Did you know that roughly 66% of the population in the United States has a pet? About 65 million of us have a dog in the home and over 46 million have a cat. The first obvious takeaway here is that we have excellent taste in furry friends. The second is that the odds are high for those miscellaneous mishaps that come with said companions, and it’s often our furnishings that take the worst damage.
Between potty training, teething, clawing, jumping, and the occasional free-floating bits of fur and fuzz that magically coat every seat and rug in the house…well, it can add up to a pretty gnarly great indoors. But there are a number of simple fixes that don’t involve sending our pets to the doghouse.Â
Best VS Worst Materials
One of the biggest ways to make life easier for you and your pets is to set your interior up with the right pieces. There are certain materials, textures, and styles for furniture that will instantly remove a large part of the worry when it comes to accidents with Fido and Fluffy while others should be avoided outright.
Best Materials
Leather: Genuine leather is not just supple, but a lot tougher to scuff or scratch with a misplaced claw. Its smooth non-porous, non-cloth surface also ensures an easier time of removing any stains or stray fur. Just wipe it away and you’re good!
Microfiber: The tighter the weave on a fabric, the harder it is for tooth or claw to sink in and do damage. Microfiber in particular is an especially cozy choice, and one of the easier fabrics to remove stains from.
Patterns and Neutrals: When choosing what kind of visual you want for your pieces, opt for one of two routes. If you want something lively in the color department, something with an eye-catching pattern is the way to go. An eclectic design makes it harder for messes and fur to stand out. On the other hand, a selection of broad neutrals in brown, charcoal, and black is best for solid colors. Depending on the tone of your pet’s fur, these hues will mask any shedding.
Sturdy Structure: When it comes to enduring the wear and tear of the pet owner life, strong framework for your furniture is one of the best investments. Furniture legs in particular can take a lot of damage from a teething or cagey pet, so solid wood and metal are the best choices when deciding on furniture sets. It saves more in the long run too—better to get one quality piece once rather than going through a dozen cheap replacements.
Worst Materials
Evict Elaborate Textures: It turns out houndstooth isn’t the best cloth to have around your hound. Likewise for other fabric with a unique texture. Be it downy or embroidered, brocade or felt, chenille, velvet, tweed, or any extra-tactile cloth in-between, these choices in upholstery and blankets are in the greatest danger when it comes to dogs and cats getting their teeth and claws caught in the material. Doubly so for stray fur, which will cling far more stubbornly when it’s time to clean.
Skip Satin and Silk: On the flip side, extra smooth and sinuous fabrics like silk, satin, and similarly sleek choices are going to be in for a rough time. Stains are almost impossible to remove and the delicate nature of finer fabrics means especially easy rips and tears from even the smallest bit of roughhousing from a pup or kitten.
Pass on Pastels and Pure Color: Depending on your pets’ pelts, the wrong background color will make their shedding stand out that much more. Dark fur pops against lighter, airier palettes, just as paler fur will bleach out any vibrant solid blocks of color. Â
Chuck the Cheapie Stuff: While it may pay to go with a set of flatpack furniture to start a home out with—and even to suffer the brunt of a new pet’s first mishaps around the home—it’s always best to invest in pieces with more staying power. It saves a lot more headaches and repeat replacement buys in the future when your furnishings aren’t clawed to shreds or gnawed to splinters.
Guarding
Alright, you’ve got your home decked out in the most compatible furniture to go with your pets. But, as always, it pays to have a little insurance to give your pieces some better odds at weathering the future with your furry friends. A few extra steps you can take include…
1. Secure any top-heavy furniture pieces to the wall. Things like bookcases, piers, curios, and assorted towering cabinets are easy for a dog to jostle mid-play, and even more tempting for climb-happy cats to scale. There are multiple ways to anchor an item to the wall, some of which even come with the furniture. Anti-tip hardware kits and straps are more than worth the effort, with or without rambunctious pets in the mix, as the damage to the furniture—and anyone in the way—without them is bound to be gnarly.- Outdoor furniture-safe cushions to swap out on some pieces. These will already have weather-proofed and durable cloth to work with, making them easier to clean and harder to damage.
- Full furniture pet covers. These are basically fabric sheaths that can go over couches and chairs to guard against animal onslaughts of fuzz and stains. Washable throw blankets and beach towels will do the job too.
- Deck your furniture legs out in leg guards to repel any teething from chewing pups. Tough specialized sleeves provide straightforward protection, though some folks opt for bitter ‘anti-chewing’ spray that shoos any bites away due to its foul flavor.
3. To beat fur and scratch buildup, get your little guy or gal to a groomer! Or at least keep up with their fuzz and claws yourself.   Note, be sure that if or when you need to brush your pet, you’re using the right brush for their fur and skin. Likewise, don’t clip cat claws unless they’re curling in dangerously on their own paws. Cats will naturally ‘trim’ their claws through scratching surfaces, and cutting them down—especially too close to the quick!—can leave them distressed or injured.Â
4. Always make time for playtime. Chew toys, scratching posts, and engaging with your pets one on one are the best ways to make sure they aren’t restless enough to attack with the furniture. Besides, why else would they be at home with you? They aren’t furniture. They’re friends! Play like it!
Undoing Damage
Sadly, against all odds and preparations, accidents will still happen. In the event that your dog or cat makes a mess, here are some simple fixes:
Stains
Don’t wipe! Use paper towels or a disposable rag to blot and sponge up the excess moisture until the spot is dry so it doesn’t spread around. Spray with your cleaner of choice*, let set as directions dictate, then sponge away until dry. If the stain occurs on a cushion that has a removeable cover, you may want to go ahead and take it off for easier cleaning, and possibly a trip through the washer.
*NOTE: Home mixtures of vinegar or lemon juice solutions don’t necessarily follow the instructions of store brand stain removers. Whatever method you use, pay attention to that solution’s instructions rather than mimicking another product’s rules. And remember to keep the area ventilated!
Scratches in Wood
This one depends on the severity of the scratches. If it’s just a little light scraping, you can typically hide the damage by removing any residual flakes and splinters and then sanding it down smooth again. It might need a new layer of varnish or lacquer in order to match the rest of the wood. Deeper gouges will likely need wood filler smoothed in and left to dry so it can be sanded down.
Rips in FabricÂ
If your cat’s just nicked up a few loose threads and caused ‘pilling’—the appearance of raised puffs of fabric—then this can be addressed with scissors and a shaving razor. Use small fine-bladed sewing scissors to clip away the jutting threads, then drag the razor along the pilled portions until the fabric has its uniform smoothness again. Always be sure to do a test patch somewhere discreet on the furniture before you start doing this with the entire piece!
For real rips and tears, you’re going to have to break out needle in thread. After adding in any new stuffing your pet may have torn out, you have the option of working with a matching fabric patch to cover any wholly missing gaps in the cloth, or, if it’s just a torn line, sewing the edges back together. Depending on your level of skill with needle and thread or the sewing machine, you may be left with a noticeable patch job and might want to consider swapping cushion covers to give a fully uniform look…
…Or you could get a bit creative and make the patch stand out on purpose! Sew on some fabric doilies to make a popping retro pattern, give the spot some cloth paw prints to mark the occasion, or just stitch in a wild new color or pattern to let it marble through the cushion. Make it into art!
Fur and Dander PileupÂ
Make friends with three items in particular.
- Lint roller.
- Vacuum.
- Pet brush. Â
Give or take a biannual toss of fabric upholstery into the washer and dryer to catch anything you missed.
Conclusion
Remember that messes are part of everyone’s life, with or without the love of a pet to make up for it. When all’s said and done, it’s always going to be worth it to have your friend at your side.
For more info on animals and how to adopt a pet of your own, check out the following sites:
Humane Society of Southeast Texas:Â https://humanesocietyofsoutheasttexas.org/
Palm Valley Animal Center:Â https://www.pvastx.org/