Asked on Aug 20, 2016

Repairing dining room chairs

Caterina
by Caterina
Is there a way to repair dining chairs that have been scratched up really badly by my kitten?
Some are even worse then this. I have 6 in total. There are service scratches on the backs on them. But the sides are the ones I'm really concerned about.
This is the style of them. I have recovered kitchen chairs in the past but not this style. I have 6 of them 2 because they are not around the table are not as bad I probably could live with. But if I'm doing 4 I should do 6. Help 😄
  13 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Aug 21, 2016
    homeguides.sfgate.com/repair-leather-cat-scratched-90202.html
  • Marilyn Zaruba Marilyn Zaruba on Aug 21, 2016
    I think I would be tempted to make very simple, tailored slipcovers or just reupholster them.
  • SammiG SammiG on Aug 21, 2016
    Slip covers would be good, especially with a couple of judiciously placed long darts (narrow on the ends, fatter in the middle and clipped in the wide part). If you're up for corded piping in the seams it would add to the dressy look.
  • Judith Mantos Judith Mantos on Aug 21, 2016
    No matter what repairs you do, the cat will continue to scratch your household belongings. Not many options though.could try getting your cat a scratching post or declawing the cat. I had three declawed cats and they never damaged any furniture.
  • Margaret Margaret on Aug 21, 2016
    Declawing is hard on a cat. I would try other options first
  • Linda Johnson Linda Johnson on Aug 21, 2016
    My daughter got a scratching post toy & then put tape on the area of the furniture her new cat was scratching. He stopped scratching the furniture and went right to the toy. Eventually she was able to remove the clear tape and he never scratched that piece of furniture again .
  • Caterina Caterina on Aug 21, 2016
    But how do I repair the chairs
  • Suellen Hintz Suellen Hintz on Aug 21, 2016
    The slipcover suggestion is good. We always live with cats so our furniture is scratched and torn. I visualize us as two old people sitting on the frames of furniture with strings hanging off the wooden parts.
  • Sandy Sandy on Aug 21, 2016
    These chairs are SO easy to recover. As for the kitten, it would be best to train it first. Get a tin can, add pennies and tape shut. When you see the kitten scratching, shake the can. Also, get it a scratching post, log, or something else it enjoys. Teach it to scratch there rather than the chair. Once trained, recover the chair. You could make chair covers for when company comes for dinner or a visit.
  • Cindi Cindi on Aug 21, 2016
    These are similar to Parson's Chairs, and I don't know exactly how they are done, since regular seats are pretty easy. Unfortunately, I have more experience with the cat than the chairs. I always go on You Tube for how to info, if you don't find it here. As for the kitten, it took me years, and a beautiful 4 pc set of Parsons Chairs, to figure out that you have to train a cat, just like a dog, except different. Basically, give it something it CAN scratch, and use shiny packing tape to cover areas when it starts clawing the wrong place. I have a scratching post on every floor, and grab their paws when I first put it out and just make a clawing motion, since they hate it. I yell "NO" if they even think about scratching anywhere else, they get it without spraying them with water. Also, someone mentioned declawing, and it's totally uneccessary, besides being horribly painful for the cat, plus sometimes they become biters because they have no other defense, it's just inhumane, like cutting all your fingers off. Instead, just keep their claws clipped. I have 8 cats and do their claws once a month. They don't like it much, but some will just let you do it, some will try to get away, and I have one that I had to wrap in a towel for years until she figured out that I'm going to do it, like it or not. It's quick and easy, and I just wait until they come to me and do it over several days until they're all done, also if you have a fighter, get them while they're sleeping, you'll be done before they know what's going on, especially if you're quick. Anyway, good luck with it all.
  • Cindi Cindi on Aug 21, 2016
    Also, the best material for cats is that microfiber, none of my cats have ever tried to claw it.
  • Hi, There are slip covers you can get for this style of chair. Check Home.com. They come in solids and a few prints. They're inexpensive too. I wouldn't go through the expense and bother of fixing them until your kitten quits using them as a scratching post. By the way, they have plastic caps you can get to put over their claws. It keeps them from clawing stuff up but is much more humane than declawing. Good luck.
  • Pamela J. Ludington-Rice Pamela J. Ludington-Rice on Aug 24, 2016
    Catarina, I believe the backs would come off of these chairs rather easy which would allow you to recover the front of the chair back and the seat, even covering over the leather with other fabric if you don't want to go to the trouble of taking the leather off all but I bet once the back is off, the front will be stapled into the frame. Also the seat should be stapled into the bottom of the chair. I think you can do it!! Good luck and show us what you come up with!! There are chair covers you can buy, but if you can sew, you could cut your pattern out of newspaper or brown wrapping paper!! If you are hesitant but have some scrap fabric, make it out of that first and then you can adjust from there!!