So my girlfriend and I have been discussing moving in together. Great! Only problem is her cats.
One cat in particular has long claws that she has trouble retracting. She often gets caught on bed sheets and blankets. To make matters worse, she hates people touching her paws. So freeing her is always a challenge.
Recently we've been clipping the tips of her claws every couple of weeks. But it doesn't alleviate the problem completely. She still gets stuck daily. So it seems the problem cannot be resolved on the cat side.
Now the crux of the issue. I have a very nice sofa from De Sede that is my favourite piece of furniture. It wasn't cheap but I got a very good price for it after months of looking on Ricardo. I would be really upset to see it full of holes or covered in scratches. Currently it's in perfect condition.
My girlfriend on the other hand has a sofa that she doesn't particularly like, but always says it isn't worth buying a new one because of the cats.
So I'm wondering if any cat owners here have any bright ideas? I'm not keen to just put a blanket over it as it won't stay on. They never do. Eventually it will fall off or move, perhaps while we're out of the house. It just seems like a matter of time. The other option is to sell it. I'd honestly rather it go to a new owner than see it destroyed.
With regards to the nails getting stuck; the nails are too long, even if you clip them, when cat is getting stuck the nails are too sharp and too long.
I use a normal nail clipper on my cats, the pet clippers are way too intimidating and overkill for a cat. You just need to very careful not to clip the quick of the nail. I put my kitties on their back in my lap, squish one paw at a time and clip their nails. They are very compliant and the trick is to make it easy, no trauma.
The more you maintain their nails, the more the quick can recede, the shorter and tidier you can keep their nails.
The other must here is a scratching post... you need to encourage them to scratch it. I have a leather sofa and the cats don't go for it at all, they prefer something with weave, I had a sofa with large weave that they could go nuts on, and they did. Carpets are also a winner, but of course a robust scratch post will help keep nails under control.
I have dogs, not cats, but the challenges are the same.
My solution was to make slip covers for the sofa. I used nice upholstery fabric, washable and heavy enough to stand up to the ravages of burrowing, digging, mucky mutts. I've made several of these, so I can toss one in the wash and cover the sofa with another.
When one slip cover finally sucumbs to the mutts, I just toss it and make another.
The covers are fitted snug to the sofa so they stay in place no matter what the mutts do, and they don't scream 'Slipcover!'. Actually, they look quite nice. I made these myself, but if you don't sew you can have some made for you.
When guests come over, I just pull the covers off.
With the sofa totally protected, I can smile, enjoy my mutts, and don't have to write the sofa off.
The sofa is a good 30 plus years old, and underneath the slipcovers still looks like new.
Yeah the problem is these cats are 14+ years old. The problematic one just can't retract them. Even after the trim. But yeah we can try every weekend and see if the quick will recede.
They do have a scratching post. But I don't see them use it too often. Again, they're quite old so I'm not sure how much they can be encouraged. But we'll look into that too.
Perhaps filling the apartment with furniture decoys is the answer. I could even buy a chair now to draw their attention to. Then it can be the cat chair in the new place
I'll do you one better. Here's a video of the sofa. Problem is it's one that you can adjust in various ways (see video). Not sure how a cover would handle that.
If you do end up using a slipcover on your sofa, I suggest getting one that is microfiber, because cats seem to leave microfiber alone. (I've read this before and also know from first-hand experience).
Our old sofa had a weaved fabric and our cat had that thing all scratched up before it was even 6 months old. So then I sewed a slipcover for it, using microfiber upholstery fabric, and she never scratched it again.
I see what you mean. It would need to be made to measure, but it's actually quite simple.
One cover each for the seats. There would be a 'pocket' that slips over the bit that's also the armrest. the rest of the cover would fit over the seat, a bit like a fitted sheet but more tailored, and with more fabric underneath so it can be attached to itself without slipping off.
The back would also consists of two separate covers, covering front and back completely (cats like scratching the backs too). At the bottom of the backs, where they meet the seats, the front and back could then be secured together with straps, poppers, buttons or similar.
It’d be worth choosing good-quality fabric that can take wear and tear from humans and cats, especially if you spend money on making up the covers.
You can get quite nice fabrics that look like suede, for example. Here’s one in microfibre, as Pancakes suggested https://www.polstereibedarf-online.d…schutz/a-90505
This supplier doesn’t list Switzerland as a country they send to, but I often find that an email to the supplier brings results.
I’d ask for a sample before you decide. It’s best to be able to feel the fabric. Fabric colours usually display on screen quite badly.
You’d need to measure up very carefully - the seat covers are basically an upturned box and a diagram with measurements would be needed to make it as tailored as possible.
The backs are more complicated and would also need a diagram so a paper template can be made.
PS The claws might still go through the fabric, so the verticals could be protected with a layer of wadding (blankety material) on the wrong side
You also need to allow for shrinkage or you can wash the fabric before you start.
Make sure there are plenty of places you would be happy for them to scratch and encourage them to scratch there and not on the sofa. If they start to scratch the sofa just pick them up and take them straight to the place you want them to scratch. Has worked with our cats. You can also get scratching pads that hook over the arm of the sofa which might add some protection. They might offend your aesthetic sensibilities though.