Couches for those with indoor pets?

Petebass · #1 06-15-2009, 09:58 PM

I'm getting a little tired of having to constantly vacuum dog hair off the couch material. I'm tempted to get a leather couch instead but I'm concerned about their claws tearing the leather?

Your thoughts? What sort of couch are you using and how's that working for you?

PS- "Get the pets out of the house" is not an acceptable answer.

EagleMoon · #2 06-15-2009, 10:00 PM

I put throws or covers on my furniture so I can just put them in the washing machine when they get dirty. I was always a bit concerned about leather and whether my cats would scratch it or not.

tplyons · #3 06-15-2009, 10:03 PM

We've got cloth and a dog that sheds... a lot. Doesn't work... my friend had a good method... leather couch covered in fleece blankets. The blankets get pulled off and washed from time to time, and it's not much of a problem.

rcarraher · #4 06-15-2009, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petebass

I'm getting a little tired of having to constantly vacuum dog hair off the couch material. I'm tempted to get a leather couch instead but I'm concerned about their claws tearing the leather?

Your thoughts? What sort of couch are you using and how's that working for you?

PS- "Get the pets out of the house" is not an acceptable answer.

I have cats, and none are declawed (crule, think about having the first knuckle of your fingers and toes removed) we keep their claws trimmed regularly. With cats (don't know if this is true with dogs) if you trim them regularly, the quick retreats so that you can keep them shorter and shorter. In door cats I should add. They don't stop scratching entirely, but can do less dammage. Also, we have ample scratching post (different color than the carpet, this seems to be important, and we rub cat nip on them. I've had the same living room furniture for 12 years or so and you would "barely" notice that it had any scratching. Another thing with cats, if you catch them scratching where they shouldn't, squirt them with a spray bottle. They learn. Keeps them out of the fireplace and out of the cables on your gear, tv etc...too.

My furniture is a nice cloth and was a bit expensive when new, don't know the specific fabric but I bet someone who sold furniture would know a cloth that was semi resistant to pets and kids. I've been seriously thinking of leather, especialy in my w(rec)kless room/studio/TV Room, but everyone tells me that no matter how tough the leather, it won't stand up as well as a good fabric. Also, it'll show any scratches or tears faster. Our cats are persians (long hair, short nose) so the hair problem is a mess, but you get used to vacuumming the furniture a couple times a week and before company. I also have the wor;ds largest and most comprehinsive collection of hair/lint removal tools in the world, oh, and a Dyson Monster....don't believe the comercials tho' , you can clog one....with the help of numerous persians

shedding.

Petebass · #5 06-15-2009, 10:16 PM

I should mention I have, in order of the amount of hair they shed, a Labrador, a Border Collie, a cat, and a beautiful wife.

I'm currently using polyester bed sheets that I bought especially for the couches (in the same colour as the couch to make the wife happy). But they attract as much hair as the couch material, and the hair seems to penetrate it so when I remove the covers the couches still look a little bit hairy (though much better than if there are not sheets at all I must admit). I was hoping I could remove the sheets, say when we have unexpected visitors, to reveal a clean couch they can sit on without getting hair all over them.

Any particular fabrics that work best for couch covers?

bongomania · #6 06-15-2009, 10:21 PM

We have two cats with claws and a large leather couch and a leather easy chair, and they've all been together for a bit over seven years. In that time the surface of the leather has gotten a bit scuffed and worn, but nothing bad, nothing where we've considered replacing or reupholstering or putting a cover over it. No real nicks or gouges, let alone cuts/tears. The leather is good quality, nice and thick. So if you get a couch with good leather, and don't mind some mojo wear over the years, it's no big deal.

Worth noting though that these cats are pretty good about using their scratching posts and not clawing furniture. If you do get a new couch, make sure you have a nice scratching post right nearby so you can redirect the cats immediately if they start to claw the couch.

rcarraher · #7 06-15-2009, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

We have two cats with claws and a large leather couch and a leather easy chair, and they've all been together for a bit over seven years. In that time the surface of the leather has gotten a bit scuffed and worn, but nothing bad, nothing where we've considered replacing or reupholstering or putting a cover over it. No real nicks or gouges, let alone cuts/tears. The leather is good quality, nice and thick. So if you get a couch with good leather, and don't mind some mojo wear over the years, it's no big deal.

Worth noting though that these cats are pretty good about using their scratching posts and not clawing furniture. If you do get a new couch, make sure you have a nice scratching post right nearby so you can redirect the cats immediately if they start to claw the couch.

Bongo, you are the first person with cats that got a long with leather. Now I have amo to pettition the wife with. I don't mind mojo, I just don't want stuffing hanging out of my $1000.00 couch.

bongomania · #8 06-15-2009, 11:15 PM

Yeah, I think the key is proper training for them to use a scratching post, and also some cats are just not as destructive as others. These guys just pee on my gf's clothes and eat houseplants, they don't claw any furniture.

rcarraher · #9 06-15-2009, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

Yeah, I think the key is proper training for them to use a scratching post, and also some cats are just not as destructive as others. These guys just pee on my gf's clothes and eat houseplants, they don't claw any furniture.

Well, the gf's clothes could just be a personal opinion, and as for the house plants, what are you growing

Petebass · #10 06-16-2009, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

Yeah, I think the key is proper training for them to use a scratching post, and also some cats are just not as destructive as others. These guys just pee on my gf's clothes and eat houseplants, they don't claw any furniture.

Is the GF new? My wife's cat spent a few months giving me a hard time when I first came on the scene, the cheeky little brat

We eventually became good friends.

Our cat relieves himself in the litter or outside, and scratches on the post we supply. He's a good little thing - The dogs are pretty well behaved as well - they just leave hair behind which isn't their fault I guess, but I'm going nuts having to vacuum so often.

Absentia · #11 06-16-2009, 05:01 AM

buy some laundry baskets and put them outside down on the furniture before you leave, giving the pets no room to lay down.
My father ilaw does it to keep the cats from peeing on the couches.

that or cover the everything in plastic.

Jim Nazium · #12 06-16-2009, 05:15 AM

I don't think there's any way to win the battle with pet hair. You just have to live with it. It just amazes me that my two cats can shed enough hair to FILL a vacuum canister once a week, and not be bald.

Barkless Dog · #13 06-16-2009, 05:55 AM

Our dont really shed much so they have free range.

Lady Kayri · #14 06-16-2009, 06:12 AM

Have two cats. Scratching posts and those cardboard scratching boards keep their claws where they should be. We buy really cheap bed quilts / bedspreads and cover the couch with them; stick them in washing machine as needed and put 2nd one on couch - change them out so they don't wear out too fast.

RWP · #15 06-16-2009, 06:34 AM

Leather works for me.

jwbassman · #16 06-16-2009, 07:33 AM

I have three dogs and we have leather couches. We keep their nails pretty well clipped. So they haven't gotten too badly scratched. When we leave in the morning we put blankets on the couch and chair to protect them we just tuck them in so they don't fall off easily. Seems to work. We used to have fabric a few years ago but it was just a hair magnet. Go with leather.

Brick Top · #17 06-16-2009, 08:02 AM

I have 9 dogs and a leather couch. We have had the couch for about 3 years now. One of the best decisions we have made.

6 of our dogs are poms...and they are on the couch all the time. They scratch the cushions before they lay down and play rough on the couch. The little bit of scratch marks they make just add to the age look of a leather couch. Our large dogs(over 100 lbs) lay on it as well....with no puncture marks.

Kids will damage your furniture much more often than dogs.

Cheers,
BT

Dekker · #18 06-16-2009, 08:23 AM

I've had a variety of dogs over the years, including a german shepherd mix and a purebread collie (long-haired). The simplest and best answer is to not let them on furniture. It's the best method, and I've never had a problem with them damaging anything.

That said, I have had a long-haired persian cat, and if your idea of a cat is to have it on your lap, well, it's going to be on the couch. Give them a scratcher, and instantly/immediately re-direct their scratching towards the scratcher as soon as you see it on anything undesireable.

All that said, I've never had any problem with actual damage to furniture, only shedding, and that's something that you just have to live with when you have shedding pets. The nice thing about leather is that the hair doesn't stick to it. Just don't get suede...

wazzel · #19 06-16-2009, 08:34 AM

Our dogs mostly stay off the furniture. They have their own pillows to lay on.

bongomania · #20 06-16-2009, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petebass

Is the GF new? My wife's cat spent a few months giving me a hard time when I first came on the scene, the cheeky little brat

We eventually became good friends.

The funny thing is, I'm the new one, she had them for a year already when I moved in six years ago. They did pee on my stuff to give me a hard time at first, and as you say we eventually became friends. At this point though they are 13 years old and one of them has turned into one of those insane, bitchy old cats, and I suspect she just pees out of deranged malevolence. The other one is as mild and sweet as can be, but he pees where it already smells like cat pee, so....

We love these cats, but we also "count the days" until they're dead.