There are a variety of high quality products that clean and restore leather. Cuts and tears however are tricky.

I prefer the fabric covers. However I see that the way you finished is not the same as the leather and doesn't look right. I'm sorry to tell you that. Can you use a tool to stuff the fabric down between the arm so you reveal the entire arm? That may be why the leather was glued in place. You may have to do the same. The fabric is beautiful but it's just not quite finished as it should be.

Check out Magic Mender: http://leatherrepairkits.com/before_after.htm

Thank you all, I will try the Magic mender! I'll let you know how it turns out. And to bongalowmo I luv you and Agree I would never declaw my cats, they are too precious to me, hence the claw marks on the chairs, gotta luv em any way, it's just furniture, where as they are family!

I'm so happy you feel that way Billie! This chair in my living room was something like $700. It's still nice, but you can see each side in the front has tape running down it to deter the claws!

I really don't care how it looks...I love my furbabies more!
Snowball, Random & Maggie Moo.

@bungalowmo...you have a Maggie Moo too? Small world. I used to have a cat named Maggie...she eventually became known as Maggie-Moo because her cross-eyed lack of depth perception made her as hazardous as Mr. Magoo! Hence Maggie-Moo!

Oh yeah...most of my kitties have had double names. I also call her moo-moo-kitty!

The only single name is Random. He was a random kitty hanging out on my porch & I adopted him!

HI - I have never had a cat that went after the furniture . Cats hate tin foil , the sounds of it and the feel of it . You can put up tin foil on the areas and hang tin pie plates etc. there or put them on the counters at night . And when they jump up there it scares the bejeebers out of them and they soon learn to stay away. There are company's that restore leather but I think you should not white wash the wood as that is starting to go out of fashion .

Am I missing something? I'd just condition the leather very often and say it's got a beautiful patina.

I like the tin foil idea, will have to try it myself!

Leather is a magnet for cats. I'd get rid of the leather and upholster it with something else. If you try to repair it, they'll just ruin it again down the line.

HI -- It also helps for the cat to have it's own cat condo covered in carpeting and I rub cat nip on it and the cats would rather get stoned on that than go after the furniture .

What do I do with claw marks on a more suede like leather. Not shiny. Covered my beautiful new couch with a cover. Bad idea. The kitten loved to play under the cover.

I put throws on my leather sofa with a little stool for my kitty to jump up with. That way she doesn't need to use her claws to jump up. The throws are washable so it serves dual purpose. When company comes, I just pick up throws.

I have tried rubbing in shoe polish to match the color of the leather. Works for us and we have 6 cats.

Yes, you can restore leather furniture--cat scratches included. We called a local leather restorer who repaired our leather couch and chair for far less than it cost to replace the furniture. 20 years later we finally bought new furniture and opted out of leather as we just can't imagine living without our cats, nor did we ever find a great way to keep them off the furniture.

Before restoring anything that's been damaged by a pet--fix the pet! Cats need to scratch, get them a proper scratching post and teach them to use it. Then, once the pet learns they can't ruin your furniture, fix the chair. Also, animals don't need to be in every room of your home, limiting their territory limits the damage, hair, etc. in those rooms. My cat is not allowed in my bedroom. I don't need to have additional trouble breathing at night. No hair on chair, bed, rug is great.

You could also try "Soft Paws" or "Kitty Caps" cat nail caps on your cat. They are safe and effective in preventing destructive scratching.

Years ago I had a cat that couldn't get enough of a beautiful ottoman we had in the den. I tried bitter apple, had 3 different scratching posts, always kept his claws clipped, but he wanted the ottoman. I let him win. I tore off the fabric and recovered the ottoman. Then took the old fabric and covered all his scratching posts with it and secured it at the top and bottom with sisal rope. He never touched the furniture again. I really miss that cat, sigh.

Thanks all I've ordered leather repair kit. Ivan, the scratcher has passed away at 17 years old (people yrs)---hence why I'm redoing chairs, no sense in redoing if Ivan was still with us! I love my fur babies too. Although post was asking for help with chairs, I enjoyed the cat comments too and shared with my fur babies, they were very amused - well not all of them.

Big hug to you and your remaining kittens. Always a difficult to loose a treasured companion after so many years of love.

Recently I tried a product called Wonder Balm (Doc Martens) on my leather boots and a very old jacket and the revitalization was amazing. I think you would need to repeat this process often to maintain the leather. Good luck!

I use shoe polish cream and conditioner for the leather and clear packing tape on the corners of our fabric chair to stop the claw sharpening.Since we got this wicker drawer unit,it has become the favorite scratching spot.

A little warning about the aluminum foil idea--I tried that on one of my chairs, hoping to preserve the expensive upholstery, and my super-active cat Carlos bit into the foil and ingested some of it before I was able to pry it out of his mouth. Fortunately, it was a very tiny amount and apparently did not harm his digestive tract, or so says the vet, anyway. Not every cat is as weird as Carlos, but please, be careful--and don't leave your cats alone for even a minute with aluminum foil in the room.

A client recently introduced me to a product called Rub'n'Restore which is available online. He had used it on a very worn beige leather sofa and not only did he change the color of it to a rich cognac, but it looks almost new. I ordered some and tried it on some leather chairs for a different client whose cats had scratched the chairs jumping on and off of them. Following the directions, the product did wonders, filled in most of the scratches and they are barely noticeable now. Great product!

Try shoe polish. The kind that comes in the flat can. Rub it into the scratches, let it dry, and buff it a little. We use it all the time for our leathers sofas and chairs.

I'll go in another direction here.....if you are going to white wash the wood and do the shabby chic thing, simply take 120 grit sand paper to the leather and rough it up even more. This will add texture, even out the marks by adding more all over and go with the shabby look. Then wax, or polish the leather. After you white wash the wood use the same wax or shoe polish to add depth to the legs as well.

To lessen my furry friends from scratching the furniture, I used clear self adhesive shelf paper on the corners and front sections of the most likely areas. Works well and lasts for a good amount of time. Works on many surfaces and doesn't look too bad either.

Wonder Balm is incredible. I saw someone mentioned it up above but I've got a pair of Docs that are 9 years old and look brand new. Our couch is leather and while I use the soft paws, occasionally a flying leap of fur and love will catch the couch. I tried a liquid leather repair for a longer scratch and ended up with more of a gooey disaster and the tear still visible. The husband also wipes the couch down with formula 2001 every 3 months or so. Its made for cars but makes the leather look incredible.

I have 2 bonded leather chairs that the sun (and 10 years) has started to ruin. The arms and seats have leather actually peeling off and they look really bad. Is there a product that works for these kind of chairs or is it not worth it to even try? They are comfortable but next time I do want genuine leather.