What's a pet-proof fabric for no-sew parsons chair covers?
Friday, June 25th, 2010 at
2:37 am
I have cats that I’ve tried and tried to teach not to claw furniture but haven’t had 100% success (or even close to it). I’ve been reading about no-sew chair covers and wonder if a thicker — maybe canvas-like — fabric will work for my two parsons chairs. Thanks for your help.
Most durable upholstery fabric made with olefin and polyester.
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The first thing you need to do is trim the cats’ nails. That way they have no sharp nails to scratch with and they’ll lose all interest in your furniture. It’s really easy to do and every cat I’ve ever had didn’t mind it at all (my dogs are another story).
You’ll need a special pet nail clipper that you can get for a few bucks at a pet store. These are curved and have a scissoring action instead of the pinching action of human nail trimmers. Human nail trimmers can easily split pet nails, resulting in bleeding, infection, and a lot of pain.
With the cat facing away from you, hold the cat’s paw in your hand and push on the back of one of its knuckles. This will cause the claw to extend. Then just snip off about 1/8 inch from the end to remove the sharp part. Be careful not to cut too much off. If you cut down to the quick, this will also cause bleeding, possible infection, and a lot of pain. Don’t forget the "thumb" nail (you should be cutting 5 nails per paw). If the cats are strictly indoors, you can trim the back claws. If they do go outside, leave the back claws sharp. This is their last line of defense if they get attacked and rolled onto their backs.
Now the cats are ready to be scratching post trained. Any time you see a cat scratching on something they shouldn’t (furniture, draperies, screen doors, etc.), pull the cat away and take it to the scratching post. Move the cat’s paws up and down on the post in the classic clawing motion and praise the cat for using the post.
Every cat I’ve ever had has learned to use a scratching post and nothing else within a few days using this method. And, I’ve never had any damage to anything from the cats’ claws (even with loose weave cloth furniture coverings). But, the key is to keep the nails trimmed on a regular basis.
Nothing. Either resign yourself to living with cat damage, or get rid of the cats I chose to live with the damage. She died, so I now choose to not have cats.
Maybe, maybe not. A very heavy canvas might last longer but I’m not sure you’d want to use a canvas that heavy for a chair cover. If you don’t mind it. perhaps a synthetic canvas might work. I’ve got some that’s got a fairly slick surface and it might be relatively cat-proof. No promises.