Vinyl Or Leather Best For Messes
Both vinyl and leather are incredibly versatile and cleanable. Cat lovers adore these fabrics because nothing sticks to themincluding hair, urine, and hairballs. You wont have to worry about these liquids sinking into your cushions.
Genuine leather furniture might be more expensive than some other fabrics, but it can really be worth investing in as a pet parent. Vinyl is faux leather that is less expensive but might not have the same longevity.
While this material is terrific for combatting liquid messes and hair, it isnt a superb option for scratching. This material is durable, but it will eventually run or tear with enough force. Vigorous scratchers can do some real damage if they have enough perseverance.
The Best Couch Material For Cats Dogs And Everything In Between
A couple of months ago, we interviewed Comfort Works users about their favourite activities at home. At the end of these long and heartfelt conversations, we found that most of us have two things in common:
1) Family time at home is one of the most important parts of our lives, and
2) The couch is the heart of the living room!
As couch nerds, we totally understand the significance of a sofa at home. Whether youre a small family of two or a loving couple with five furkids, quality time at home is irreplaceable.
And most times, so is your couch. Were of the opinion that nearly every sofa in the world can be saved, and the easiest way to do it is by choosing the best sofa materials for your family and lifestyle, and getting the most out of every moment.
Couch Considerations For Animal Lovers
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
As a loving owner of a cat or dog, you know that it is not just your prized sofabut also most of your home decorthat bears the brunt of your beloved pet. Because even when Fluffy isn’t trying to destroy your upholstery, the simple act of climbing, sitting, or walking on it can warrant a heavy cleaning bill. This is how and why selecting the best upholstery for your couch gets complicated.
Luckily, there are some heavy-duty fabrics that can withstand a few claw marks, prevent clinging pet hair, and resist dirt marks and stains due to the occasional accident from a cat or dog on the couch.
Recommended Reading: How To Make Keyboard Cat In Little Alchemy
Deep Cleaning Of Upholstery
No matter which fabric you choose for your upholstery, make sure that it looks good for as long as possible by having it professionally deep-cleaned, once or twice a year and whenever it needs sprucing up.
At Chelsea Cleaning, we offer expert deep cleaning of upholstery that can bring your furniture back to life. Our team can also help prevent future staining and soiling by applying blockout fabric protector to your upholstery. Contact us for more information or a quote.
What About The Best Couch Material For Kids
There are so many factors to consider when thinking of kids, but weve narrowed it down to three simple points: comfort, practicality, and aesthetics!
Comfort is for everyone at home.
Look for the material that feels the best on your skin. For optimum comfort, we always recommend sticking to natural fibres like cotton and linen as these get so much softer over time. They are also breathable, so it is easy to spend time on the couch without getting too stuffy or feeling too cold.
Velvets can be incredibly luxurious too, so theyre a good option if you just want that buttery soft feeling.
Practicality is all about finding what works for us and our families every day.
If your living room is a high-traffic area, then the ideal material would be one that is relatively hard-wearing and easy to wash. Usually, this means an upholstery made of cotton or a smooth kind of polyester.
Enjoy the occasional wine-and-dine ? The obvious choice would then be a fabric that is treated with liquid resistance for a super quick cleanup. Think of Scotchguard on your sofa thats generally what youll want your couch material to be.
Living with pets and kids? Then aim for something as close to indestructible as possible. Wed always stick to velvets for this one. Rule of thumb: the shorter and tighter the weave, the harder it is to destroy. Cats, dogs, and even kids will have a really hard time scratching that up!
Living room aesthetics who says looks arent important?
Recommended Reading: Spastic Pupil Syndrome Cats
What Is The Best Furniture Fabric For Cat Owners
Most pet owners nowadays treat their pets like their own child, giving the pleasure to stay inside the house. Despite the comfort, the downside is the furniture is always on the risk of being broken and destroyed. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to have every furniture made of plastic. But with the right textile material, this can be a life-saver from having damaged upholsteries all the time.
The Best Fabric Material for Cat Owners
The Yorkshire Fabric Shop recommends the following fabric pieces that will suit every furniture.
Tight Weave Fabrics
Fabrics like canvas, denim, and human-made materials are suitable for your furniture to save it from the cat’s claws. Yorkshire Fabric Shop has a range of tight weaves like Mary, Beaumont and Dijon. Its tightness quality can ensure that it can withstand the cat’s playfulness. However, consider the colours when choosing any of these materials. Opt for darker colours or something that matches the pet’s colour to avoid visible dirt or cat furs.
Leather
There’s no doubt how leather can save the furniture from cat messes and damages. Its durability is always accountable. Besides enduring the powerful claws of cats, it’s also easy to clean and maintain. With leather, it’s more important to choose genuine leather than human-made polyester or faux leather to enjoy its benefits. It may be pricier, but the quality and aesthetics are priceless and worthy. Try Yorkshire Fabrics range of Slav and Hudson eco leather.
Microfiber or Micros Suede
How To Choose Your Fabric
Whether youre considering new furniture or reupholstering existing furniture, consider how your pets treat your current upholstery. If they dont lie on your furniture, you can choose just about any fabric that you want.
If they lie on the furniture but dont scratch or claw it, avoid natural fibres such as cotton, wool or linen, as these easily show signs of wear. If your pets lie on your furniture, scratch, claw and/or chew it, forego fabric upholstery and choose leather or vinyl instead.
A good rule of thumb when picking pet-friendly fabric is to choose a dark and/or patterned fabric, as this will disguise drool marks, paw prints, scratch marks and shed hair.
Its also a good idea to match the colour of the fabric to your pets coat to help hide hair between vacuuming.
Although synthetic fibres may not be your first choice aesthetically, they are as close to pet-proof as youre going to get. This is because synthetic fabrics are more durable than natural fabrics, dont show scratch marks easily, and can usually be cleaned with a solution of soap and water.
For added protection, have your upholstery Scotchgarded if possible or use slipcovers, throws, or blankets.
Make sure that you go for an evenly-textured fabric with a tight weave, which will be more durable and less likely to trap pet hair than a heavily textured fabric with a larger weave.
Pet owners should always go for fabrics in the W category.
Don’t Miss: Cat Pee Stains On Wood Floor
Best Types Of Fabric For Cat Owners
Cats seem to like any furniture, but they especially love bright colors and fabrics that have some tooth to them. Velvet, brocade, embroidery, and damask fabrics are a definite NO as cats can sink their claws into these like a knife into butter. Additionally, cats will naturally gravitate toward fabrics that are susceptible to scratching and hooking-those are just so much more fun to a cat!
Instead, opt for upholstery fabrics that are solid, resist penetration by claws, and are not so “sink in soft” that your cat will want to come over and hibernate there .
Cats Wont Want To Scratch Furniture With Full Upholstery And Recessed Legs
Sean Juneja, co-founder and CEO of offers this tip: Look for fully upholstered pieces with wood or metal recessed legs.
The best fabrics are ultrasuede and leather, because a cat cannot claw into these, Juneja said.
Avoid fabrics that snag easily, such as tweeds. Its also difficult to remove pet hair from these types of textured fabrics.
Asked why full upholstery is important, Juneja said it keeps cats from clawing from any wood on the furniture.
While most prefer something they can shred, there are cats that prefer wood, Juneja said, and recessed legs are not accessible because they are hidden and smaller.
These chairs are covered with ultrasuede.
And here is a leather couch and metal tables.
Recommended Reading: Smurfs Villain Name
What Materials Should I Avoid
When shopping for furniture and other household goods, avoid materials like chenille, cotton, tweed and silk that can be easily snagged by cat claws. These are versatile, terrific fabrics, but reserve them for items that stay out of your kitty’s reach.
Additionally, these are the two types of material you’ll definitely want to stay away from if you have cat roommates:
Cat Owners Should Choose Furniture That Holds Its Wear Well
Chandler Elmore of Kuni Furniture had similar advice on choosing furniture that holds its wear well, although he was less positive about leather.
The more a piece has of glass, metalwork and wood, it will wear better than leathers and suedes, which are typically decent materials, Elmore said.
He pointed out that the absolute worst materials for furniture include chenille, velvet, wool, linen, silk and tweed.
Recommended Reading: How To Calm An Angry Cat
Velvet An Honorable Mention
First, velvet isnt a material that fits in every décor stylebut it holds up quite well against pet damage. At first glance, you might think that velvet is soft, so it tears easily. But this material is actually incredibly tough, withstanding everyday use and even clawing.
To reduce staining, velvet can be covered with waterproof treatments to reduce saturation and repel unwanted imperfections. Even though removing hair wont pose much of a challenge, it still attracts and collects fur, pretty much guaranteed.
That is nothing that a quick handheld vacuum cant sweep up, though. We admitits a little bit trickier to clean than some of the other options, but it is still up to par with the top materials.
- Collects hair
Whats The Best Couch Material For Dogs
Go for velvets, cottons, or even polyester for something durable and easy to wash. Youll want something that can take a good pounce but still stay in place and feel comfortable.
Cottons
Cottons are generally durable and anything between a duck canvas to a tight-weave cotton material will hold up well. Theyll also feels softer and more comfortable over time, wash and with use. If you love a soft, simple look, try our Madison Cotton.
Velvets
Velvets offer great practicality and great comfort. They also make beautiful additions to a home. Soft and easy to fall asleep on, velvet is absolutely perfect for cuddling! The tight-knit weaves of the fabric prevent claws from getting snagged so you dont have to worry too much about those kinds of accidents, either. Polyester
Polyester will provide more use at the end of the day, as it can generally take more rubs and sit-downs while retaining a clean, neat look. While it may not feel as soft or as smooth as cotton, it can be easily washed so thats a plus.
Leather
Leather is also a good option, as it can easily be wiped off without further fuss. You dont have to worry about fibres getting caught in claws, or soaking up accidents. Small con: leather isnt as breathable as fabric-type materials.
Recommended Reading: Grumpy Smurf Name
Some Points To Keep In Mind
As much as you may love your pets, you can provide a loving and comfortable environment for them while still maintaining a stylish home. Your furniture is most likely one of the biggest investments you’ll make in your home. You want to be able to share your favorite couch or armchair with your pets so make sure you invest in pieces that you and your pets can enjoy together. Don’t forget these important points when choosing the best furniture materials for pets.
Fabrics That Are Most Cat Claw Resistant
We would like to order a Metro sofa from Room and Board. We’re stuck on choosing a fabric because in the next year we hope to get cats . We already have a 9 year old son. 🙂
Room and Board allows us to pick any fabric we like. One of their salespeople produced a tapestry needle and we all took turns pretending to be cats with sharp claws. The clear winner was Destin , which is fine — but it isn’t as comfy as some others, like Desmond or Vashon .
Has anyone had experience with cats and sofa fabrics? What has worked best? Any other tips for keeping cats from destroying fabric?
Thanks much!
Please do NOT declaw. Its extremely cruel.
Microfiber is best in our experience. Also, check out soft paw claw covers that you glue on.
Read Also: Cat To Human Year Ratio
The Ultimate Bedding Guide For Pet Owners
BETWEENtheSHEEX Blog | Education March 1st, 20213 minute read
Our furry four-legged friends are often our most loyal companions, and for many dog and cat owners, keeping their pet tucked away in a separate bed on the other side of the house at night is less than ideal. If you have always wanted to bunk up with your best buddy or little princess, then rejoice: a study conducted by Mayo Clinic found that sleeping with your canine in the bedroom can increase sleep efficiency to 83%!
Best Upholstery Material For Pets
In general, the best material whether you have a dog or a cat, is microfiber. Also known as microsuede, this synthetic material is a pet-lovers dream. Its easy to clean, hard to scratch or rip, and lasts a long time. You can vacuum hairs without damaging the material, or even just use a lint brush, and most stains can be treated with mild soap and warm water, plus its synthetic nature means it comes in many colors and styles.
Don’t Miss: Why Does My Cat Spill His Water
When It Comes To Furniture Cat Owners Should Keep It Simple
Finally, Tamalpais NatureWorks recommends modular furniture made of wood and steel joinery. William Callahan calls it the worlds healthiest and easiest to maintain furniture for people and pets.
If a kitty destroys a table leg, just put a new one in its place, Callahan said.
None of this furniture is upholstered, making it easy to clean and repair.
What Is The Best Pet
Unless your family pet is hypoallergenic, then they probably shed. Cotton sheets are a bad fit for pet bedding because the dog or cat hair can become trapped between individual threads, making cleaning and maintenance a nuisance. To snooze comfortably with your favorite pal night after night, the best choice is SHEEX® Performance Bedding. Our SLEEP TECH fabrics easily repel dog hair – to clean your sheets, simply use a brush to wipe away excess hair in the morning. Enhanced breathability and moisture-wicking qualities will keep you and your pet comfortable all night for deeper sleep. SHEEX® bedding breathes to keep pets cooler at night which can minimize, if not eliminate panting.Even if you choose to have your furry friend sleep in a pet bed, you can line the bed with a single SHEEX® sheet. The design of the fabric will keep your pup or cat cool during the night and will block hairs from getting trapped in the pet bed. If your pet sneaks onto the family’s favorite sofa or dad’s recliner to snooze while you are away for the day, you can even drape a SHEEX® sheet over your fabric furniture to keep your pet comfy and prevent those pesky pet hairs when you’re not watching.
You May Like: Facts About Calico Cats
Best Couch Material For Cats
If youve recently become a cat parent and youre thinking of getting a new couch, youre probably wondering what the best couch material for cats is.
I have created an extensive guide on the best and worst materials for both scratching and cat hair, answered some pretty frequently asked questions, and even gave you some suggestions in terms of what you can do to protect your furniture.
Read on to find out more!
Can Cats Scratch Microfiber
Cats can scratch microfiber, they can scratch almost anything with their razor sharp claws. Im not trying to say that microfiber is 100% cat-resistant, but its pretty close and by far the best material to last the test of time with cats.
Its important to remember there are various types of microfiber too. If youre buying a sofa talk with the seller about the material and how well its going to hold up vs your cats.
So, hopefully, thats answered the question what is the best couch material for cats that will survive versus their claws?
If youre lucky enough to own a cat that has never damaged a piece of furniture and has no interest in going near your favorite leather chair, lucky you.
Id rather err on the side of caution, and that means Ive come to love my microfiber couch and chairs and so has my cats.
Recommended Reading: Which Side Of A Cat Has The Most Fur