Sofas - Pet friendly? Pleather?

[Loves Vintage]

I''m looking to replace a sofa, which has seen its better days, particularly since we have a multi-dog and multi-cat household!

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good pet friendly sofa? I''m thinking something with washable covers would be best. I think pottery barn has a sofa like this, but I am distinctly not a pottery barn sort of girl!

Otherwise, I am thinking maybe pleather? Does anyone have a pleather sofa? I searched for one some months back on-line, but didn''t come up with anything very good.

Thanks!

 

[applequeen]

We have a (very) long haired cat and we have a microfiber sofa which seems to work great. It''s very easy to wipe the hair off it and it''s stain resistant so you can pretty much clean up anything with a damp cloth. I spilt red wine on it and it didn''t soak in in the least... just stayed on the surface till I wiped it off (didn''t even use any cleaner on it, just water)

For our next purchase though I''d love to find something with removable covers ... just for that extra "it''s clean" assurance.

 

[littlelysser]

I second microfiber! We have two dogs, and they are both big fans of sleeping on furniture, we got ours from Arhaus several years ago and it still looks great!

 

[neatfreak]

I actually think a good leather sofa is best with pets.

 

[oobiecoo]

Date: 2/26/2009 11:38:34 AM
Author:Loves Vintage
I''m looking to replace a sofa, which has seen its better days, particularly since we have a multi-dog and multi-cat household!

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good pet friendly sofa? I''m thinking something with washable covers would be best. I think pottery barn has a sofa like this, but I am distinctly not a pottery barn sort of girl!

Otherwise, I am thinking maybe pleather? Does anyone have a pleather sofa? I searched for one some months back on-line, but didn''t come up with anything very good.

Thanks!

Honestly, I''ve yet to see a nice pleather sofa. Plus, if it scratches then it can start to look bad FAST. Scratches on a nice leather sofa will blend in a little better and look more natural. The microfiber ones are good for pet stains, etc but it seems like hair would really stick to it... I could be wrong though.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Step away from the pleather sofas!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Ok, ok, no pleather sofa!! It was just a thought because I had read many recommendations for leather sofas on my greyhound board, and I won''t buy leather, so it''s either microfiber or a washable slipcover sofa.

Thanks for helping me realize that pleather is not a suitable substitute!

 

[Sabine]

I have microfiber, however, it was a very cheap microfiber sofa, and it is EXTREMELY difficult to get my dog''s hair off of it. We have a blanket that she lays on to try to keep it to a minimum, but even with that, I''m embarrassed for guests to sit on it.

 

[Aloros]

Microfiber! We have a cat and a dog, and it works really well. This may be TMI, but one time they both got into something they shouldn''t have been eating and had runny poo ALL OVER our beautiful new microfiber couch. I was mortified.

Threw the covers into the wash, hand-washed the foam, and it was good as new!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I have a cheap Ikea sectional with a red slipcover and I have been very pleased (and surprised) at how well it has held up in a our furry home. I use the fabric attachment on our vacuum to clean it a couple of times a week and throw the slipcovers in the wash every 6 months or so. What I love about the sofa is: a.) the color helps to hide any dirt/fur and b.) if at some point down the road I think the slipcover looks too dingy, I can just buy a new slipcover for a couple of hudred bucks.

I was pushing for a leather sectional, but my husband suggested we go the cheap route until the new pup is older (we had a sofa chewing incident with our first newf which resulted in a new sofa) and I''m really glad we did--the Ikea sofa looks great, is very economical and is very easy to clean.

 

[Definitely. Maybe]

I would say not to go with leather/pleather. I know a friend whose cats have used it as a scratching post and it looks horrible. I guess that could happen with any sofa though...

 

[Haven]

DH''s cats did a number on his leather sofa, and it wasn''t from scratching but from regular jumping on and off. (They all still have their claws intact.)

We have two sofas in our living room, and one does extremely well with the cats, and the other not so much. I''ll ask DH what they''re made of, his family owns a furniture store so he''ll know.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

We use to have a leather sofa and the cats scratched it up pretty badly.

Is microfiber and microsuede (the fake kind) the same thing? We have two sets of furniture and the micro stuff has held up wonderfully and the covers are easy to wash (and it''s kid friendly too). Our other set is chenile and you can imagine how that looks

Strings are sticking out everywhere and I''m constantly cutting them off.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 2/26/2009 3:22:32 PM
Author: Aloros
This may be TMI, but one time they both got into something they shouldn''t have been eating and had runny poo ALL OVER our beautiful new microfiber couch. I was mortified.

My younger son threw up on our couch and it washed up fine. Oxyclean is a must for messy situations like that.

 

[Rhea]

We have leather sofas. The cat only likes to throw up on expensive items of furniture. We decided on leather after seeing how hard cat barf was to get out of my, admitted cheap, cloth sofas.

 

[VegasAngel]

I''ve have/had all leather, pleather & also microfiber. My favorite is the leather/pleather with animals. I think with microfiber/suede whatever it is, how easy it is to clean depends on the quality. Ours is always staticy & our hair & the cat hair is hard to get off. Stains forget about it, they soak right in.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I really wish that I could do leather, because it would be so easy to clean, but I just can''t. It''s funny because someone posted the same question again on my greyhound board, and every posted responded ''get leather''. I really like the idea of the removable/washable covers.

NEL - We''re going to look at the ikea sofa tomorrow. Glad to hear you like yours, and I know I can count on your advice when it comes to dogs!!