Eventually, if I can keep the damned house clean with the help of miracles and paid help, I’m going to upgrade my furniture so it doesn’t look like a college apartment anymore. The first thing I’d like to replace is the ugly-ass chairs in the living room - nobody sits on them, but it would be nice to have a comfy reading chair over there. But I have three cats and a dog.
I assume leather is right out? What about different fabrics? What has worked for you? Microsuede? Twill?
Why not leather? We have 2 dogs and leather couches for this reason, they wipe clean and fur is much easier to get off.
We have leather also. My cats are not declawed and they haven’t destroyed it. They know they are not allowed to use the furniture as a scratching post.
We found that the older cat who has since passed did use her front claws for leverage and to help pull herself up on the the furniture as she aged, but it never destroyed the furniture.
The two young kitties we have now will every now and then leave a scratch on the leather when running around and playing, but we don’t really care all that much. We would prefer to have slightly scratched leather to having fabric that holds the hair.
The dog also has very long nails (I think it’s a breed characteristic - you can’t cut them, the quicks are long also) and while I dont’ care about a few scratches, you know…
I might get a leather ottoman and see how that works out.
I don’t know about dogs, but from my experience with guinea pigs, if you regularly (like every week) cut the nails close to the quick, the quick will shrink.
For cats scratching, people say that cats like something their claws can grab into, something textured. So get a smooth upholstery. If you can afford leather I would imagine that would be perfect. I just got microfiber and I have a cat who likes to scratch, and so far, she has not scratched it (as far as I know!).
From my experience with cats, I’d suggest stainless steel. 
We’ve got three dogs, so any clothing or furniture is picked primarily on its “hair magnet” rating.
We’ve had very good luck with microfiber upholstery. It tends to be cheaper than leather and more comfortable (at least, in our opinion). It feels like suede, so we thought it would grab and hold onto dog hair, but actually, it works really well. I suspect this is because the hair can’t get into the pores of the material.
My folks also have this microfiber-suede stuff. They were also smart and their furniture is also a similar color to the dog (one of the dogs, at least). As far as I know, they don’t have too much trouble cleaning it. But the dogs don’t go up there much. Considering how much hair I see on the throw pillows from the white dog vs. how much hair is on the couch - I’d say microfiber works pretty well.
My furniture is in the style of “old, used, and of similar color to the dog” 
From my experience with cats, especially the one I ahve now, Calypso, I’d recommend
WOVEN AMAZONIUM!
Does anybody Wonder Why?!
- Jack
I have a cat, a dog, and two small kids, and I would wholeheartedly recommend leather.
I second this. Our house is basically all microfiber and leather. The leather doesn’t look showroom new, but we use a leather conditioner every once in a while, so the scratches smooth out into an aged look that’s actually pretty nice.
I also vote for microfiber or leather. Also. there is furniture that has ready made custom slipcovers and you could get a spare cover.
My soft gray leather couches are good for not showing hair and wiping clean. My rat terriers’ nails get long—they’re house dogs and don’t wear nails down, so I have a PediPaws.
Not sure what on earth would make you think to write off leather but it’s definitely best for pets in almost all circumstances.
Another vote for microfiber or leather. I have one couch of each, and the microfiber holds up very well even when the cat has accidentally gotten snagged on it. And the cat hair comes off easily with a lint brush.
As it happened, my cat strongly dislikes the leather. On the one hand, this is a good thing because he won’t go near it so there is no scratching. However, it also means he won’t sit and snuggle with me if I am reading or watching TV on that couch.
taking notes I’ve been thinking that I need to replace my couch for a long time, but it’s cool to know that microfiber actually doesn’t seem to be the hair magnet I had always thought it would be. (I have two XL Maine Coons that shed like no tomorrow. :eek: )
Your leather won’t stay in perfect condition. I have one leather armchair and, although the cats don’t scratch it, it has claw marks from them jumping up on it.
I recommend slipcovers over your current furniture if it’s structurally sound. Even if you get new furniture, I’d recommend slipcovers.
Having been in furniture sales for a long time I can tell you that dogs and leather are the best way to go. Cats and leather can be a crap shoot. Leather is generally more expensive to purchase and to repair so its really a question of money. If your cat does decide to use it as a scratching post she can destroy it. Also just jumping on the back or arm she may use her claws to catch on and now you have some holes in the leather. You need to ask youself if you want to take the risk and can afford the consequences. If you don’t I would definetly recommend the microfiber. Its easy to clean and pretty easy to get the hair off of because the hair doesn’t weave into the material.
I have a microfiber couch, and I would not buy one again. I have two cats and it seems to hold on to the cat hair via static cling. I spent an hour cleaning it recently, with my vacuum’s upholstery attachment, a lint roller, and a pet hair sponge, and still, I couldn’t get all the cat hair off. On the pro side, I’ve had it seven years and there are only a couple of snags from the cats, and stains come right off.