I have a Mitchell Gold sofa upholstered in cotton velvet, and I have two dogs who are allowed on the sofa. It's held up incredibly well. The short-haired dog's hair accumulates in crevices but does not weave itself into the fabric, and there are no tears at all after ~8 years. I don't know how it would be if cats' claws were added to the picture, but I've been really pleasantly surprised by how fresh the couch still looks with just regular vacuuming for maintenance. If you can, you might consider ordering a swatch of the fabric and letting the cats sleep on it for a bit to see how it does.

Say YES to the velvet!

We have 2 large navy velvet chairs and 3 cats. The chairs have been great, I just take a slightly damp paper towel and the fur comes off the chair very easily. My kitties are good about not clawing them, I keep a jute covered scratching post behind the chairs. Overall, velvet seems like a very durable fabric for the cats even when they jump up on the chairs, we have zero scratches or tears in the fabric.