# Help ease my pounding heart about new leather furniture and siamese cats!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 2, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889 "2008-03-02T23:15:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/1 "2008-03-02T23:15:37Z")
My wife and I bought a [leather furniture](http://www.globalfurnitureusa.com/W-ModelDetails.aspx?SetId=71&CategoryId=6) set that we have been wanting for a while. I am petrifide that the siamese kitties we have are going to claw the hell out of it. Do cats like or dislike leather? I have a pair of old boat shoes - loafers, and our female siamese when ever I take them off dives into them a can’t get enough of them. Not sure if it’s the smell or the leather…I have a leather belt they both love as well.
So what do we do, the furniture comes in 2 days and my heart is pounding. This furniture is custom ordered and wasn’t cheap. […Looks around to see if Mrs.Phlosphr is around…] If I come home and there are shred marks I’ll skin both of them and make a new hat!
Ok just kidding.
Our cats tend to only claw things thier claws stick into, so I am hoping because the leather is cool and slippery they won’t claw it. I’m fooling myself aren’t I?
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### Author:  [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/2 "2008-03-02T23:30:11Z")
Sorry to burst your bubble, but this was probably not a good idea. I speak from experience, having bought upholstered furniture with leather armrests.
The problem is that if the cats are on the furniture at all, their rear claws tend to dig into the leather when they launch themselves off of it.
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/3 "2008-03-02T23:44:57Z")
I have a feeling this won’t end well.
Seriously, I have friends who have cats (not declawed) and dogs with leather furniture. The furniture is still intact.
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### Author:  [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/4 "2008-03-02T23:52:11Z")
I have leather and cats, and yes, they will scratch it. Most scratches come from them just running across it. If my current leather couch wasn’t free (got it from a friend that buys new furniture every other year and this was her cast-off) there is no way I’d buy leather. My previous leather couch really showed the marks after a few years.
Is it too late to cancel the order? I’m not one who freaks about how my furniture looks, YMMV, and if it going to bother you a great deal, I’d cancel it and get something else.
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### Author:  [@justpassingthrough](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justpassingthrough)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/5 "2008-03-03T02:12:38Z")
Both of our cats came to us already declawed; not sure of your situation on that point, but our kitties don’t spend much time on the leather furniture unless there’s a throw blanket or a lap for them to sit on. There are a very few small scratches from where they’ve jumped off or tried to keep from slipping off the arm.
The arms of my parents’ leather couch did get completely shredded by their cat, though.
I have no idea how to tell whether or not a cat will have good manners.
… Very stylish, but high risk if your cat decides to claw it.
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### Author:  [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/6 "2008-03-03T02:14:07Z")
My folks had a leather chair/ottoman for awhile and their cats popped holes in it just walking on it (no deliberate scratching). Maybe try to be very diligent keeping the nails very closely trimmed?
Oh, as a Siamese owner myself - please post pics of kitties!
[Diego](http://gloriana.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album08&id=Diego_01) - he’s actually some kind of Snowshoe mix - definitely an alleycat, total Siamese personality!
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### Author:  [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/7 "2008-03-03T02:46:27Z")
I have really bad news for you. Our leather chair was marred in a week and shredded in a month. You need to get soft paws or something. They are the caps you put on the cat’s nails. They are a real pain in the ass to put on, but it may be your best bet.
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### Author:  [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/8 "2008-03-03T03:20:38Z")
I have a cat and a leather couch. Cat is never on it, couch is fine.
Are the couches going to replace a furniture item the cats already like to frequent? If so, you might have a problem. If the couches are, however, going in a part of the house the cats don’t normally frequent, I wouldn’t really worry about it.
Also, depending on the leather quality, the leather should not scratch that badly for moderate kitty use. If all your cat is doing is jumping up and laying on the couches, only a really poor leather grade would show any wear. Though if the cats are jumping onto the back, running on them, or use the sides to scratch, you’re SOL no matter the leather quality.
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### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/9 "2008-03-03T13:30:50Z")
I have known cats to put hilarious (if you think cats are squeee! so adorable they can do no wrong) little fang marks into leather. So even if they don’t claw the furniture, they might bite it.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/10 "2008-03-03T13:41:45Z")
Yep, leather and cats don’t mix well, in my experience. I second the [Soft Paws](http://www.softpaws.com/) recomendation, and raise a suggestion that you take cat and package in to a groomer and let them deal with the initial application. After that it’s not so bad, as they pop off one at a time and you can replace them as needed, but putting a whole set on at once is slightly less fun than giving a cat a pill.
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### Author:  [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/11 "2008-03-03T13:49:11Z")
☹ Oh Boy - well, only one of our cats likes to lay on the current furniture, the other could care less. I think I am going to work from home when we get the set…see what they do. I know our female siamese will want to look out the window…I’ll post picks of kitties sniffing out the new wares when they come.
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### Author:  [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/12 "2008-03-03T18:42:30Z")
I have a cat, a leather chair and a fabric couch. She’ll claw the couch but leaves the chair alone.
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/13 "2008-03-03T18:44:42Z")
You could always cover it in clear vinyl 🙂
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### Author:  [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/14 "2008-03-03T18:48:29Z")
I have a leather chair, and all the cats do to it is sleep on it–not a mark I have seen. So it’s definitely a matter of how your particular cats react to the leather.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/15 "2008-03-03T20:38:11Z")
It’s all dependent on the particular kitties. My cat lives to sharpen her claws on vinyl; I think she’d be in cat heaven with leather furniture. My husband’s cat doesn’t care one way or the other.
On the other hand, even if they don’t like to scratch on it, they’ll probably do stuff like drag themselves along the front of it on their sides lying on the floor. Cats and leather furniture are not a good bet.
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### Author:  [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/16 "2008-03-03T20:55:21Z")
The Boy and I were very concerned about what would happen when we combined households and put my two cats in the same room as his dark brown leather sofa.
Not much, apparently. There are a few marks from them jumping on and off, but apparently they’re not so keen on the feel of leather under their paws and tend to give it a wide berth unless there’s a human lap sitting on it.
Sadly, this wasn’t the case with our so-ugly-its-beautiful-again orange easy chair, which they’ve been using as a kitty bed slash scratching post. Same goes for the chair seats on my vintage Scandinavian dining set. I guess you could say that my cats are just as exceedingly fond of those nubby late 60s/early 70s upholstery fabrics as I am… but not in a good way. ☹
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/17 "2008-03-03T21:09:17Z")
I have a leather chair that gets used by the cats more often than by me. It’s got scratches from them getting in and out, but no deliberate claw sharpening. At the rate their going, using the chair every day, it’ll probably last a total of 8 years before being really wrecked.
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### Author:  [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/18 "2008-03-03T21:35:56Z")
[Liquorice](http://picasaweb.google.com/Si.blakely/MyCats/photo#5041601282780578370) was discouraged (shouts, occasional water splash) from the leather couches unless there was a lap to sit on, or a blanket. He learned fast, and we didn’t have a problem - but he used the scratching post you can see in the photo.
Si
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### Author:  [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/19 "2008-03-03T22:08:16Z")
[QUOTE=si\_blakely]
[Liquorice](http://picasaweb.google.com/Si.blakely/MyCats/photo#5041601282780578370) was discouraged (shouts, occasional water splash) from the leather couches unless there was a lap to sit on, or a blanket. He learned fast, and we didn’t have a problem - but he used the scratching post you can see in the photo.
Si
[/QUOTE]
What he (she?) said. Give training them a shot; not all cats are untrainable. Make sure they have someplace good to scratch, and make doubly sure that it sucks to scratch the furniture. Some people like squirt guns, I like hissing, loud noises, and generally scaring the bejeesus out of the cat when he does what he isn’t supposed to do. It probably won’t work for all cats, but I do know that mine doesn’t scratch, jump on counters, take food, or touch the curtains anymore. It does takes persistence, and you may want to lock them up when you can’t supervise them, at least for a while.
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### Author:  [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ease-my-pounding-heart-about-new-leather-furniture-and-siamese-cats/439889/20 "2008-03-03T22:34:16Z")
Just a note - wikipedia suggests that some cats dislike citrus smells. Our leather conditioner has a citrus odour - maybe that helped. It could be worth a shot, as well as being a good start for your new furniture.
Si
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