DIY: Barstool Covers (Cat proof)
6September 25, 2012 by magpiemenina
Mew enjoying the new barstool covers as a perch rather than a scratching post.
As promised, here are some directions for cat-proof barstool covers!
Covered and uncovered barstools.
We’re only temporarily in Virginia for few more months, as I may have mentioned. Thus, we’re living in a furnished apartment. The apartment is quite nice. Very up-to-date with new kitchen appliances and lots of windows to let in sun! Unfortunately, a great deal of the furniture is covered in faux leather. It is only unfortunate because Mew seems to know that he isn’t allowed to claw the pleather (or fleather, if you want to be silly), and, being a cat, does so when he wants attention. (Any attention is good attention to him.) The barstools were bearing the brunt of it. He also likes to sit on them, but either can’t or won’t jump from ground to seat, instead preferring a preposterous method that involves latching onto the seat with his front claws and then clambering awkwardly up, much like someone using a chin-up bar to climb onto a higher surface. Of course, something had to be done to stop the wanton destruction.
Attached is a PDF of the directions to make your own barstool covers. I tried to write it out, but the directions don’t make much sense without visuals.
You will need:
A pesky cat (just kidding, but they are a great deal of fun and company…)
-ruler
-pencil-barstool(s)
-1 yard of 45” fabric per seat cover (adjust measurement to suit your needs)
-1.25 to 1.5 yards of rubber sheeting*
-sewing machine
-heavy-duty sewing machine needle
-thread to match your cover fabric
-iron
*Rubber sheeting is available on by-the-yard bolts at fabric stores and should be in the utility fabric section. It is typically used to cover mattresses to protect them from bad things that happen to mattresses (the accidents of small children, etc.). It is exactly what it sounds like – a very flexible fabric-rubber combination that is highly resistant to liquids and, incidentally, small puncturing objects like cat claws.
As a note, to make your cover even more cat proof, you can always use a heavier duty fabric as the cover fabric, such as duck cloth or outdoor canvas. I used ticking because I wanted a fabric I could use again if, when we move, we have no need for the covers.
Let me know if there are any questions or comments!
Magpie, Jaybird, and Mew 
Great idea! I need to use this for my dining room chairs as they are my kitty’s favorites to use as her bed and “bath” area.
Awesome! It should be pretty easy to modify for chairs. I have some fun dining room chair projects lined up for after our move that will include reseating if not recovering chair seats. Cats certainly make life more enjoyable but they do have quite the attitudes! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by my blog!
I’m thinking it will be easy to modify too. We have a sign up in our home that says, “If you want the best seat in the house, you’ll have to move the cat.” Apparently, cats can read too 😉
I’m reminded of the story about a man who cut his sleeve off rather than disturb his cat, who had fallen asleep on the sleeve. Living with cats makes one rather accommodating of their idiosyncrasies. Pets to your cat!
[…] you may recall, I posted a DIY pdf for some cat-proof barstool covers a few weeks ago. The problem I aimed to solve was stopping Mew from clawing up the pleather seats […]
[…] scrap of stabilizer or rubber sheeting (which I had left over from my cat-proof barstool covers); no more than 6″ wide if you are buying for this […]