If you have a feline friend then it's likely that you may have found yourself in this situation. You come home only to find that, Monsieur Le Chat (or Mr Cat / C for the sake of this article) has used your nice couch, favourite chair, expensive rattan furniture or even the bed as a scratching post. Depending on the damage that Mr Cat has done to your furniture you may be able to salvage the furniture and, possibly, depending on how sorry he is, the relationship with Mr C.

If you have minor damage, such as some light plucking, then you may want to consider getting nail covers for protection. Believe it or not, these are for your cat and not the furniture! They are plastic and cruelty free, and they just slide over the nail and keep Mr C. from doing it again (and are also used for cats with self scratching issues. If this doesn't sit comfortably with you, then of course you should keep your cat's nails trimmed. This will deter Mr C. from the need to scratch on anything. However you may not want to stop your cat from scratching totally as of course it is in their nature, so offering a general substitute is always a good idea. Get Mr C. his own scratch post and watch them gradually tear it to shreds!

If leather furniture has minor scratches you could use leather polish to rub out the damage. Leather polish comes in an array of colours and most will match up without a problem. Remember that you always want to test a spot prior to working on the main problem. Add the polish in a circular motion with a rag and rub into the leather; this will reduce the appearance of the scratch and save the furniture to fight another day.

If fabric furniture has been torn then you could try some slipcovers if the damage has been bad. Most slipcovers are made "pet friendly" these days and cats are not able to tear them up (or are we just setting them a challenge...). Fabric friendly craft glue can always be used on fabric furniture. It is made for fabric and does not have that bleed through like some other adhesives - just remember that a little goes a long way. Of course sometimes you can get away with stitching it back together with good old needle and thread. The curved "U" shaped needles work the best for this sort of job.

If Mr C. has scratched up something that is glass fronted then you can actually buy glass filler that will 'fill up' scratches and, by removing the finest of surfaces, give glass that see through amazing shine back. Again it's that old circular motion that you need to employ while rubbing it in with a rag. Then just wipe it clean and you are all set to let it dry.

If your furniture has been completely destroyed and you have to reupholster make sure that you shop around. Leather can be very expensive to restore. If Mr C. has destroyed more than one piece of furniture do consider taking the set in as you will also save money doing it all in one shot. Most of the time though, with a little thought and care you can fix cat scratches without too much hassle and perhaps even save your favourite piece of rattan furniture. At worst it is a good excuse for choosing something new!