The best solution for cats and leather sofas?

by George

Hello Dr. Neely,

My girlfriend is moving in with me and she has two cats. I have read about waterguns, electric deterrents, sofa covers, citrus scents, double sided tape, etc.

What is the best way to protect my leather sofas/couches?

THANK YOU!!
George


Dear George,

There are many things I would recommend trying to protect your leather sofas from cat scratching. First, keep the cats' nails trimmed at all times. They should be trimmed once a week, and/or you could try nail caps such as SoftPaws. Keeping scratching posts and other things that are acceptable for the cats to scratch around the house will help as well.

I have heard of some individuals having success with bitter sprays/citrus scents, spray bottles filled with water, and double-sided tape, but would say that even in the presence of all of these other tools, you may still want to cover your sofas with a fabric slipcover. Scratch the idea of electric deterrents (no pun intended), as they are very cruel to cats.

Trial and error will be the only way to know what works best for your girlfriend's cats in particular, and you may ultimately need to use some combination of all of the above tools.

Best wishes,
Dr. Neely