Ideas to Fix Cat Scratches on Cloth Furniture

Stop Them Right Away

• Stop scratches as soon as you notice them. You cannot fix scratches until you have made sure that they aren't going to happen again, or it will be worthless to you. Cats will tend to scratch in one area or another, according to Nelson, so it is important to stop any scratches as you see them happening. First see if you can move the furniture around so that the cats aren't able to scratch in the same area. This will often deter them from scratching on the furniture. If you can't move the furniture, take a piece of laminate plastic, like that used underneath desk chairs to protect the floor, and use carpet staples or screws to cover that area of the furniture. Use staples or screws that are intended for covering furniture. These will make small holes in the fabric, but will cover the scratches to prevent them from getting any worse.

  To be safe, use clear laminate on all corners of any cloth furniture if you have cats with claws. Be sure to cover each scratch as you see it appear, as cats will go back to the same place to scratch again and again.

Fixing Stratches

• If you have furniture that is a thick fabric, like leather or fake leather, use leather marking pens to color in the areas where cats have scratched. As long as you are able to match the color exactly, you'll find that scratches will become much less noticeable.

  Fix scratches on other types of cloth furniture by using a sewing machine and sewing a thicker fabric in a matching or coordinating color over the scratches. You can buy a small, handheld sewing device at a sewing store to accomplish this. Or, you can sew patches with a machine, and then hand sew them onto your furniture. This will also give your furniture a unique and interesting look.

Tips for Not Having Scratches to Fix

• Stop your cats scratching on the furniture for the best way to make sure you don't get it scratched up, says Nelson. You should stop cats from scratching even if they've only scratched a little bit, because they will continue to scratch more often and it will get worse over time. The last step in fixing any scratches is to make changes to your life so your cats won't continue to scratch.

  Give cats a scratching post near where the furniture is, and every time you see them scratching or starting to scratch on the furniture, move them to the scratching post. Remember, says Nelson, scratching is a natural occurrence so if you don't want cats scratching up your home you might want to consider getting them declawed.