A lady who has 3 cats needs two arm chair covers, thus those
need to be cat-proof! What should I suggest to her as to the
fabrics (durable) and patterns? I was thinking in terms
of squares or stripes that can be repaired/replaced as that will be inevitable sooner or later and she'll be paying me good money for them. I am only a confident beginner. NO cat -blocks (she has all the cats she can take), and subtle coloring is preferred, we haven't planned further than that yet.What should I emphasize in planning?

oh my, i have three cats and they don't scratch my furniture. she needs to get them some scratching posts or have one made.
as for fabric, i'm not really sure what you should use. I'm sure she would appreciate anything you make her and would ask for new ones when and if necessary.
good luck.

Well, what is meant by "cat-proofing"? Is it a hair issue, hairballs, other upchuck, chewing, scratching, marking or plain old incontinence?

My cats have 2 scratching posts but their favorite is still the sofa...

Some kitties hate aluminum foil, some don't. Cheap to try, though. Or, how 'bout that clear thick plastic sold by the yard cheaply at W-M? Cut it to fit and use uphostery screws to hold it? Inexpensive place mats? Cats need to be taught to use their own scratching posts...take their front paws and show them how to use it. LOL!

With the way all the cats I know loving quilts the way they do, the cats just may take over any quilted items! I wonder if there is a textured material that the cats would not like the feel of and leave alone?

If I were making something to protect the chair arms that I knew would be getting destroyed by cats, I would choose a simple 4P with larger squares separating the 4Ps that I could machine applique on as necessary and just plan on replacing the whole thing at least once a year.

Depends on what she means by "cat-proof." My two kitties have their claws, and I've bought nearly every scratching post/surface made, and they don't use any of them much. They still like the furniture best. For just covering the furniture with something I can easily remove when guests arrive, I used a couple of cream colored fleecy throws I got at WM on clearance. The cats love laying on them, the cream color matches the belly of the biggest shedder, and it doesn't show snags (they both have their claws).

My customer lady wants the runners for interior decoration, not for protection as such, and cats seem to love quilts, soft, cuddly places as they are...so shed love to have them wear well - both the quilts and her cats!

Microfiber seems to have the property of easily having pet hair removed. You could use all one color or applique on it or use several colors and make a quilt style cover. If you use only 1 color then you can use pillows for accent colors.

ali

My cat's favorite thing to claw on is the variegated cardboard blocks that you find in the cat department of pet stores. I tried the ones that are supposed to be like files for their claws, but he didn't like it at all, so that purchase was for nothing. But he loves the plain cardboard rectangles (it looks like cardboard stacked together on end and glued and cut into rectangles). I tried a scratching post, two, in fact, but he didn't use them at all.