Leather is made from tanning raw animal hide/skin. Similar to human skin, these animal hides have pores, that allow liquid to pass in and out. Due to this property, leather can soak in olive oil and actually help cover up some scratches from cats. Here is how you can repair cat scratches on leather by using olive oil.

How to repair cat scratches on leather with olive oil?

1. Rub the Olive Oil onto the scratched portion of the leather. We recommend using a q-tip to apply the olive oil to the leather. You only want to put a couple tablespoons of oil to start off.
2. Apply some of the oil to the surrounding parts. You should do this in a circular motion so that the entire area has the shape of a circle. 
3. Wait for an hour. If the scratches have not improved, you should try adding more oil and repeating steps 1 and 2. We recommend testing out the olive oil on the back side of the couch in order to make sure the oil doesn’t cause a bad stain. 
4. If the scratches still aren’t improved, you can remove the natural oil from the leather. You can do this by putting a moist cloth on the leather, and then heating the area with a hair dryer. This will cause the leather’s oil and dye to cover the scratch. You should only do this method if you have aniline or bicast leather. Be gentle with the hair dryer, and don’t hold it too close to the leather, as it may cause it to burn.

How to repair cat scratches on leather furniture (other ways)

If the scratches are still not going away, we recommend looking into buying a leather scratch repair kit. They are very affordable, with many options costing less than $20. It is much cheaper to just repair the leather, instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a new piece of furniture. Most leather repair kits come with different colors so you can test them out to see which one fits in the best with your leather. Our favorite leather repair kit for cat scratches is the Professional DIY Leather Repair Kit for Pets. This kit helps you repair your leather furniture from a wide range of impairments, including scratches, holes, and rips. You can buy this leather repair kit by clicking on the picture below. 

How to stop a cat from scratching leather?

Some cats have a fascination with scratching leather, while others are indifferent. If your cat is constantly scratching leather, we recommend buying a scratching board. This will distract your cat from the leather and give it something else to scratch. You should also give your cat more attention and play with him/her as much as you can. Some cats resort to scratching leather when they are anxious or bored.

If your cat scratches other objects or material such as carpet, you should check out my article on cat scratching carpet under door.

You might also be interested in my article that explains why cats love olives.