As someone who worked as a leather repair technician for 10 years, this is something I have come across many times. Most of you appear to be talking about surface scratches on a wax finish. Please forget olive oil, milk or any other home remedy mentioned here. Yes they work to an extent but the lasting effects could be horrible. Leather is porous when exposed and milk, oil or other food product will rot after time and cause your sofa to smell. For the kind of scratches most of you seem to be talking about, some warm water and a soft cloth will provide you with exactly the same effect. For deeper scratches, scuffs, burns tears please contact a local professional. All is not lost, the beauty of leather is that no matter what happens to it, a repair can always be done. :)
The best way to avoid this happening is to keep the cats off the furniture in the first place. A suggestion that has often worked is to sprinkle fine ground pepper over the sofa when you go out. The cats will soon learn that the sofa is not a nice place to be. They get it on their feet and then wash them which obviously doesn't taste too good. Harmless for the cat AND the sofa.
I just was ready to hang my dog for scratching a 1 day leather club chair-rest assured, the olive oil and warm iron did the trick-honest to god! It really worked on my butter soft medium brown leather club chair! She is going to live!
One way to prevent kitties from damaging your leather is to go to pet smart and buy kitty nail guards. They are plastic sleeves you slip onto your cats claws. It's much better than declawing your cat.
We have greyhounds with big claws and our big guy (90#) scratched up our dark burgundy/black couch cushions. The whole cushion with some shred marks! After reading this site, we scrounged up some Murphy Oil Soap that we had (for cleaning our kitchen cupboards) and it WORKED! Can NOT believe it...try it! Thank you Murphy's! Just SCRUB real hard with a lot of it and it comes out! Thanks again.
We have greyhounds with big claws and our big guy (90#) scratched up our dark burgundy/black couch cushions--I mean the whole cushion with some shred marks! After reading this site, we scrounged up some Murphy Oil Soap that we had (for cleaning our kitchen cupboards) and it WORKED! Can NOT believe it...try it! Thank you Murphy's! Just SCRUB real hard with a lot of it and it comes out! Thanks again.
I know this sounds crazy, but someone told me about it and I just did it today- it COMPLETELY fixed scratches on my dark brown/reddish toned recliner. MILK!
I took a paper towel and polished it with milk, and they disappeared. On a light colored recliner it didn't look as good, but that might have been because the leather on that one is much more severely damaged.
it works! it works! my bf has a $3K couch from restoration hardware that my two small dogs decided they should romp on. It left scratches everywhere and he has only had the couch for a week. Sure enough, a little olive oil and it was all gone. Thank. You. So. Much!
My grandchildren decided to use their fingernails to draw stick people on the back and seats of my heavy brown leather couch. I was appalled that the couches would look like that forever, then read these tips.
I just tried the Orange Oil. I used Pledge and sprayed it first on a paper towel, then rubbed the paper towel on the leather. It not only took care of the drawings, but was a great conditioner, making the leather look better than before the drawings.
I tried the shoe polish and the murphy's oil soap spray. It worked great! I have two cats and two dogs. The dogs are not allowed on the furniture but it is very difficult to keep the cats off. We figured the furniture would be fine since both cats are front declawed. No, their back claws dig into the furniture when they are running around in their "cat mischief" and being chased by the dogs. I rubbed in the shoe polish first then went back over it with the oil soap. My husband was amazed! He was ready to get rid of the cats. They are safe, for now.
OMG! The olive oil really worked! I was at first skeptical; however, the olive oil, damp cloth and iron trick worked wonders! I think my cat is even confused. Thank you!
We have cats and leather couches. Olive oil does help get out scratches but the best solution is to de-claw the cats. Hated doing it- but it was either that or completely ruined furniture!
Today I sitting on my leather (black chair) and eating dinner. I have this weird 'belt' thing on the back of my pants. When I got up, there were many scratches on the leather. I don't think that any of them go to deep, they are mainly surface scratches. Does anyone know how to get them out? or off?
Had a party last night and someone played with my dog on the furniture. The dog, large nails and all, started bounding about on my leather topped ottoman, which he had never, ever paid attention to until then. This morning, along with the significant amounts of detritus from the party, I found my leather-topped ottoman scratched up badly. I used copious amounts of orange oil (but I think olive oil would work, too) and that got all of the minor, surface scratches out.
For the deeper, unfortunately 3-d scratches, I could only cover them and make them the same color as the rest of the leather. For this, I used shoe polish. While I'm still completely ticked that my ottoman is messed up, at least the blemishes aren't staring me straight in the face.
I have a rescue cat who is absolutely gorgeous, however she had shredded the side of my chocolate brown leather suite. There are little bits of leather hanging which I tried to smooth off using a ladies electric shaver - doesn't work! I have put shoe polish on and buffed off but it still looks 'lumpy' any ideas how to smooth off the 'bits'?
Do cats really like to claw up leather furniture? I have two cats and they have clawed my cloth sofa to pieces (really) until the stuffing is coming out. I was thinking of buying leather sofas thinking they wouldn't scratch it because it isn't soft like cloth...but after reading some of these comments I'm not so sure. Feedback please!
I was thinking about getting a micro suede couch that has leather sides all around the bottom of the couch. The cats can't project off of the and make damage like if they were to do it on a regular leather couch. They are not declawed. For all those out there with scratching problems, would this couch be safe or do I stick with microsuede?
I just found my cat sitting on top of my new leather sofa
By Marlene Romero (Guest Post)
The sofa is a dark brown color. Just recieved the first payment in the mail today. I am beside myself! So upset at my cat for doing it and more at myself for putting my guard down and not keeping an eye out on her. How do I take care of these scratches, they are small, caused likely by her back paws. I hear Mohawk products are good, any ideas? I've called the furniture store where I purchased it a month ago and they said they will send thier techs to fix it. I'm really hoping they can work their magic!
I was just searching the net to see what I could use to help mask the scratches on my leather couch caused by my little kitten i recently rescued. I was disgusted to hear that people were getting their cats declawed, if you couch is more important than your cats you shouldn't have cats! It's cruel and an unnecessary procedure to carry out for this reason.
I am freakin out, I have had my couches for 1 month and realized that the cat's back claws (yes they are declawed) have scratched my 2 couches & chair badly. I haven't even had company at the new place yet. My couches are dark chocolate and I need a guaranteed fix. Please help!
I used the iron and damp cloth idea after rubbing my black leather sofa with olive oil and it has come up a treat! They were quite deep scratches too and now you cannot even see them! Promise it works!!
The olive oil works wonderfully. I remodeled my home last year and bought new furniture throughout, including two leather chairs. Six months ago I was adopted by a cat that had kittens in my yard. She does not scratch the leather, but simply by jumping or walking on it damages the leather. I thought the furniture was destroyed until I tried the olive oil.
Janet, I bought a leather living room set a few months ago. A friend warned us that cats like to scratch leather, but we had a leather chair already and they didn't scratch it at all, so we went ahead with the leather. One night I left a sweater on a chair; that's why he scratched it, because when he lays down, he sometimes "kneeds" where he's laying especially on soft sweaters, blankets, etc.... He got it pretty good, they're not just surface scratches, he has ripped through in a few spots. So now I try to make sure no article of clothing, blankets, or anything gets left laying on our furniture. Because whether you "allow" your pets on your furniture, or not; they will jump up there when you're sleeping or at work.
I'm still trying to figure out the best way to repair the scratches though. Ours is black, so it shouldn't be as difficult as some of the other different colors.
I have 4 cats and all were ones I rescued. The fourth one I found as a kitten in October. She is the only one not declawed. Well one night she did scratch up my new expensive sofa. I decided to have her declawed, but had it done by a vet who does it with a lazer surgery, no pulling out . It costs a bit more, but the cat came home in one day, no bandages, and very little pain. In a few days she was back to being her old self.
The cat clawed my new leather couch. The cat has been sent to be declawed, however, I still have three claw marks on the front of my new couch. Can I repair this on my own?
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Request: Scratches on Leather Furniture
Archived on 03/18/2008
How do you treat scratches on leather?
Christine from England
Answers:
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
I have a cat who is declawed in the front. Our vet has several declawed cats and explained to us that he removes the nerve associated with each claw so our cat can't feel that he's missing claws. He still stretches his paws in that "needing" action, and he is happy, healthy, and I don't have to worry about my furniture, my dog being scratched, or us getting scratched. I read all these horror stories discouraging declawing before we did it, and maybe not all vets are as adept at it, and not all cats react the same, but our cat is fine. For leather scratches, try a little olive oil. I saw it on the Today show. (07/24/2007)
By Kathy
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
I just tried olive oil to remove scratches from my leather ottoman and it worked wonderfully! (07/27/2007)
By Carrie
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
The olive oil idea was amazing! Really did work! Obviously the deep scratches are not gone but the little ones are completely covered up. Thank you for all your tips.
(07/28/2007)
By Carinna
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
I tried the olive oil idea as well, and though it did help to lessen the appearance of the scratches, in natural light they are still quite visible. Any other ideas/suggestions? I'm nervous about trying the shoe polish idea. My couch is a dark brown leather with a slight reddish/brown under tone. (07/31/2007)
By Mona
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
This depends what type of leather it is.
If it is an aniline style leather so the scratches are just on the surface a good leather protector should help remove the scratches.
If the surface has a pigment coating and the scratches are surface scratches in that then Easy Colour should help blend them in. If the scratches go any deeper then they will need a professional product to repair and this is best left to the experts.
http://www.LTTsolutions.net
(11/20/2007)
Best solution for restoring scratches on leather is with an iron and damp cloth. The heat from the iron brings the oils to the surface and repairs the scratch. This works best when you put the damp cloth between the iron and the piece of furniture. (11/26/2007)
By shirley
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
I just had a repair guy come and repair my leather couch that had a few scratches from the cat walking across it and then falling off and he repaired it by wiping orange oil into the leather and then wiping it off with a soft cloth and you can almost not see where the scratch was. (12/19/2007)
By Rena
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
I have not bought a leather couch yet, but my partner and I have thought about the cat situation. We have two older cats that are 15 and 17 and still pretty energetic. We have, of course, allowed them to snuggle with us on a cloth couch and now we are faced with some behavior modification challenges. We thought we would start by not allowing them on the couch at night with us when we are watching t.v..
Every time they want to get on the couch we bring them to "their wing back" chair and pet them there. We also are going to make long thick plastic covers with thick packing sheet plastic and duct tape. I will use a sewing machine to make a pocket all around the base, measure it and thread thin sewing elastic. This will keep the cats from going under the cover during the day when we are at work. I'll make one for both sofa and love seat.
I thought I would do one long piece from the floor on one arm to the floor on the next arm and then cut two squares for the front and back to carefully tape so the shape is a square. We think this would be as easy as putting an outdoor furniture cover on at the end of each day. I think this might work because the plastic is not comfortable and we can put a cat deterrent spray on the plastic. Does anyone think this idea might work? Thx (01/14/2008)
By wendy
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
I loved Robin's answer. I knew exactly what type of leather furniture I was buying since it had scratches all over it in the show room, that is what drew me to buying it. It is meant to get distressed! I have two declawed cats and an Akita/Chow dog that are doing a fine job of making this leather distressed by the day. I will try some of the ideas for fun though! It's meant to get worn out! Shirley (01/23/2008)
By
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
I have a dark purple real leather couch that I got previously owned(I wouldn't normally buy purple furniture).
I have two cats and used Murphy's Oil Soap on the scratches, the lesser scratches really covered up quite nicely, the deeper ones not as much but look less obvious.
I'm certainly not going to ever stop my cats from getting up on the furniture, they are family members.
I would try the shoe polish idea but what are my chances of finding deep purple shoe polish. (02/21/2008)
I just purchased leather furniture literally two days ago and already have scratches all over it! I had no idea that the leather would be so easily scratched. It is a very dark rich color and I have three dogs that all lay on the furniture. They are all under thirty pounds and don't run all over it. They just jump up and sit down, but it is already scratched to pieces.
Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on what to do or if this is normal and will fade with time? Should I try to get a refund because I was told that scratches were covered in the warranty and after reading it have found out that they are not covered! Any advice is appreciated.
Becky from Cincinnati, OH
Answers:
RE: Repairing Leather Couch with Scratch Marks
If the cat didn't actually rip the leather it might be worth trying color and scent free moisturizer. It's skin at the end of the day! There used to be a product in the UK called RENAPUR. (about 10 years ago!) and it was very similar to wax that would bring the colour back to the top of the furniture... Be careful though, its just an idea!
(03/17/2005)
Try using shoe wax matching the color as closely as possible to your couch. Apply with a Q-tip, and then buff with a soft cloth. I have had wonderful luck with this method. I can't even tell where Kitty was careless! Good luck. (03/18/2005)
By Jenny B.
RE: Repairing Leather Couch with Scratch Marks
There is a product called "Feliway" it is a hormone cats excrete to calm them. You spray it on furniture and the cat will stop clawing like magic. (05/22/2005)
By Amy
RE: Repairing Leather Couch with Scratch Marks
I have repaired scratches on leather garments (for theater) with oil artists paints. Acrylics don't dry true to color and dont adhere so well, but the oils seem to work (05/23/2005)
Try going to softpaws.com. These are little rubber "caps" you glue onto the claws of cats with a superglue. The eventually come off as the nail grows back (first you clip the nail, then apply the soft paw). The cat eventually gets used to them. What I did notice is I needed to pay more attention to checking them everyday and making sure I replace the caps right away on ones that had fallen off. All it takes is one exposed claw to cause some misery (which I have gone through). (10/09/2005)
By Todd
RE: Repairing Leather Couch with Scratch Marks
I have had some success using "horseman's one step" cleaner available through horse equipment supply stores. It conditions the leather, gets rid of the ugly scratch marks if the aren't too deep and although it comes up darker at first, it will dry. This stuff has been used by horsemen for years on very expensive saddles. No lie they can cost $5,000 for a saddle. So, this stuff is very good. Also, there is pledge, yep, pledge and a soft cloth. (10/17/2005)
By susan
By Lucy Durbridge
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
I have a dark brown, distressed leather sofa and although my dog doesn't get on it, it gets scratched from time to time. I don't worry about it because there isn't much you can do. I just use leather conditioner on it about once a month and it's fine.
Allowing pets on furniture is a bad habit, not only for your furniture but dogs should never sit or lay at the same level as their owner. They belong on the floor because they aren't the leaders, the owners are. (01/24/2006)
If you were told 2 days ago that scratches were covered in your warrenty, I would think about contacting the store about them lying to you. Also, train your cats to only get on certain furniture, not the leather stuff. Good Luck (01/24/2006)
By Dede.
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
About softpaws.com: it's a nice idea, but our kitten pulled hers all off five times in five days. I've increased the amount of glue each time, but it doesn't work. We're just hoping to train her to stay off the leather furniture, although when she's flying around the house, she sometimes uses it as a launchpad in a catnip fury. I guess we'll call the little scratches "character." (02/10/2006)
By Punkko
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
I had exactly the same problem!! The solution shoe polish - it works a treat, just remember to rub it in well and polish for results. (05/03/2006)
By Louise Williams
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
Use Leather Magic. Simple. Easy. Cheaper than replacing a prize piece of furniture... Or your dearly loved pet.
(06/27/2006)
By Jen
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
If the leather has lightened where scratched then use the grison re-colouring balm to put the colour back into your leather - http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Grison.htm (07/24/2006)
If your piece is brand new and you have scratches you more than likley have a waxy finish or pull up type leather. The scratches are normal and are different from a deep scratch in a finished leather from a cat or something sharp. Try rubbing the area with your hand to see if the waxy dye moves to darken the area. You may also get a decent conditioner that will moisturise those areas. The best way to determine if this is natural is to pinch an area of the cushion. If the color lightens in the areas you are applying pressure. What you are calling scratches is a normal effect on your waxy pull up leather. You either have this happening or simply a poor pigmented finish that the dogs are in fact scratching off. (08/07/2006)
By Leather Expert
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
Thanks to those who stayed on the topic! The shoe polish saved my dog! My husband will NEVER know! (04/13/2007)
By Becky
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
By the amount of scratches you have in a short time, I imagine you have a pull-up leather, which is meant to get a distressed look. Once you have scratches all over, they will start to blend in and just give the piece some character. When you only have one or 2 big new scratches, they tend to stand out. Many small scratches blend in. Also - you should use a conditioner for pull-ups - such as Oleosa - which you can rub all over, and it softens the look of the scratches quit a bit. It makes it look pretty good if you ask me. (06/24/2007)
By Robin
RE: Scratches on Leather Furniture
I bought my first brand new couch (leather) in December 2006. I was so excited about owning something new that I didn't even think about how excited my cat would be about it. I placed a throw blanket over the cushions thinking that would be enough to ward off any accidental scratches. One day I took the throw blanket off, and to my horror, realized that my cat must be sliding across the couch during his midnight frenzies. There are now scratches everywhere across the cushions. Some light and small... others long and deep. Of course this is not my cat's fault. He is a cat and cats have claws. If I would have thought it through I would have never bought a leather couch. I will never declaw my cat. I am not judging those of you who have had this proceedure done, however, I use to be a veterinary assistant and I use to assist in declawing cats. The reason why they keep the cats in the veterinary hospital for several days after this proceedure is because the cats cannot stand for very long without being in immense pain. Sometimes they even chew off their bandages in the middle of the night and the cage is smeared with blood the next morning. I am not trying to make anyone sick, I just thought I would tell all of you the truth. Anyways, I am now looking for a way to repair my couch. Thank you all for your tips. I will try them soon. (07/12/2007)
