Do cats pee on leather?

September 2, 2008 12:45 PM

Have you ever heard of, known, or had a cat who peed on leather furniture?

That's really it, I guess. I need a couch that my cat won't ruin with pee (claws, I'm pretty OK knowing it'll get a few scratches), so am looking for your own experience/anecdotes with leather (not suede).

My little guy only does it once in a blue moon, but once is enough to ruin an entire couch.

Thanks.

posted by tristeza to pets & animals (12 comments total)

Yes - leather furniture and jackets, if they were laying flat. (Not shoes so far, thank god.)

The couch wasn't even real leather, but we still couldn't get it clean enough to keep after a couple of incidents. She's a lovely cat otherwise, and I've just resigned myself to not having a leather couch and having to remember to hang up my nice coat instead of throwing it over a chair.
posted by restless_nomad at 12:52 PM on September 2, 2008

My cat has peed on both my leather couch and loveseat.
Now that I have cleaned the couch he lays in those 2 spots religiously.
I cannot get the smell completely out, I am just relieved he has not decided to pee there again.
posted by phytage at 12:55 PM on September 2, 2008

Yes, and we had to get rid of the couch, the smell would not come out.
posted by lee at 1:04 PM on September 2, 2008

Haha yes .. I have two 10 month old kittens. One of them liked the couch for a period of time.


I recommend "NaturesWay" (I think) for removing the urine stain. It is an emzine that actually changes the properites of the urine to stop it from smelling. Works great.

For training your cat ... I work at a home automation company and we sell this device that sprays harmless compressed air for .5 second whenever motion is detected in the immediate area. It covers an area maybe 10 feet away and 5 feet wide .. perfect for a couch.

Heres a link: StayAway. There is also a version that goes by the name "Scattt" and its basically the same thing.


After only 3-4 scarring encounters, my cat now stays off the couch all the time. She actually seems afraid of it. I am using the motion-sprayer for other areas I want them to stay away from (my countertop while cooking chicken .. for example )
posted by Ryaske at 1:20 PM on September 2, 2008

P.S. Dont buy any repellers that are ultra-sonic. If anything, they attracted my curious cats to the problem area.
posted by Ryaske at 1:21 PM on September 2, 2008

FWIF: I bought leather furniture specifically because my cats don't like leather.
posted by crickets at 1:51 PM on September 2, 2008

I have a leather living room set; my cats have never peed on it, but they've completely torn into it. You say you're okay with "a few scratches" but my furniture has claw marks all over the cushions and ten million little puncture marks in the back of the sofa. Granted they're not the most well-behaved on the planet, but if your guy takes a liking to leather then he might REALLY take a liking to leather. Just a word of warning.
posted by xbonesgt at 2:00 PM on September 2, 2008

Dammit.
posted by tristeza at 2:04 PM on September 2, 2008

Seconding xbonesgt; anecdotally I've heard cats love clawing leather furniture.
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:51 PM on September 2, 2008

My cats adore sharpening their claws on our leather office chairs. And yes, I had a cat pee all over a leather recliner.
posted by Addlepated at 6:16 PM on September 2, 2008

My cat has not (yet) peed on my leather sofa - we've had him four months now. He has peed on a pile of my work papers, though, and on some of mr alto's clothes. Baking soda and vinegar helped with the smell.

He has had a few goes at sharpening his claws on the sofa, and there are a few puncture marks, but he prefers rugs and doormats for that purpose now.
posted by altolinguistic at 3:57 AM on September 3, 2008

Yes, yes and yes, plus the claw sharpening. We just kept wiping it down with white vinegar and water, over and over, as it took months for the smell to come out, but it finally did. And he stopped peeing on it, which helped. We'd also squirt Febreze on it, because we didn't have any of the fancy pet odor remover products that others have mentioned here.
posted by Lynsey at 10:33 AM on September 3, 2008