My two cats don't discriminate on fabrics - they scratch them all! No matter how many scratching posts I put out they always went back to the carpet and couch.

If you haven't tried them already I recommend Soft Claws. They are little plastic thingy's that go over the cats claws to keep them from damaging furniture or people. You just glue them on after you trim their claws. Mine still make the scratching motions, but no harm is done.

They are fairly cheap (20 bucks for 4 applications) and work great (at least on my cats - I've heard some just chew them right off or they get hung up on things as the nails grow out). Plus they come in fun colors. I found some on 75% off at Petsmart so my kitties will be in red and green for a while.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help on fabric choices, but if you find the soft claws work you can choose what you like best. :-)

Velvet is not interesting to them. I've had this beige velvet sofa for a couple of year's now and they do not touch it! So I think velvet is a winner!

I do have a (same color) cotton throw on the cushions just to make the clean-up of fur a little easier.

I have had good luck with leather. I have 3 cats and my sofa is 14 years old, no scratches. Over the years all of the furniture we have purchased is leather. Fur does not stick to it either. I guess some cats may be interested in leather but mine aren't.

My sister has leather and claims the cat's back claws damaged it (from jumping on and off). For what leather costs, I wouldn't risk it. Now that I think of it, when I picked my cat up at his former home (when he was a kitten) the people had 5 cats. I was on the floor playing with the kittens and my jaw dropped when I saw the side of their leather couch (it was shredded).

My cat doesn't scratch the furniture for the most part but I would think a fabric that is anything but smooth is what you want. Maybe like a tweed look.

Trimming the claws really helps minimize damage as well.

Good luck!

You can get a product that's basically a large size, very sticky double-sided tape that you stick on furniture or anything you don't want the cats to scratch. It works very well. The only trouble I had with it is that it doesn't stick well to my chenille sofa. Even so, it's an inexpensive solution and easy to do.

Sally

Our cats have never used our leather couch or chair for a scratching post. The upholstered chair is what they migrate to for that activity!! They could however damage the leather accidentally when jumping off of or onto it. Maybe it was the smell but when we first brought the leather in the house the cats were afraid of it...we let them continue being afraid and they just trained themselves to never get on the leather furniture. They were "mature" cats when we got the leather and this might make a difference because our latest addition is under a year old and he fears nothing.
We have to keep an eye on him or he'll go running across the couch!!

My cats run and jump all over my furniture. So far 14 years and counting no holes or scratches in the leather.

When the new sofa comes, loudly shake a can or jar of coins at kitty when (if) you see her claw at the sofa.

We have a microfiber/suede sofa and love seat. Our 3 cats have scratched on it, but it has held up better than our previous sofa. The microsuede fabric is a tighter weave than many other types of upholstery fabrics. The cats claws cannot penetrate the fabric as easily. While it is not "cat-proof," it has faired pretty well. We also keep our sofas covered with sheets which may also help deter the cats. It's not very stylish, I know, but definitely helps with the fur should the cats or the dogs decide to nap on the furniture. The sheets are easily whisked away should company arrive!

Cat manicures will also minimize any damage. Our cats, past and present have never scratched our leather furniture or any furniture for that matter. Our long gone cat left a scratch on a leather arm when she launched off of it. We had never trimmed her nails and this was from her hind leg. Our current cat left a few scars one day when she got wild and was racing all over thr furniture and left launching marks on the seat. I treated it with leather wax and it minimized it some. Just have to trim her hind claws more often, my fault.

I have to disagree with livysmom about tweed-type fabric. My couch is tweed-like and my boy cat LOVES to scratch it (my girl cat is totally happy with her scratching post, which the boy cat refuses to use!)

I finally broke down and bought one of those pressed cardboard scratching boxes and both my cats love it, but, as I feared, I am constantly dustbusting cardboard shreds, sometimes multiple times a day (and I'm no neat freak).

I think I'll be trying microsuede (or Ultrasuede) when I get the couch re-covered. It should at least be easier to vacuum, being smooth. Tweed-like fabrics really grab onto cat hair making vacuuming a real chore.

That is all.

Cats rule.

p.s. Hey Cynthia, I love the picture of your dog and cats!