Jute or sisal rug with cats

8 years ago

I'm thinking about replacing my too-small living room rug with something larger. I think that a jute or sisal rug would look great, but I am afraid that my cats would have a field day with it. They certainly can't seem to resist my natural fiber baskets, and they eventually clawed through the sisal rope on their cat tree.

I think I already know it's a bad idea, I just need a chorus of people to confirm that so that I can let it go.

Any suggestions for neutral, tone-on-tone textured options that would work with cats?

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MDLN

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Kitty 1: Did you hear Mom is thinking of getting a sisal rug?

Kitty 2: Oh, I heard it was going to be jute, I love jute.

Kitty 1: Jute is OK, but I prefer sisal. It is so nice to be able to really get your claws into it - to mark it as our rug!

Kitty 2: We are so lucky to have a Mom who is getting a rug just for our pleasure!

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Comments (9)

User
8 years ago
Ours love sisal! I'd never choose it for a rug.

Had a jute rug years ago. It shed like crazy. AND was difficult to clean kitty hairballs. Maybe that's no longer an issue.
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I have a jute runner in our entry way .... one of our kitties does scratch it sometimes, but the fiber is so thick, it doesn't show at all. And it keeps her from scratching the couch, so win! :D I've had it for 10 yrs now.

I'm not sure about a sisal with thinner, tighter fibers, though.
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We got our rugs on Overstock, so I'm not sure if they are representative of the fibers mentioned, but... We got braided jute rugs for the entry/dining/traffic areas of the great room. One 8X10 and 2 6X9s. They are holding up well against my 2 Newfoundlands and 8 year old human. One of the dogs went on an adventure, found a stream, and DD let her in the house, covered in black sticky mud (yes, 125 lbs of black dog covered in black, sticky mud). I confined her to the jute rug nearest the entry way until she dried out and then swept the mud right out the door. Neither the Dyson nor Miele vacuum has damaged them, although they are getting a couple of pulls here and there. I think they may need the occasional haircut. They're soft underfoot, I'd like them in my bedroom. We also got a bound seagrass rug and it is hard as a rock. DD refuses to stand on it in bare feet and I kind of agree with her. I've put it in the seldom-used guest room, just to provide a bit of warmth against the wood floor over crawlspace, but I'd have returned it if return shipping were not so expensive. Good luck! Mary
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I think it depends on your style. Several decades ago I was a guest at the home of family friends in Winchester, Massachusetts. They enjoyed a comfortable, but un-fussy and unpretentious home and lifestyle. They had two golden retrievers that were hunting dogs as well as family pets. Their house was solid, attractive, low-slung single story but ample. They had two large, plain, sisal or jute carpets that covered most of the living room wooden floor. I didn't notice any stains or uneven coloration or tears. The rugs were not fancy schmancy, nor new. Just well made. I've never forgotten that look, the large dogs, the warmth of the family and their home. I made a mental note to try to strive toward that sort of honest, straightforward and modest beauty and simplicity. It was like the first perennial gardens I encountered as a child -- something so uncomplicated and elegant and so completely and genuinely connected to the earth around us. Well, now you have exactly how I feel about sisal/jute rugs.
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Bunny
8 years ago
LOL mdln, our cats think alike.

Scratching posts tend to be covered with either carpet or sisal. My cats adore sisal in any shape or form. They are currently begging me to fill the house with sisal rugs. They promise me no more toilet paper shredding or counter napping if I grant this small request.

When they shred their posts, I strip off the old sisal, and then re-sisal them. Cats are programmed to shred sisal.
awm03
8 years ago
My cat shows no interest in my jute rug. Or if she's being sneaky about it, at least it doesn't show on my 5 year old rug.
cawaps
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks, guys. I think it would look great for about 5 minutes. But I know my cats, and they do enjoy clawing things. I usually keep a cardboard box around just for Arizona to claw on, and keep it until it loses structural integrity.

Linelle, I bought sisal rope to re-do the cat tree post, but found that the original was stapled to the post in 150 places. I haven't found the energy to pull the staples yet.
User
8 years ago
I had one. Once. For about five minutes before one of the cats upchucked on it and no mater what I tried it would not come clean. All our area rugs are now woven polypropylene. They hose clean and not even red wine stains them. I know this because my hubby clipped the bottom of a wine glass on the edge of the tall table I had just placed at the side of his recliner and it spilled all over our brand new rug. Luckily I had been working on a piece of furniture in the sunroom and tucked the shower curtain liner under the rug, ran tap water over the stain and watched it disappear.
lascatx
8 years ago
I haven't had cats for a few years now, but I would not have gotten jute or sisal rugs when we did. We did have both wool and polypropelene without a problem with our cats. I ostered a cat who needed some teaching that the wool wasn't a scratching post (he'd had carpeted posts). Tightly woven wool will resist stains, but some cats may react to the smell o the wool and either scratch or mark it. Polypropelene or nylon may be your best bet.
designsaavy
8 years ago
I have a seagrass rug and runner. My cats knead it, but they are declawed. I'm sure they wouldn't hold-up if they had claws.

Jute or sisal rug with cats

MDLN

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Jute or sisal rug with cats

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