Here's what cat owners need to know about choosing furniture upholstery
While cats can enchant us with their elegant poise, their natural behaviors can wreak havoc on our living spaces. From sharpening their claws on sofas to occasional household accidents, all kinds of pets can present unique challenges to maintaining a home. Fortunately, by making informed choices about upholstery, you can create a space that accommodates both your design preferences and your feline companions.
Can Cats Really Damage Your Furniture with Their Claws?
Scratch marks and shredded upholstery are an all-too-common reality for cat owners. They have a natural instinct to scratch, and unfortunately, your favorite armchair or sofa can become their preferred target. Without proper precautions, those sharp claws can transform pristine furniture into tattered pieces, leaving lasting damage.
They're also very discerning when selecting their scratching surfaces, with clear preferences that influence their choices. They naturally gravitate toward furniture that combines textural interest with structural stability. Pieces that offer resistance against their claws while standing firm – like a well-built sofa with textured upholstery – often become their favorite scratching spots. This selective behavior stems from their instinct to mark territory and maintain their claws effectively.
The Value of Performance Upholstery for Cat-Friendly Homes
For households with feline companions, investing in performance fabrics is a practical necessity. Every cat owner knows that even the most well-behaved pets can create unexpected challenges for furniture, and performance upholstery offers a sophisticated solution to these everyday realities.
These specially engineered fabrics combine durability with style. Their advanced construction techniques and materials provide lasting protection without sacrificing aesthetic appeal, making them an ideal choice for creating a home that's both beautiful and pet-friendly.Rather than constantly worrying about potential damage or frequently replacing furniture, performance upholstery allows you to focus on enjoying life with your feline family members. The initial investment typically pays for itself through extended furniture life and reduced maintenance needs.
Read more: Are performance fabrics worth it
Technical specs to look for in cat-proof upholstery fabric
Here are three textiles tests that an upholstery choice needs to ace in order to be great for homes with cats:
- Tensile strength (ISO 13934-1) and Tearing strength (ISO 13937-3). Fabric tensile properties testing measures the force needed to break a piece of fabric and shows how strong it is compared to other fabrics of its kind. If a fabric is made of fibres that stretch out easily, it will be more likely to show wear and tear after repeated use. The tensile strength test measures the fabric’s strength and percentage of elongation until rupture (mainly for upholstery fabrics). The tearing strength test measures the amount of force needed to tear the fabric (mainly for upholstery fabrics).
- Seam slippage (ISO 13936-2). The seam slippage test measures the fabric’s movement at the seam (mainly for upholstery fabrics). Seam slippage is the separation or pulling apart of yarns in a fabric usually along a sewn seam or join. Seam slippage usually occurs on joins that are subjected to heavy load and pressure such as seat cushions and arm rests. Certain furniture styles put more stress on fabric seams such as tub chairs and furniture with a fixed back or seat cushions.
- Dimensional stability in fabrics (ISO 3759:2011) Dimensional stability refers to how stable a piece of fabric is over time. If it shrinks or stretches out of shape easily, it won't last as long. That's why this test is important when choosing upholstery fabrics for your home; you want something that'll stand the test of time without shrinking away from its original shape and size. If you stretch the fabric out from its natural state, then it will return back to its original size after being released - this property is what we call "resilience".
Why is FibreGuard upholstery the best choice for cat owners?
FibreGuard fabrics are specifically designed with the needs of pet owners in mind. They are made from high-quality materials that are not only soft to the touch - and stay that way! - but also extremely durable and resistant to wear and tear.
They're woven with a special Stain Free Technology that makes them highly stain-resistant, ensuring that any spills or accidents are easy to clean up. Finally, those textiles tests that we mentioned above? FibreGuard fabrics passed all of them with flying colours. Learn more here.
We've done our best on our side to create the most durable upholstery fabrics that we can. However, even though FibreGuard fabrics are durable, they’re not completely indestructible: no fabric can withstand heavy or sustained cat scratching. Scratching and chewing are natural reflexes for cats, but with proper training they can be discouraged.
Keep Exploring our Fabrics Academy
If you're interested in learning more about performance fabrics and how they can enhance daily living, we invite you to keep exploring our free Fabrics Academy hub. We offer a wide range of valuable resources and information about performance fabrics, including maintenance tips, fabric selection guides, and more.