Even though you may be organising one or more scratching alternatives, and starting to train your cat to ignore your furniture your furry family member may not be immediately drawn away from your good furniture.
So, we need to protect your sofa / couch, bed, table, etc from scratching. Perhaps these Furniture Protection products may interest you or maybe you want to try some scratching deterrents.
Renting? These cat protection products may be just the thing you need to protect the property.
What can we put on the couch to protect it from cats?
The following two types of products are suitable to protect your couch but they do not discourage your cat from scratching. I prefer the Scratching Shields, Sticky Tape, and Wall Protector products (further below) as they not only offer protection but also discourage scratching on a wide variety of furniture.
Cat Scratch Mat Sofa Protector
Whilst there are several products like the Navaris Cat Scratch Mat Sofa Protector, the objective of this site is not just to protect your furniture but also to keep your cat away from your furniture and encourage use of the alternative scratchers provided.
Couch Slip Cover Protector
There are also many different shaped and colored slip covers available to protect your furniture with a material that cats don't like scratching but make it easy to vacuum away cat hairs when they lie on it. Again the objective of this site is not just to protect your furniture but also to discourage your cat from being near your furniture.
Of course you can create your own DIY couch protector by purchasing a few blankets from the local discount store.
The following the products are suitable to protect a wide variety of furniture and discourage your cat from scratching.
Clear Scratching Shields
Clear Scratching Shields are durable clear sticky plastic sheets that can be cut to size and can be wrapped around corners.
Whilst there are several suppliers the best scratching shield is the Stelucca Amazing Shields. It has over 12,000 Amazon ratings with a very high 91% positive rating.
The are 6 Self Adhesive Sheets 12 x 17 inches (30 x 43 cm) and 50 twist pins to optionally pin into place. Reviewers report they are easily cut to desired shape and can be bent around the couch corners for greater protection.
Sticky Tape
Sticky tape is easily applied as double sided tape that sticks to your furniture. These products are available in different sizes and in a variety of sheets per pack. As they can be cut to size you can apply this tape to couches, chair legs, doors, etc.
Panther Armor Cat Scratch Deterrent Tape is the best rated Amazon product with a 90% 3 star and above rating from 14,000 reviewers. The major negative feedback was that because floating hair, fur and dust stick to the product, their cats just sit and lick it off.
Door and Wall Protectors
Perhaps you need to protect other household furniture such as doors or wall corners.
Heavy duty door and door frame protectors are readily available but the best Door and Door Frame Protector is the Clear Door Scratch Protector. It has industrial grade thick vinyl, is easily installed, and can protect your doors from large dogs to small cats.
It comes in sheets with 3m double sided self adhesive dots to secure and leave no traces when removed. These sheets can be cut and applied to other areas such as wall corners where cats rub and leave marks.
In my opinion, the sticky tape products offer the most flexible and cost effective solution to protecting your couch from cat scratches.