Yes ... LOL. I purchased a beautiful navy modern leather couch with the hopes that the animals wouldn't scratch it. Well, that was the hope. The cats have marked it, and so have the dogs ... oh well. My house is for all of us, people and animals. And I still love the couch.

DON'T DO IT!! Even if they don't "want to scratch it" just jumping off the couch can cause scratches by their rear claws. I knew when I got my kitty that I'd be giving up leather furniture for a long, long time.

Depends on the cat. I used to foster kittens and several of them LOVED my leather chair. They would get on the seat and just run/play in circles. Lots of scratches on the leather!
They never used the chair as a scratching post and preferred their cat tree instead.

We have a soft leather sofa that we have a slipcover on because their claws make scratch marks when they walk on it.

We have a second sofa and two armchairs that are hard leather and they are fine.

I caught my old tabby 'stretching' on the back of the couch for the first time this week but I caught her in time.

In her defense, she was overdue for a clipping. And she really only gets the stretch and claw urge when she's overdue.

Other kitty was overdue once and razor sharp, and she inadvertently left a nail mark on the cushion of my leather couch. I haven't tried to remove it yet but hopefully it'll rub out.

Either way, they also clawed the chenille couch, worse, though, but again, the incident happened when they were overdue for clipping.

Yes, on a quality leather piece of furniture cat claw marks are very evident. Either go with microsuede (perfect for cats) or live with the "distressed" look. You can't have both! Sorry!

I love my leather couch. It is scratched (from falling off the arms, not from scratching post scratching), but the cat hair comes off so easily it makes up for it.

Like texaswoman, my cats don't like my leather chair, not even to sleep on. There's one tiny scratch mark on the top of the back--I think one of them was trying to cross the room on the furniture instead of the floor that time, and missed a jump onto the leather chair. But for the most part, they ignore it.

The type of leather probably also makes a difference--some will show scratches more readily than others.

I was wondering the same thing! I have my heart set on a new leather set but I have one cat with claws and even though I have four other places she can scratch she will choose the couch if she is closer to it than the scratching posts. My other cat tries but he was declawed prior to me adopting him. I don't want soft leather, more like "saddle" leather. Anyone have that and cats?

As I said, our hard leather couch and armchair don't show the marks. The soft leather couch, which is more comfortable, does, so we keep a washable slipcover on that one.

Our cats don't scratch leather on purpose, it just happens when they jump up on the furniture. We have a variety of scratching posts that they like; cardboard, sisal rope and carpeted.

I researched this very subject myself bc I have several cats and would never declaw them. I ended up buying a leather chair & half w/ottoman AND an invisible fence type device to place under the set. The collar boxes are a bit too big and cumbersome (even though they only weigh a few ounces) for the cats, but they were ok, AND they only wore them for a little while. They got the message to stay away from the leather. One cat is a little more rambunctious and she still wears the collar when I'm gone. I've used electronic fences in my yard also for my dog and potbellied pigs and I don't think they're cruel, as some people will protest. If you have one, you'll understand this. I like the set-up I have for my chair bc it's not some unsightly stuff I have to place on top of my furniture and it's moveable and can be used elsewhere if need be.

I have two declawed cats...and two scratched leather chairs. One, the saddle leather type, is much more scratched than the other darker, sleeker leather one. However, the saddle leather chair has arms while the other one does not. Most of the scratches are on the arms. Just jumping on and off of them has torn them up.

BF got a new genuine leather wallet. Next morning we found it on the floor with claw marks all over it, and teeth marks. The cats had been after it all night, anytime he puts it on the counter or table, we find it on the floor pretty quickly. They don't usually go on the tables or counters.

This put an end to my dream of ever having a leather couch while my girls are still around. They're obsessed with leather.

I'm still searching for a cover for our leather furniture. Now I have those non slip rugs with a big bedspread on it. Need a permanent solution though.
I sympathize with you!

Carla

Try the nail caps. I loooove these things!

I use them on my Princess Kitty and she has stopped killing the sofa's. (Yay!)

I just wish I had discovered these things BEFORE she clawed all the way through the fabric and batting straight through to the wood framing of our old couch!! Gaaah!!

You can buy either the dog or cat versions on the internet here**** http://www.softpaws.com/ *****but I think you can also get them at PetSmart or Petco. Here is a snapshot of the dog version of nail caps.