It can get challenging to be a cat parent and a furniture aficionado since those two don’t match. At some point, your furry friend will want to scratch something, and it’s going to be that beautiful sofa.
It feels like nothing can be done since cats are scratchers; it’s in their DNA. You won’t be able to stop them from scratching your leather sofa, but the following guide will help you protect it more effectively.
Why do They Scratch Furniture so Much?
There are several reasons why cats scratch everything. One of those reasons is because it keeps their claws healthy.
Scratching helps your kitty shed the outer nail husk, which is something they have to do regularly. That’s not all, though. Scratching is also mild exercise, and that’s a good thing for any creature. This exercise helps your cat stretch, and you know cats need to stay limber.
Of course, scratching also helps cats mark their territory. When a cat scratches, they’re soothing themselves a bit.
You can’t stop your cat from scratching. You shouldn’t even try, so what can you do instead?
How to Stop Your Cat From Scratching Your Leather Sofa?
People can teach a cat to stay away from your beautiful sofas, but it takes some work. The following guide will help prevent your cat from scratching your leather sofa and stop you from needing furniture leather repair services often:
Scratching Posts
The first thing you should do is get as many scratching posts as makes sense for your home. Make them fun, challenging, and whimsical, but provide many acceptable alternatives for your cat.
You also want to make sure the scratching posts are made out of the kind of material your cat will love. Test the following until you find the one your cat likes:
- Wool
- Leather
- Canvas
- Chenille fabric
- Corduroy
- Linen
- Woven tapestry
Location, Location
It may be strange, but the location of your scratching post or posts can make a big difference.
If you don’t place the scratching post in the right location, your cat might ignore the post altogether. The following are some locations you should consider:
- Near furniture they scratch
- Hang-out spots
- By the sleeping area
Unattractive Sofa
You can do a few things to make your sofa unattractive; for example, you can use the sheet method.
You want to cover your couch with a sheet and tuck it in, especially the area where your cat likes to scratch. Be sure your cat can’t find a way to remove this sheet or scratch under it. The loose martial is unattractive to scratch. After a while, your cat may forget about this area and move on.
Do this long enough to encourage your cat to move to your scratching posts.
There are also scratch guard covers made of faux suede that look like leather, and you can use this material to cover your sofa until you know for sure your cat is trained to keep away.
Beautifying Posts
Sometimes, cats just aren’t interested in the scratching posts their owners buy. That’s okay. There’s a trick for this particular issue, too, which is beautifying the post a bit.
You can make the post smell better by spraying catnip or maybe some honeysuckle.
If your cat hasn’t discovered the post, you’re going to have to find ways to lead your cat to the post. The best way to do this is to use wand toys to lead your cat to the post.
You’ll have to do this a few times until the post becomes familiar to your cat; try to be patient.
Stress Reliever
Every so often, cats can’t help themselves and continue to scratch. Maybe they’ll scratch your posts, but they’ll also scratch your sofa and anything else they can find.
If you find that your cat scratches relentlessly, your cat may be stressed out. It may be a good idea to find a way to help your cat relax.
Now, you know how to protect your sofa in different ways.