Best Upholstery for Homes with Mischievous Cats?

Until we brought a homeless cat into our home, our furniture was safe. Even our other cat did not scratch it. Our new cat, however, over the course of the past 1-1/2 years, has shredded one side of the front of the sofa. So we're gearing up to purchase a new sofa--by May, at the latest. Is it true that ultra suede is the best fabric in such situations? Not actually a fan of such fabric, but even less of having to buy a new sofa every year. The cat will not be rehomed (she had been abandoned, after being kept in a basement for 3 years to chase out the rats, was very sick, missing half her fur, etc.--so she's here to stay). We don't want leather, so I'm looking for alternatives. Also, I just recently read that flame-retardant chemicals have turned out to be dangerous and will no longer be used in the production of furniture--anybody know if this is true? Any and all advice appreciated. :)

There is nothing cat-proof - nothing. A cat that wants to tear up a piece of upholstery is going to do so, sorry.

Figure out what the cat likes. Don't buy anything the cat likes more than that, and don't get rid of her favorite items. I'm lucky in that my cat hates leather. Unfortunately she likes an ugly ugly scratching post. So I have to keep an awful scratching post right by my sofa. This is cat ownership (mine was abandoned too. I like her fine, but I won't replace her when she's gone).

Like Drcollie said, nothing is cat proof. However, I'm curious as to why you're not interested in leather. To be honest, a bonded leather called LeatherSoft is what I would recommend because it is soft, durable, a won't crack or fade. It is a top quality bonded leather that is cheaper and tougher than top-grain leather. So if something were to happen, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Cats like the feel of fabric on their claws so they scratch at it. Leather doesn't have that appeal as much. Feel free to read about LeatherSoft Furniture here.

If leather isn't an option, ultra suede/microfiber would be my second choice. We have two dogs and our brown microfiber does really well with keeping clean. However, the dogs don't often scratch at it.