First -- start with basic questions: 1) How do you want to use the room?? Entertaining, reading, TV, etc. 2) How do you want the room to "feel" -- cozy/warm? cool/fresh/contemporary? sophisticated? 3) List any problems with the basic room! Dark? Light? Cold? Too warm? Storage needs? Eletrical outlet placement? Cable placement? etc. 4) Research and Development Phase: After answering those questions -- head out to the local bookstore and go through decor books and magazines. Really look at rooms -- why does THAT room appeal to you? Look again! The type(s) of seating? The tables? Paint colors? Buy a few magazines that appeal to you -- and rip out those pages -- and keep those in your decorating notebook. Check the web -- and print out photos of rooms that appeal too! 5) Measure, measure, measure. Measure the room in all directions. Measure the windows and doors (and any hallways that lead into the room!) Measure any features like fireplaces or closets. NOTE where the electrical outlets and cables are located. 6) NOW start to research some choices -- sofa and loveseat? sofa, loveseat and chairs? bookcases? tables? Here's a website with some great examples of sofa styles -- also check out sites like Pottery Barn that feature "whole room" photos --- just for ideas ...... Here is a link that might be useful: Mitchell and Gold website -- sofa styles

You're in for a new, wonderful experience. I became the caretaker of a Manx 2 1/2 years ago and she has been a joy. Most info on the breed says they are more like a dog than a cat and I have to agree......except she does have the 'cat attitude'. :) On the scratching issue: supply the cat with several options and place them in areas it tends to hang out. When I first got my cat (abandoned kitten) she hung out below the TV so I placed toys and cardboard scratchers there along with one under the dining table. The tall scratching post has moved around the house but it's now in an area she strolls by every morning. I would also recommend you buy a tunnel.......a great 'toy' for cats. There will be the kitten stage, no way around it, where it's going to be everywhere and testing everything. Keep a spray bottle handy and be ready to give a squirt when the kitten is somewhere it shouldn't be. But, give a warning first. I quickly realized my kitten would respond to 'no' of 'off' so I rarely needed to use the squirt bottle. At one point I had to purchase Static Pads to keep her away from the LR furniture. I used them for about 3-4 months and haven't needed them since. She'll only scratch at a chair now in order to get my attention (if I'm on the computer) if she wants to be fed. On cat litter: I've tried several brands and always return to unscented Worlds Best. Everclean has too much of an odor (even the unscented) and odors can often cause cats not to use the litter box. You'll find that you'll go thru different sizes of litterboxes. My kitten was so small she started off with a shallow pan and she now uses one of the largest boxes sold at Petco!

Well the sticky stuff seems to be keeping her away from the furniture but she doesn't seem to have settled on any of the desired scratching devices. She's tearing up a runner in the hallway which is okay because I'm replacing it. Though I need to get her onto a desire scratching device before that. No interest in the sisal/carpet scratching post. I also bought those horizontal cardboard scratchers and a hanging fabric one - thought that would be most like the furniture. No interest in that either. She has scratched on the cardboard thing a couple times but mostly she just sits on it. Everything came with catnip so I've loaded all the scratchers up with that. It attracts her to them but doesn't inspire her to scratch them. I also got her (and the other cats) a giant cat tree. Thought she might scratch on that as well as climb it. So far just climbing and playing. I was amazed to find my big ole' no front claws Siamese cat on the top of the thing yesterday. I was feeling bad for him because he wouldn't get to play on it like the new kitty with all her claws but he quickly proved me wrong. Hopefully she will get this figured out soon as DH was very annoyed to find her scratching his very expensive stereo speakers. She even scratched the sticky stuff partway off that. And being on blood thinner, he's also not fond of her use of claws when playing. I do think that can be managed though with the clipping which I will hopefully get much better at than I am now.

I got all my furniture covered in ultrasuede. I've had the furniture for 2 years and my cats for 2 years. Furniture looks exactly the same as it did on day one. The cats can't get their claws into it. Just as lindac92 says, you want a non looped weave. That way, there's nothing for the cat's claws to hook into.