Leather Furniture?

[LoveMyBullyBoy]

Okay so I'm seriously considering getting a leather couch & loveseat. What we have now is a khacki denim fabric. The covers remove completely to wash, but that is such a pain in the (_*_) to do! When we bought them it seemed perfect... until I realized with 4 animals and 2 kids how often I'd be removing & washing them!
My husband doesn't love leather, but he has his Lazy Boy he sits in anyway, so he doesn't count. My concern is, we have 2 dogs but also 2 cats. I'm so worried the cat claws will destroy the leather. While they don't intentionally claw the furniture, they do get on the couches & I'm afraid they will leave punctures or scratches when they jump on/off the furniture. I read that blended or bonded leather supposed to be more resiliant to kids & animals & is cheaper to boot. Who knows. But do any of you have leather & dogs, cats, kids? How does it hold up to abuse? Mainly animal claws. I gotta prove my case to my hubby and as we all know, I can't end up being wrong about it! Haha! I know it will be so much easier to clean animal hair and smooshed banana off of leather.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I have cats..and a leather chair..but getting leather sofa in a couple weeks..I keep my cats nails trimmed as best I can...believe me I'm wondering how a baby kitten and leather furniture will coexist! I'm so sick of vacuuming hair off microfiber..it's a risk I'm taking!

 

[LoveMyBullyBoy]

I have cats..and a leather chair..but getting leather sofa in a couple weeks..I keep my cats nails trimmed as best I can...believe me I'm wondering how a baby kitten and leather furniture will coexist! I'm so sick of vacuuming hair off microfiber..it's a risk I'm taking!

I think I could trim one of my cats nails, she's pretty laid back & will let me pick her up & hold her. But the other one... heck naw! She will tear my butt up if I try to pick her up or just hold her. They really only come in the living room after the kids go to bed. I don't blame them. Wish I could hide out until bedtime some days too! But yeah, I think it's a risk I'm willing to take too! I try to keep a blanket or sheet on the dog side of the couch. And it would work well if they always stayed on their side. I think I'd rather look at a few picks or scratches than stains, spills, & ground in dog hair. And since the fur & skin kids aren't going anywhere, the furniture will have to go!

 

[Vicaroo1000]

I cannot imagine NOT having a leather couch with three cats, two dogs (one of which is a couch potato) and a parrot.
Just keep a squirt bottle handy while you offer the cats something else to scratch on that's more satisfying and you'll be fine. There's another recent "leather couch" thread around here somewhere and the general concensus was: "Don't buy anything else!' Wipes clean like a dream. Got it on Craigslist for $600. There's no way I'd pay full price for a new one when there's so many out there available. My new couch is like NEW and came with extra cushions even - in the original wrapping!

<== the Craigslist couch

Good luck with your efforts!

 

[cali baker]

@Vicaroo1000 , that's a very hadsome looking sofa! Great color and looks perfect in your room.
I was looking for a leather lazyboy recliner on Craig's list the other day. I think i will buy a used one too b/c i'm afraid to get anything brand new with my two destroyers at home!

 

[Vicaroo1000]

@Vicaroo1000 , that's a very hadsome looking sofa! Great color and looks perfect in your room.
I was looking for a leather lazyboy recliner on Craig's list the other day. I think i will buy a used one too b/c i'm afraid to get anything brand new with my two destroyers at home!

Oh that's not my house.....that's the picture from the Craiglist ad.....

 

[anatess]

Bonded/Blended leather is not more resilient than genuine leather. And, when it gets scratched, it is more difficult to fix than genuine leather and the scratches are very obvious. Or so they said when we bought our new leather sectional that is coming in NEXT WEEK! CAN'T WAIT! YEAY!

 

[cali baker]

I'm so jealous, everyone seems to be getting new furniture, but me!!

 

[Davidh]

Leather, bullies and kids go great together, can't say much about the cats, we do not have cats, but will always have leather, easy to clean.

 

[SunDog]

We have two cats, two dogs, and over the years we've acquired a leather couch, and two chairs, and another couch in the family room. I could not survive without them BUT yes, they take a little bit of a beating. It's hit or miss with cats. I "tsk'd" them from day one when they even thought about the leather, and we have two scratch towers to keep them happy. I also use a lot of quilts and throw blankets when it's just all of us piled on watching TV (every night!), and give everything a good wipe for family occasions and guests.

If we had fabric furniture, ugh. We'd look like a college guys' door room!

Here's my precious loving her spot on the couch....

 

[2BullyMama]

Leather RULES when it comes to pets..... we have had our set for 11 years and 7 yrs of it with dogs -- no scratches, cuts, tears or rips. Next set will be leather again

 

[KMARINO]

I have had my new leather couch and loveseat for the last two weeks, I too had concerns and posted them. What I can say is I LOVE THEM!!!! I do not have any cats (yet) Joe wants one really bad, guess what he is getting for Christmas?? Lol...I am going to go to the pound and adopt, hopefully one declawed but if not it soon will be.

 

[Sarah]

[MENTION=3227]LoveMyBullyBoy[/MENTION] We also recently got leather couches off craigslist (GREAT shape white leather; sofa, love seat, chair, and ottoman for $300) We just have Brooklyn right now and she hasn't done any damage. My parents however have 3 cats and their leather couches are RUINED. It's just one of the cats who does it though, so it isn't an every cat trait but just a dumb cat named Bear trait. haha He refuses to scratch at a post and loves to scratch the fronts of the arms on their couch.

[MENTION=900]KMARINO[/MENTION] If you are dead set on a cat with no claws I'd try to find one that is already that way. And make sure that it can't get outside, since it then has no protection from predators. I couldn't imagine having my fingernails ripped off so I couldn't do it to a kitty since it doesn't have any benefits for them...Plus a lot of vets (up in CT at least) will no longer do the procedure.

 

[kim n the guys]

we are going to leather when we buy our next set of furniture. We bought a $3000 set from Art Van (microfiber) and we've had to have all three pieces repaired numerous times in the year and a half we've had it. They said microfiber would be the way to go with dogs and kids, but I hate it now. Dog hair, slobber, and kid stains are a mess. And the repairs have been because some mechanical issue with it, not so much damage from the dogs and kids, but still 4-5 times in the last year?!

 

[KMARINO]

[MENTION=2514]Sarah[/MENTION], my plan is to go to the humaine society to adopt a kitten/cat with no claws, if not I will have the kitten de-clawed inthe front and spayed/neutered. I do not believe in having ANY animal outside so therefore it would be an insided cat only. The vets here still do it.