fond of - well she shredded the old one and I got this when I replaced it and it has helped - but whether you could do it for a complete set of sofas I'm not sure.

https://www.petplanet.co.uk/p19340/sofaprotectcatscratcher.aspx?&pfid=64272&ptmsource=google&ptmmedium=shopping&ptmcampaign=under1064272&campaign=324014531&adgroup=56686258068&keyword=&gclid=CjwKCAjwtvnbBRA5EiwAcRvnptm8OFggs4b84lHwnte4OAygQ5N-HKhkrX5voN6kcBN-JR87KsayChoCpwAQAvDBwE

I have usually bought second hand sofas and then you don't feel quite as bad if they scratch. Don't know if that's a possibility for you though.

Good job they're cute eh? 🙄😻

Is your cat allowed outside? I’m sure I read somewhere that indoor-only cats tend to cause more damage to furniture as they don’t have access to the wooden fences etc that cats love to scratch.

@worrisomeasset my cat goes outside - all my cats have - but they still have their favourite non-scratching-post places indoors too. They are utter pains. One liked the bottom step of the stairs (carpet) another liked wallpapered corners of walls in the hall and landing, this one likes furniture - as i said, she has ruined my new bed base - and carpet corners.

See Jackson Galaxy on YouTube. He has tips on this and everything else cat related. He's certainly changed some if my ideas and made a happier home for me and my cats

Buy some fablon in the same colour. It's not ideal as you have to use the sticky side against furniture but cats won't sharpen claws on a smooth surface.

The other thing that works is a large cheap rug turned upside down, giving them lots of traction for claws.

Buy a velvet sofa. My daughter googled this before we bought our current one. We have had it for almost a year and our two cats haven't touched it.

Would these work?
Tip: wear stout gloves when fitting them.

if you're getting new sofas, get velvet ones. Their claws don't catch in velvet, so they don't use it to scratch. Nothing else works.

I like it .

Great, thanks so much everyone. Some fab suggestions. I had heard that about velvet before but wondered if it actually worked. Might go for that.

Same idea as fablon. A sticky tape/film you attach to the sofa. Search under cat scratch/pet furniture protector. One might be cheaper.

My cats go out. We have two scratching posts, and a scratching post on the cat tree. The boy cat still wrecks sofas and chairs, leather and fabric. I have now put loose covers on all the chairs/sofas. Have to make sure they are tucked in as the little b*gger goes underneath them if they are loose, and then scratches.

My girl cat doesn’t scratch the furniture.

We have a velvet type sofa and our cats have destroyed it I'm afraid 🙈