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Hello,
We have a very good short hair domestic cat that we think the world of. The only issue we have is this cat has scratched and torn our furniture. We have bought furniture from Big Lots and I understand it is not top of the line quality but she scratched the arm pads and other areas of our furniture. I have an odd question to ask, Do you recommend a certain brand of furniture? A certain type too? I would appreciate any helpful suggestions you may have. Thank You!
I have found that the surest way to prevent scratching is for you to buy the cat its own furniture to scratch (scratchers et al.) You should check out this thread:
Otherwise, any fabric that is smooth and difficult for kitty claws to sink into. I stay away from silk, cotton and leather and stick with [smooth] linen, velvet and chamois-type fabrics.
Give the cats their own furniture - a cat tree is perfect. They can climb it, sit on it, sleep on it, and scratch on it. If you put lots of cat nip on it, that will often entice them to scratch. Reward their scratching their with treats.
I have 2 cats, 1 large cat tree, and 1 other scratching post. My cats do not scratch or claw the furniture.
Our cats ignore the furniture as they have as assortment of scratching posts in several materials to suit all kitty tastes. Cardboard. Carpeted and sisal rope. The large cat-trees/furniture also have carpeting and rope. All were bought on sale and they really love them. It was worth the investment.
A few are starting to show their wear and will probably need to be re-carpeted soon.
Agree that scratching posts will help, especially if they're near the furniture the cat likes to scratch. If it's upright it should have a platform that keeps it from being too tippy when the cat scratches. The nice thing about furniture, from the cat's point of view, is that it's sturdy and stays put when the cat pulls against it. One thing we did, which wouldn't work if someone doesn't have an extra room, was put a chair that was already scratched and beat up in a spare room where we keep the cats' food and litter boxes. They were allowed to go to town on it, and they did. Or at least my youngest did- the others seemed to have outgrown scratching furniture by then, or just learned not to by consistently being told no. But I don't really see him scratching that chair any more either. He's 4 years old.
I agree with what everyone else has said so far about the kitty cat tree, scratching post, etc...
While you are trying to train him to use the right furniture, tape aluminum foil on the areas of your furniture that you don't want scratched. Cats don't like the feel of foil.
I agree with what everyone else has said so far about the kitty cat tree, scratching post, etc...
While you are trying to train him to use the right furniture, tape aluminum foil on the areas of your furniture that you don't want scratched. Cats don't like the feel of foil.
**Most cats.
I have a cat who used to like to jump from couch to fireplace mantle, so I'd put foil on the arm of the couch, the mantle, etc. I cannot tell you how many times I'd come home to find her sleeping on the foil. What finally worked was putting loops of tape - the stickiness bothered her. So if foil does not work, try tape loops.
Give cats their stuff, their space and they will allow you yours. We have off white leather in three rooms and no issue aside from an occasional accident (generally caused by humans). ShadowCat will not scratch upright. She got an untreated stair tread screwed on top of a window sill. Happy cat! ChaCha has no front claws but sharpens them with vigor. Scratch post got covered with soft fake fur. Happy cat!
Thank You everyone for your helpful suggestions. We appreciate it!
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and they really love them. It was worth the investment. 
