Upholstery for a home with dogs and cats
A dog that climbs onto the sofa or a cat sharpening its claws on the arm of a chair tests upholstery harder than any guest. No fabric is claw-proof, but some cope far better than others — and a few habits help more than any cloth. Here is what fabric makers and an animal welfare charity have to say.
By Royal Stitch · Published
Illustrative imageClaws
FibreGuard, an upholstery fabric firm, recommends a dense, tight weave for a home with animals. It gives velvet as an example: its short, close pile stops a cat’s claws catching in the threads. Looped textures such as bouclé snag more easily if roughly handled.
And it admits what no maker should hide: no fabric is completely snag-proof, least of all against claws that persist.
Open weave
Its loops catch on a claw.
Tight weave
Less to grip, though none is claw-proof.
The scratching post
Beside the sofa, so the cat learns where.
Hair
According to the same firm, hair barely clings to a smooth, tightly woven surface, while open or textured weaves trap it. Crypton, another upholstery fabric maker, advises regular vacuuming with the upholstery attachment to lift hair and dirt.
Accidents
For a stain, Crypton says to start by misting it with plain water, and not to soak the fabric or scrub hard. Above all, each cloth’s care label comes first.
The scratching cat
The ASPCA, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, puts it this way: the aim isn’t to stop a cat scratching, but to teach it where to. It suggests putting something the cat dislikes on the furniture it scratches — double-sided sticky tape, for instance — with a scratching post right beside it.
It also mentions soft caps that stick onto the claws and last a few weeks. For the sofa’s sake, any of these counts for more than the choice of cloth.
What to ask before choosing the fabric
With these answered, the fabric is chosen with everyone who lives in the house in mind:
- Weave
- Dense and tight, or looped and textured?
- Surface
- Smooth, or with relief that holds on to hair?
- Cleaning
- What does its maker advise for stains?
- Guarantee
- Does it say anything about claws and snags?
- The animals
- Which ones, and where do they climb up?
The service
A sofa that lives happily with your animals?
Sofas, armchairs and headboards upholstered to order for Costa del Sol villas, commissioned by owners or by their interior design studio. The service page explains how the work is done.
Sources
Fabrics and cleaning come from two upholstery fabric makers; the cat, from an animal welfare charity. Each source was found by searching the publisher’s own site.