| Pet friendly, or pet safe, furniture is a bit of a | | | | If you provide cats with a scratching pole to exercise |
| misnomer just like the term 'child proof' you can't get | | | | their claws on, then you may find that they will leave |
| furniture which is immune to damage, but you can | | | | your furniture alone. If you don't have a scratching |
| make sure that things are as safe and durable as | | | | pole available, then some corrugated cardboard may |
| possible. If you want to allow your pet access to the | | | | do in the short term. If your cat has a long tail, then |
| house, but want to make sure that there is as little | | | | keep ornaments back from the edge of any ledges |
| possibility for damage as possible, then consider pet | | | | to avoid them getting tail-swept off and breaking. |
| friendly furniture and decorations. | | | | Pet Friendly Upholstery |
| If you have pets in the house, then wall to wall | | | | The primary and most essential need of most pet |
| carpeting may not be a great idea, unless your pet | | | | friendly furniture is to ensure that it can be easily |
| happens to be a gold fish or a small bird. For popular | | | | cleaned to remove hair and stains. Consider having |
| four-legged pets such as dogs and cats, a hard floor | | | | two sets of washable linen or denim slips to cover |
| with tiles or special flooring is most pet resistant and | | | | the upholstery of your sofas. It makes sense to do |
| attractive too. For additional color to the floor, try | | | | so, since you will always have one on hand to use, |
| adding small rugs, though if you have expensive | | | | while the other is being washed. Nowadays, it is |
| Persian rugs, it might be better and safer to display | | | | possible to buy stain resistant odor repellent fabric. |
| on the walls. One clever and practical idea is a floor | | | | This will withstand normal stains and smells. You can |
| cover to place pet friendly furniture. For this purpose | | | | also choose dark or patterned fabric since this will not |
| try vinyl-coated wallpaper and three coats of | | | | show stains easily. |
| polyurethane. That should last a couple of years. | | | | Instead of using fabric, try ultra-suede. It is quite |
| Semi-gloss paint is a sensible choice if you have dogs | | | | resistant to dog hairs, and is easy to wash and dry. |
| and cats since it is easy to clean, which can be useful | | | | It also tends not to pick up odors, and, since it does |
| if your pet decides to rub itself against the wall. If | | | | not smell like leather, dogs are less likely to chew it. |
| you prefer wallpaper, get the washable, vinyl-backed | | | | You can get ultra-suede slip covers to fit a lot of |
| kind. Avoid vertical blinds, ornate tassels, pull cords on | | | | common furniture sizes, and it looks very attractive, |
| lights, or anything else that could tangle the pet and | | | | so you are not sacrificing anything for the |
| put them at risk of strangulation. | | | | pet-friendly features. |