In the past, I’ve had as many as 5 cats at one time. Plus 2-3 dogs. I’ve always had site-finished hardwood floors with a high gloss (gym floor) poly finish. It was bulletproof proof.

Don’t mix those two floors. It will look awful together. I have engineered wood floors with a dog who has long nails. No problems with it

Thank you all for your help!
Mark, I think the engineered wood looks better too, I just worry It's going to look awful soon because of the cats and high traffic.
Cpartist, what kind of engineered wood do you have? Do you think It's going to look bad if I mix the two even if it is on separate floors? I was thinking 1st floor wood tile, 2nd floor (most of the bedrooms) engineered wood.
Anglophilia, I wasn't considering hardwood because of our budget, (the Mohawk for all bedrooms and kitchen, living, dining is going to be $13,207 installed, not considering the stairs) and we don't like dark flooring. What kind of hardwood do you have ?
I am used to porcelain tile and concrete because I live in hot weather. Never had real wood, so I really appreciate your input on this.

How big are your cats??? I would be surprised if house cat paws can do more than large dogs or heels. Make sure the finish is Urethane or similar durable finish and you should be fine.

Oak & Board, they are big! but not larger than dogs. I will look into the finishes. We would prefer a matte finish, is that possible?
By the way, this flooring is beautiful, what kind of hardwood is it? Is it scratch proof? Better than engineered wood? Thank you

I have cats and softwood pine. The floors are fine.

patriciafb , thank you for the kind words! Yes matte is actually ideal. We use a name brand product from Bona called Naturale' its low gloss and very durable. The floors in that projects are Rift & Quartered White Oak. They are available as Solid or Engineered and finished or unfinished. Let me know if you have any other questions. joel@oakandbroad.com

I have site-finished hardwood white oak flooring that was installed in 1948 when the house was built, and some that was put in due to a pipe that burst 19 years ago and matched to the old floors.

I'm not a fan of matte finished floors. They are harder to dust and they just look "dull". That's why I always have my floors finished with high gloss poly - easy to dust, always look shiny and clean, easy to keep clean.

Remember cat's claws go in and out and a cat typically has them "in" when walking or running on a floor.

I have Kahrs Canvas collection flooring in a matte finish. It's oak engineered flooring and it shows nothing. I also live in a hot (and humid) climate. If you live in a humid climate you're better off with engineered wood.

I'm not a fan of matte finished floors. They are harder to dust and they just look "dull".

Wrong! In fact they show LESS than shiny. How do I know? My 1898 oak floors in my last house showed everything.

I agree with cpartist. We have shiny hardwood on the ground floor and matte finish engineered hardwood on the second floor. The matte finish doesn't look dull and it doesn't show dust/dog hair as much.

Patriciafb, I will try to get photos of mine on by tomorrow. They are wide planks.

Until about a week or so ago there were three cats here for over a year, and no problems. (one passed on over the rainbow bridge about a week or two ago) I do keep the litter boxes in the basement, so I can't address that issue (if they miss, it's onto concrete). If you keep the boxes on the flooring, I'd have some sort of plastic/rubberized surface under the box, no matter what flooring you choose to go with. Even if tile, you don't want that stuff in the grout.

patriciafb . If the installation is going directly over concrete you will need Engineered flooring. Most Solid flooring is not intended to be glued down over concrete. They other option would be to build a subfloor over the concrete.

Keep in mind Engineered does not exclusively mean prefinished. You can install unfinished Engineered and then finish it on site. The goal should be for everything to match for all the floors in your home

I was just coming on to say the same thing as Oak and Broad about going over concrete. Over concrete stick with engineered, not solid wood.

I would NOT mix engineered with solid wood. One flooring throughout will be the most harmonious.

I also would NOT do wider planks in solid wood because of potential cupping issues. Go with engineered for a more stable floor for larger sizes and make sure it's a glue down, not floating.

Thank you for the advice, cpartist and Oak & Broad. Can I find engineered with 8" planks? The Mohawk I was thinking about is 7". Do you think even if I do 1st floor hardwood, 2nd floor engineered would look weird? Oak & Broad I started thinking about hardwood because of your flooring now you're trying to talk me out of it! Would it stand occasional cat pee or barf better than engineered?

My floors withstand dog barf and very occasional pee. I clean it all up with Nature's Miracle.

I realized I missed this question:

Is that red oak?

Nope. White oak.

You may have missed where I noted that cats are fine on just about any flooring (as far as claws and such are concerned. The wide plank pine is fine, so the choices you have to choose from - either would work.

jmm1837 you're right. It says 9/16" thick but this is not the wear layer. So, you're saying in the case of urine you think hardwood would be better.

No, I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that the top layer of engineered wood is the same as the top layer of hardwood - there's no difference to how they react to scratches and spills - and both will have issues with urine if it soaks in at all.

patriciafb , It looks like it may have been confusing for a moment. The top layer and finish are the same for either Engineered or Solid. Just make sure you go with a quality product. The pictures of our project that you shared are of a floor that comes in both Solid and Engineered. Here is a diagram of our Engineered product.

Educational Plank Flooring Examples · More Info

So, you're saying in the case of urine you think hardwood would be better.

No there is no difference and again, you don't want hardwood on a concrete slab. You're asking for trouble.

And no you don't want multiple flooring throughout the house even if it's upstairs/downstairs. How do you decide what the stairs are and how would you match at the top/bottom of the stairs? You can't.

BTW: Mine has a 3mm wear layer. I'd be able to refinish it 1x but I have a feeling I'll be long gone before I want to even attempt to refinish it.

In my first house I had maple floors from 1927 that were NEVER refinished and they looked fabulous. Of course the carpet that had been on them for 20 of those years between 1927 and 1987 helped.

If you go with 4 mm, you'll be able to refinish the floors 2x over the life of the floor and chances are you won't need to refinish it for the first time for a minimum of 15-20 years. Meaning the floor will be 30-40 years old by the time you may need to refinish it a second time and chances are you won't need to. And if you do, then the floor will last another 15-20 years after the second time so the house will be 45-60 years old when you will need to throw out that 4mm wear layer flooring.

You'll be fine with a 4 mm wear layer. Don't waste your money on more.

I agree with cpartist . 4mm if finished correctly will last all the time most of us will need.

You are very welcome!

You're welcome.

update, I decided to go with a 5mm wear layer 9.5" wide 8 foot long floor by Garrison. I can't wait to show the installation pictures.

Great. Looking forward to seeing how it looks. That is a wide board!

It is! :)

My cats have been fine with pine, so I assume engineered wood would never be an issue.

I have cats (and they are getting on the elderly side). Half the flooring is engineered, the other half the original oak. All litter boxes sit on a throw rug - so far none are having accidents. That said, if we reached that point I would lay down some sort of vinyl/plastic/resin material underneath the throw rugs and then put the litter boxes on top of those two surfaces.

And yes, CP, the floor was done by previous owners - evidently they didn't want to spend the time or money to repair/replace what must have been severly damaged original oak floors in the living area.

Still dirty from installation but first floor is done. I think the color on the right is more accurate because this picture was taken by the end of the day when the light is softer.