THE BEST AND WORST SOFA MATERIALS FOR PETS

The time has come to revamp your living room and bring it into the 21st Century. You don’t have a massive budget, but there’s one thing you’re keen to purchase: a new sofa. It can immediately transform your room and add some extra style points.

You’ve been researching sofas for some time and know what to look for. There’s just one problem…you have a pet! The last thing you need is a lovely new sofa getting ruined by your pet scratching it or getting their fur stuck to it. How do you find an option that looks good and is pet-friendly?

Well, here’s a quick look at the best and worst sofa materials for pets:

The Best: Leather

If you’re looking for the best material, genuine leather sofas are the way to go. They have all the attributes you need in a pet-friendly sofa.

For starters, they’re very easy to clean as they aren’t fibrous. This means that any pet hair or stains can be wiped off with minimal fuss. You aren’t going to have situations where fur is completely stuck to the sofa and makes it look horrible.

Leather sofas are also better from a scratching perspective. This material is super tough and can withstand most minor scratches from your pet’s claws. Cats are also way less likely to start using the arm of a leather sofa as a scratching post. Plus, if scratches do occur, the beauty of leather is that this just adds to the naturally distressed look.

Oh and one more thing: the material is great for pets. It’s cool, so your pet can sit on the sofa without overheating or feeling too uncomfortable.

The Worst: Fabric

Traditional fabric sofas are the worst sofas for pet owners. This material is simply everything you don’t want when you have a pet - especially if you own a cat.

The woven fabric will easily be pulled apart by claws and can lead to pet fur trapped in it after just one or two uses. Even worse, because claws pull apart the fabric fibres, you end up with tears that can’t be fixed. The whole sofa can be ruined after five minutes if your cat sees it and decides they want to use it as a scratching post.

Fabric materials aren’t really that breathable either, so animals get too hot and can sweat a lot. This means the sofa ends up smelling like your pet all the time - and it’s really hard to get rid of the smell.

All in all, leather sofas are comfortably the best for pet owners. There are a few honourable mentions! Outdoor furniture is made with a nicely durable material that’s great for pets and doesn't scratch easily, so you could purchase outdoor sofas and chairs to use indoors. Of course, you do lose some level of comfort here. You can also find some fabric sofas that are made with specially-designed close-knit materials to make them more pet-proof. Leather sofas are still better, but these offer a new alternative!

SWEETIESAL