Protect Your Leather Couch: Tips to Keep Cat Scratches at Bay

Knowing how to protect leather furniture from cats is something every new leather couch owner should know. Naturally you want your new leather couch to remain in pristine condition for as long as possible. There is nothing pretty about cat scratches on a leather couch. But how do you protect a leather couch from cat claws? Cats love to scratch, right? Well, there are a number of things that you can try which I went over in the article, “Do cats like to scratch leather?” Here is a quick review.

1. Stop your cat from scratching the leather
2. Do not scold harshly, hit, yank or even spray with water
3. Pick it up gently and move it to the appropriate place to scratch
4. Pet and praise it for scratching the right thing
5. Be consistent

Table of Contents

How to keep cats off leather furniture

The best leather couch protection from cats is simply by not being there. A cat cannot scratch leather furniture if it’s not there, so think long and hard about whether you really want a leather couch or a leather chair or not. There are a number of fabric that can provide the same comfort, breathe much better and do not cause you to sweat when you touch them directly with your skin for a long time. However, if your mind is made up, and you really want to buy that new leather couch, then read on.

Prevent access

This idea may sound like the easiest, however I am not really a fan of it. It prevents the cats from spending time with you. However, if you really want to protect your couch, not allowing your cat in the room with the leather couch is the easiest way.

Apple cider vinegar

This is a great way to keep cat off leather couches. Try mixing a few drops of apple cider vinegar into a small bottle of water. Then for the next several days, spray it onto a small section of the couch which is generally not visible. If you don’t notice a difference in coloration after a week or so, then spray it on the whole couch. Apple cider vinegar is one of the best cat repellents for leather furniture. Naturally there are other ways of keeping cats off leather furniture that don’t require spraying your couch.

Use Citrus peels

Place citrus peels on the couch after eating them. Naturally you will want to pick them up after they dry out. But cats generally hate the smell of citrus, so there is little chance they will come close to your leather couch if they smell citrus.

Use aluminum foil

Learning how to keep cats from scratching leather furniture takes a bit of creativity. A very rarely used but great leather couch protector from cats is aluminum foil. Placing it along the couch when you are not using it or will be gone for a few hours is a great way to get them to leave the couch alone. Cats hate aluminum foil and will stay clear of it. If your cat has scratched the arm of the chair, just take a long strip of foil and drape it over the arm of the chair. Place some books on it to prevent it from falling off. This will do keep your cat from coming close to the sofa until you can get it fixed or apply a protective surface to it.

How to keep cats from scratching leather furniture

There are other ways to protect your leather couch from cat claws besides not allowing them on the sofa or trying to dissuade them from getting close to it. These are very simple ways which will prevent your cats nails from puncturing the sofa’s leather.

Trim their nails often

Keeping your cat’s nails short and in good shape may reduce the need for them to. This can protect your furniture greatly because they will not be able to dig their nails in to the leather if they are dull and not sharp.