Apparently, if you shout at them and scare them off when they scratch they get excited and that is why they keep coming back for more. If you can, 'they' say to get a water gun and spray the cat each time it does it, without saying a word. If you keep at it they eventually give up. Our last suite got scratched, but our new one hasn't been touched - they were both fabric, but I don't know what the difference was. Does anyone know if cats prefer to scratch leather or fabric?