White cat. Dark sofas. Cat hair is not sexy

June 17, 2008 1:06 PM

i got a couple of new couches for the living room, and i enjoy lounging on them. my roommate's cat has taken a liking of them too, but sheds massive amounts of hair. I now have to vacuum them every time before said lounging. is there anything i can do to deter the cat from lounging on the couches?
posted by ye#ara to Pets & Animals (16 answers total)

Lay some aluminum foil over the cushions. Cats hate stepping on it. After a while he'll teach himself that the sofas are an evil place that must be avoided.
posted by contessa at 1:13 PM on June 17, 2008

Spray the cat with a squirt gun/spray bottle every time you see it on the couch.
posted by electroboy at 1:14 PM on June 17, 2008

Worse, your couches will become scratching posts for the cats, too. The water bottle idea might work when you're around, but good luck keeping them away for good.
posted by chump at 1:26 PM on June 17, 2008

If keeping hair off of the couch is more of the issue consider asking your roommate to give it baths and to furminate it. We do that with our kitten and it works well to reduce (not eliminate) shedding.

I also agree with contessa and electroboy for when you are home but when you are away cats will do what they want and thus reducing the shedding is important.
posted by firetruckred at 1:27 PM on June 17, 2008

Put some lemon essential oils on them? They wont smell too strong, but they help deter the cats.
posted by Solomon at 1:31 PM on June 17, 2008

Here's my little hack, which is very little fuss to humans and cats involved. Lay a good-looking but fur-catching blanket over the couch when you're not using it. Remove blanket to lounge, replace when done, wash when hairy.
posted by vers at 1:43 PM on June 17, 2008 [2 favorites]

Get the plastic carpet runners with the spiky things on the bottom and put the spiky side up. (kind of like this). They're cheap at Home Depot. Just don't sit down by accident.
posted by desjardins at 1:57 PM on June 17, 2008

vers has it. Instead of deterring the cat from a comfortable spot (which will just cause mental anguish from the both of you), throw down a blanket or two.
posted by muddgirl at 2:20 PM on June 17, 2008

Oh, and ask your roommate to brush the cats more often. He/She can buy one of those brush mitts, but most cats will take to those round horse-hair brushes just fine.
posted by muddgirl at 2:21 PM on June 17, 2008

The wooly blanket technique works well.

Also, some cats hate the smell of lavender, so a spritz of lavender water (or just some crushed leaves beneath the sofa cushions) may be dissuasive.

Or you could just varnish the cat.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 2:49 PM on June 17, 2008

Keeping a cat off a comfy bed, particularly one which it knows you don't want him on, is going to be impossible. Throw blankets are the way to go. IT's going to be better if it's something that the cat prefers to what's underneath. My cats love polar fleece more than life itself.

I don't think the spiky runners would be a deterrent. Any scent you would use would need to be re-applied daily, or be strong enough that they would bother you.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 3:13 PM on June 17, 2008

If you intend to keep the cat off your couch you set yourself up for a lifelong battle filled with heartache. Just get a blanket.

(Meanwhile, in an alternate cat reality, a cat somewhere is posting to an Internet forum requesting advice on how to keep a human off its nice new couches.)
posted by loiseau at 3:32 PM on June 17, 2008

Future advice: just make your furniture match the cat. Much easier. Of course, when taken too far (as I have) this presents a problem: your cat is now perfectly camouflaged. The same approach works with clothing, no one notices if my cat's fur gets all over me because we match. (The fact that it's your roommate's cat and not yours is irrelevant, since the cat doesn't really care)
posted by wildcrdj at 4:23 PM on June 17, 2008

When I sprayed my furniture w/ Febreeze my three cats avoided it like the plague until the smell was gone. Once a week seemed enough to keep them off of it (and my couch hair free).
posted by googlebombed at 5:47 PM on June 17, 2008

Scat mats!
Although it doesn't keep the cat from the arms and back of the couch.
disclaimer: I have a tortishell cat, a calico cat, and a Saint Bernard. If I can get out of the house clean, I'm happy.
posted by sisflit at 7:42 PM on June 17, 2008

We had good luck using double-sided tape on the arms of the couch to teach our cat not to scratch, but we've given up on the hair issue. Here's my SUPER DUPER REMOVAL TIP: get a rubber glove (like one for washing dishes) and rub it on the couch. The hair will clump and brush off instantly. I have no idea why it works, but it's brilliant. The vacuum cleaner never got all the hairs out, but this does.
posted by web-goddess at 9:52 PM on June 17, 2008 [1 favorite]