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Buying rugs - keeping cats off rugs

Debbie Downer
10 years ago

In looking at area rugs online, Im kind of confused by the pictures - they look about the same for every size. Does this mean the PATTERN gets larger, the larger the rug gets? Or not? If I get a large and a small rug I'd like the pattern to be the same size - is this the norm?

Secondly, one of the reasons I've never spent much on rugs and never bothered to seriously shop for them is I've always had cats, and life is much easier simply cat-proofing my house - they are drawn to nubby textures so Ive just avoided things like jute rugs and more roughly textured upholstered furniture in favor of things like smooth cotton covered cushions on a rattan couch and hardwood floors with no rugs at all.

Still - it would be nice to have a few rugs! Just wondering what others' experiences of cats and rugs and carpet has been - what strategies, have you found types of rugs they're not likely to claw? Does cat repellent spray work? They have plenty of scratching posts upstairs and places down in the basement where they can rip away to their hearts content but I just know any rug I bring in here they're going to be all over it checking it out and if it looks good to claw - they will do it.

Declaw is not an option. Plan B - painted floor cloths! I.E. floor covering with no texture at all.

Comments (20)

  • Fori
    10 years ago

    Usually patterns are the same size or complementary sizes. Usually.....

    My cats wouldn't claw hooked rugs. The ones with loops instead of cut pile. (Not the handhooked ones that were popular in the '70s.)

    I'd get a cheap one of a style first and try it out. Maybe they'll behave.

  • violetwest
    10 years ago

    pretty hard to keep your cats off the floor.

    I would stay away from any texture your cat would be inclined to claw, e.g. jute, keeping in mind that different cats will be attracted to different textures. I also would not and get anything too precious.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    10 years ago

    Cats will claw carpet if they want to...if you have cats then buy less expensive rugs that you won't mind replacing more often. Best bet is to have scratch posts around to give them an approved alternative....

  • gsciencechick
    10 years ago

    I have had synthetic rugs for years, and the cats never destroyed them. I splurged a little and bought a wool rug, and he can bring up the threads, so I will sometimes have to "manicure" it after he does that. Not sure I'd ever go with this type of wool again with cats. Plus, the wool rug shed for about two years and seems to have finally stopped.

  • Elraes Miller
    10 years ago

    I've found most rugs reduce the size of print when offered smaller. Perhaps it has to do with the rug quality. I was expecting a smaller print on a 9X12, looked at a 5X7 and definitely not the same. Used to it now Would call or check out if this is an issue. Using two same pattern rugs in one area could look odd being different sizes. Or an interesting combination unless you are locking them together.

    As for cats. I have one that won't use a cat post, but both hit the rug on rare occasions. What they are made of could be the difference. My kilims are a draw, probably more like a scratching post, but no damage through years of use. The other rugs are of no interest. Except for the sheep skin which is a "kneading" comfort and still no damage.

  • camlan
    10 years ago

    I've had four cats. Three showed no interest at all in the rugs. The fourth--he clawed one small rug, which was by the same manufacturer as most of the other rugs, and made of the same fiber, same type of knotting, etc. Why that one rug, I have no idea.

    But I'd stay away from jute and sisal and similar types of rugs.

    What's on your scratching posts? If they are carpeted, there's a chance you have taught your cats that carpet is okay for scratching.

  • chibimimi
    10 years ago

    I have several "oriental" rugs, both vintage and modern repro. One of my cats will occasionally claw them, but I have never seen any damage.

  • lazy_gardens
    10 years ago

    what strategies, have you found types of rugs they're not likely to claw? ... tile, and the ones hanging 4-10 feet off the floor

    Does cat repellent spray work? ... not on any cat I have ever had

  • ppbenn
    10 years ago

    I have had cats all my life. Not one has ever clawed the carpet or rugs. Sometimes furniture though. Area rugs have been hooked, or wool. My cats are indoor/outdoor. We live on a farm and they are not declawed.
    About four cats ago, about 12 years, I noticed one was drawn to clawing on the firewood brought in for the fireplace. So I found a nice log and kept it propped up in a corner and Boo-Boo 'debarked' it. Kept that log for years...She loved it.
    Then I bought an antique wooden ammo box for magazines and voila Boo-Boo had a new scratcher.
    Try a log, lay it down in an old rustic box and your kitties may never look at another rug.

  • violetwest
    10 years ago

    my cats love the corrugated cardboard scratchers they sell. they make a mess, but I just sweep it up. I

    t's important to give then an appropriate scratching alternative other than carpets and furniture; sometimes it takes a little trial and error to find the kind they like

  • Baroo2u
    10 years ago

    I always found my cats seemed to be drawn to rugs by the odour of the backing or material itself: they went after anything with a jute backing or any materoals that smelled like wicker or grass or hemp...maybe they claw natural fibre rugs because they remind them of catnip or scratching posts?

  • kevinmark
    9 years ago

    To protect the expensive rugs from claws of pets I have sorted out a unique solution. I started bringing polyester made rugs. They turned out to be abrasion-resistant. So now I had no worries about getting them ruined from pet's claws.

  • violetwest
    9 years ago

    Don't buy anything too precious. IMO, the cats are more important than furnishings. Wool rugs hold up better than jute rugs.


  • robo (z6a)
    9 years ago

    My cats freaking love clawing rugs. I've semi given up and have cheap ones, plus one sisal one I sacrifice to them on the thought the rug is better than the furniture. They don't seem to do much damage to the low-pile indoor outdoor rug I have under my dining room table.

    My senior (17) thought the shag rug in the living room looked a little too much like a litter box...so now there is no rug in my living room.

  • Bunny
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have two indoor-only cats that use the two scratching posts in the living room constantly. I have a polypropylene (sp?) rug and only one cat occasionally picks at it with no lasting damage. She likes to stash things under the corners of the rugs, which I find kind of adorable.

    I've been extremely successful detering furniture scratching through Sticky Paws. Pretty amazing stuff for such a simple idea.

    If you choose to have cats (and I'm a crazy cat lady from way back) and want them to have happy lives in your home, you have choices to make. I don't intentionally let my cats destroy or ruin things, but I have no business getting anything that I'd be heartbroken over if they messed with it.

    Don't even get me started on black and white cat hair everywhere.

  • Bunny
    9 years ago

    I don't think I'd use Boundary in my house. It gets mixed reviews and it seems you have to use it all the time.

    So, what happens when you spray the couch and then sit on it? Do your cats avoid you until you change your pants?

  • blfenton
    9 years ago

    My cats like the corrugated cardboard boxes/scratch beds as well. They scratch them and love sleeping on them. We have a lot of them throughout the house and when we got them a few years ago they stopped scratching the rugs and furniture.

    I do replace them on a regular basis and then put some catnip on them when new. Then they know where to scratch.


  • patty_cakes42
    9 years ago

    Of the two I have, only one is a claw-er! It seems to be the hooked one in the kitchen and the indoor/outdoor in the great room, both more of an open weave. The wool in the dining room seems to go ignored, as is the wool in the foyer. Their 'critera' is whether the claws 'grab' or not.

  • carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    FWIW, because of our cat's long fur & habit of coughing up of hairballs (and 3 little grandkids who visit) , I got a couple of no-pile woven outdoor rugs from Target - they are attractive, polypropylene blend, scrubbable & tough. Here is similar, tho different color...

    http://www.target.com/p/threshold-rectangular-patio-rug-mosaic-taupe/-/A-16486789#prodSlot=_1_4

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