What Floor Will Stand Up to Multiple Pets?

Q: I want to remove my rugs and put a wood floor down. Problem is that I have 6 cats, 1 dog and 1 bird. The floor takes a beating. I need one that will not scratch and can take a beating. Do I go with wood or laminated or what? Can you help me?
Denise
A: With several pets, your best bet is to look into a floor which is built to resist abrasion. This means you will want to avoid solid or engineered hardwood floors, as the finish featured on these are typically not as suited to resisting abrasion as something like laminate, stone or vinyl floors.
Laminate is the best of all wood floors when it comes to abrasion resistance. The finish found on laminate is tougher than any other wood floor finish generally speaking. This does not mean that laminate floors are bullet proof, but with a higher quality laminate floor, AC3 or better rating, you will get a floor far better suited to resisting scratches and damage than a hardwood floor.
Vinyl is another great choice as it is naturally very durable and you have the added benefit of being able to get wood appearing patterns, much like modern laminate flooring. Konecto and Congoleum both make great products, but Konecto is a bit more user friendly. The other added benefit with vinyl flooring is that you have a waterproof floor, so any pet messes will not ruin the floor like which could happen with laminate.
Another good option would be tile or stone flooring. Simply put, stone floors are the most resilient option out there, but if your are looking for a wood appearing floor you won’t find that in stone.
If you want a wood looking floor, look into vinyl or laminate. Also, make sure that you keep your floor well maintained, and ensure your pet’s nails are trimmed, or in the case of your cats, try using the plastic claw covers available nowadays to help prevent scratching to your floor, especially if you choose a wood floor or laminate.