Cat-Scratch Fever!

Jerry Seinfeld once said that he wouldn't be surprised if one day aliens landed on Earth and mistakenly believed that dogs and cats were the true rulers of the planet and we humans, the ones down there scooping their poop, were their servants.

It's funny because it's true.

But what can I say? We love our pets! They're family, and for many, they are like our children...and just like children, it's important to take them into account when we are designing a room for the entire family.

I've been giving this topic a lot of thought lately because one of the key things I am considering with this latest design challenge is my client's cats. They have done a lot of damage to her existing furniture so it goes without saying that any new furniture she buys will need to be able to hold up to the loving affection of her cat-babies.

I'm sure my client is not the only person out there who has put off buying new furniture because of cats and their claws, so I've listed here some options to help you keep your furniture looking its very best...even with cats!

The biggest problem cats present to upholstered furniture is scratching. It's frustrating, I know, but really they are not doing it to make you mad. It's a natural instinct for cats to scratch. They do it to signal their presence to other cats and mark a territory as their own. They also do it in order to remove the dead cells from their claws.

So we can't fight 20 million years of animal instinct. Okay, that's cool, but what can we do to protect our furniture from our little furballs?

Well, if you're on the hunt for new furniture, like my client, there are certain fabric selections you can make from the onset that are less attractive to cats and will inhibit them from wanting to sharpen their claws on it.

Avoid fabrics with a cross-hatched weave, a nubby texture or other woven material that has looped ends. Cats like how these fabrics catch on their claws when they sharpen them.

Instead, look for fabrics with low or no-weave, such as micro-fiber, microsuede, mohair or velvet. Cats don't like these fabrics because their fibers are open-ended and feel much like hair. These fabrics do not provide the satisfaction of friction of woven fabrics.

And then there is the question of leather...

It's smooth in texture and not as attractive to cats as woven fabrics, yet many homeowners say the mere act of their cat walking across their leather furniture leaves marks. For some leathers, evidence of wear and tear only adds to the patina, but for others, it just looks like a bunch of cat scratches on your beautiful furniture. In this case, I would weigh the cost of the new furniture with your concern about your cat's ability to damage it.

And for those of you thinking, "Wow! This is great advice...wish I'd read this like, I don't know...TWO MONTHS AGO before I bought my new furniture!" I have some tips for you too...

My research has turned up a few tried-and-true methods for training indoor cats to bypass furniture and choose an owner-designated scratching post instead.

Veterinarians often tell clients to put double-stick or packing tape on the arms of chairs and around other areas that cats tend to target. Cats instinctively do not like anything that sticks to their fur, so they will avoid tape. Eventually, they will learn to by-pass the furniture in favor of a scratching post.

Booby trap your furniture with an empty soda can filled with pennies so that if your cat scratches the furniture, it will make an intolerable noise your cat won't like and she will move on.

Try taping balloons to problem areas. After your cat pops one of the balloons with her claw, she will avoid scratching there again. Just be sure to pick up the balloon pieces so your cat does not try to eat them. (You might want to skip this one if you have toddlers in the house, especially if your child is going through the phase where they want to put everything in their mouth.)

Keep your cats claws trimmed. This will alleviate some of their urge to scratch.

Some owners have had good luck vinyl nail caps. Created by a veterinarian, vinyl nail caps for cats are a safe, non-toxic alternative to de-clawing. I found this website for more information: http://www.softpaws.com/.

There are training devices that can be purchased at pet specialty stores that make annoying sounds when cats scratch somewhere they are not supposed to. They utilize a motion detector that sprays a deterrent mist when your cat comes within a certain distance of a "trouble spot." One product that seems to be recommended over and over by the cat experts is "Ssscat Automated Cat Deterrent."

And of course, there is the old tried and true method of the spray bottle filled with water, but if your cat is anything like mine, he sees it as a refreshing afternoon spa treatment rather than a deterrent of any kind...but then aren't cats so much like people? Everyone one of us is so different!