Updated : November 28, 2025
Published : December 18, 2018
David
Guides

If you are you a pet owner, then you need to know what pet friendly fabrics you need to use. So we have put together the ultimate fabric guide for those with cats and dogs at home.

Is there a fabric that exists that belong to the pet friendly fabrics category? Yes, absolutely! So we have put together a comprehensive guide so that you can still find a fabric that you like that is good for the pets too.

Different Types of cat and dog Friendly Fabrics

First of all, I thought we’d start with the pet friendly fabric types. There are a few more than you might think. Although they are different for both cats and dogs, so we’ve broken them down into categories for you, depending on the type of animal you have.

CATS

Suede is a great fabric for cats, and is often described as the ‘cat proof fabric’. Cats just can’t get their claws into it, and so don’t scratch at it.
Leather is a wipe clean fabric, great for those cats that like to stretch out on the sofa. Leather is amongst the best cat friendly fabrics and essential for creating a cat proof sofa. It’s easy to wipe away those pet hairs!

DOGS

Leather is a wipe clean fabric, great for those dogs that like to snooze on the sofa. However note that dogs do have a tendency to scratch leather as they get on and off it. So choose a toughened leather if you are going to go for it.
Linen might seem like the worst choice, but it is actually a very easy fabric to clean and great as a ‘dog proof fabric’. As a woven linen and cotton composition it can actually be spot cleaned. Taking a lightly damp colourless cloth, you can spot clean any dirty marks.

Best Pet Friendly Fabrics for Sofa Beds

Of course at Furl we are known for sofa beds that can be used everyday. That obviously means that the sofa could be used everyday for furry friends to snooze on. And possibly every night too! So the fabric needs to stand the tests of time.

You might not think it but Velvet is actually a great choice for sofa beds. Our Velvet is pre-treated with stain resistance. It also has a rub count of 100,000, which means that it is a very durable fabric too. Any pet hairs can then just be simply vacuumed off, using the brush head on your vacuum cleaner.

Worst pet friendly sofa beds Fabrics

There is a fabric that isn’t always great for sofa beds though. And unfortunately, it’s the most cat friendly fabric – Suede. Sometimes when suede makes contact with suede, it has a tendency to squeak a little bit. This isn’t the case for all sofa bed styles. But if there is quite a lot of contact between cushions then you might notice it if you jump onto the sofa.

Best Animal Friendly Fabrics for Storage Beds

You probably know that we specialise in making storage beds at Furl. But a bedroom isn’t necessarily pet-free! In fact 50% of Brits let their pets sleep in their bed with them! I’m definitely in the other 50%, with two stinking labradors, I don’t think I’d have any room for me if I let them in the bed too.

For those of you that do let your pet into your bed though, you need a fabric that is going to stand the test of time. Leather is the best animal friendly fabric for a storage bed. Not only for the pet, but also for you, it is simple wipe clean. So any dog shaking on the bed, or dirty pet hair marks from resting against the headboard can simply be wiped away.

worst Pet Friendly Fabrics for Storage Beds

A dog friendly furniture fabric that isn’t always great for storage beds is Linen. Although it isn’t a recommended fabric for cats anyway as they can pull apart the weave. For dogs, Linen is a good option. But if your bed is sitting on the floor, you might catch it with your dirty shoes quite often. Linen, although easy to keep clean does have a tendency to get dirty more easily. Particularly in light colours.

Why do we have to consider our pets when choosing our fabric?

For three reasons actually – Claws, Fur and Mud.

Claws

Although dogs can have sharp claws, they don’t tend to claw at things. Unless it’s your leg asking for a treat or yet another tummy rub. Cats however, love a good claw. They claw everything they can get their claws into.

So here are the fabrics that are easily attacked by claws:

Linen
Woven Fabric
Wool
Leather *But this tends to only be by dogs jumping up and down onto the sofa.

Fur

Unfortunately for everyone, both cats and dogs shed fur. Some dogs far worse than others. Some people would rather a fabric that hid the fur so they couldn’t see it. Some people would rather a fabric that showed the fur so they could get rid of it.

Either way, here are the fabrics that attract fur more easily:

Suede
Velvet
Wool

Although Velvet appears on the list, it is actually the easiest fabric to keep clean. Hair is very easily removed using a vacuum cleaner. Where as with Wool and Suede it has a tendency to stick to it and not want to come off.

Fur

Perhaps with mud we should speak about the pet friendly fabrics that are best for mud, rather than worst for it. As I’m not sure that any fabric wants to get muddy really.

Leather – Is the easiest to wipe clean
Linen – Is the next easiest fabric to clean, as it can be spot cleaned or steam cleaned. The darker the fabric, the easier it will be to maintain.

So how can you best care for your fabric?

Our sofa beds can all come with a Guardsman Fabric Protection option though. For £100 you can add a 5-year insurance cover against accidental damage and spillages. A treatment is applied to the fabric that doesn’t change the look or feel of the fabric. Then if something does spill on the fabric, it will stay on the top and you can simply dab at it with a paper towel to remove the liquid. In a worst case scenario, we would replace that part free of charge within the 5-year period.

For our bespoke storage beds, you can choose our Removable Fabric Option. You can then dry clean or wash your fabric EASILY, whenever you need to. It’s £150 and can be added onto any Storage Bed base.

Of course, if you would like to go for a fabric that you don’t see on any of our lists, there is something you can do! Train your pets well. Don’t allow them to chew, or claw or even so much as let them up on to the sofa or the bed. That way, you can have the fabric you want without even considering the pets. Now I know this is harder said than done, but it can be done! Oh but puppy you are just so cute…

You can order free samples of our Pet Friendly Fabrics.