My sister had a couple of cats who did a number on her sofa. It was a woven fabric of some sort. She replaced it with a faux suede, and came to realize that the cats didn't claw it at all. Apparently it's it is smooth enough that they had no interest in it.

I don’t know about the fabric but wanted to comment about Soft Paws. How old is your cat? We tried SP on my Himalayan cat and oh my that was something! He had them all tore off in an hour or so. He was quite irritated with me. The photos I took were comical honestly. Posted them here before but don’t have them stored on my phone. He was probably 7 or so. I’d definitely try it but it may depend on your kitties temperament. Mine fought me on anything we needed to do for him except brushing his back and neck. Feisty guy he was. He‘s been gone about 4 years now and I miss him.

Microfiber velvet or microfiber suede seems to help from a cat clawing perspective as long as there is no piping. The piping seems to encourage scratching for some reason.

Maybe try pinning the fabric you are considering to their regular scratching areas and see if they get used or not. I think part of the scratching is marking territory too.

Hmm, I’ll ask the vet about soft paws. The cats are about 8. When one cut her paw (she was accidentally locked in a room when we went out, and scratched at the carpet at the door until she pulled it up and cut her pad on the tack strip. The vet put a bandage around it but she had it off in one minute when we got home.

By they way, we tried StickyPaws, and it would appear that I need to upholstery completely in it. They just go where the tape isn’t.

Lyfia, we have microfiber SureFit covers on two chairs and while they don’t scratch it, their claws will snag if we haven’t clipped in a week. And, the little sneaks slip under the slip covers to scratch the upholstery! Imagine my shock when I took the slipcovers off one day to wash! Anyway, they might not scratch microfiber but it can still snag.

Okay, I‘ve heard a lot about soft paws, I’ll ask the vet.

I have an ancient sofa (ok, it’s probably 25 years old) that is upholstered in a very flat cotton that my cats have never bothered. Last summer I got 2 new sofas in a weave and my cat had her claws out before it was unwrapped. I bought slipcovers but at night, I have to put the throw pillows around the bottom to hold the fabric down so she doesn’t sneak scratch it.

Somewhat along the lines of trying the microfiber before you invest in... what about trying some duck? It's pretty cheap, and around here you can get it at Joann's or Hobby Lobby. For $10 you could get a yard or better and pin it up to see what happens. Honestly, it's hard for me to imagine cats snagging duck.

I've had pretty good luck with cotton duck upholstery (I don't have slipcovers) with my three cats. I'm not sure what the fabric is on my sofa (I think it's a synthetic with a tweed-like texture), but they have been remarkably uninterested in scratching it, and to the extent that they have (over 9 years) it hasn't suffered for it.

I do pepper my house with stray cardboard boxes, as they are my Ari's (see my avatar) favorite thing to claw. Eventually, when they are mostly confetti and the remains are held together only by memory, I replace them.

Cawaps, I’m going to have to reupholster anyway, so I might try the duck AND a duck slipcover, just to be on the safe side.

For the Soft Paws, they sure come in cr@zy colors. That’s not how we roll, I’ll stick with a neutral, but I wonder if the cats are freaked out by a bright red or green thing on their toes?