Upholstery and Fabrics - Cat shredded fabric

I have an antique chair with very great sentimental value that my roommate's cat has scratched up pretty badly. It is an overstuffed armchair and the cat has damaged the fabric on the front of both arms. A slipcover/re-upholstering is not an acceptable permanent solution due to the sentimental value of the chair, although I do intend to slipcover it now as long as I live here :mad:

The fabric is a (probably) cotton loose-weave.

Is there any way to repair the shredded fabric, maybe by re-weaving it or something? I have small covers for the arms of the chair made out of the same fabric that I'm willing to sacrifice to repair the arms if necessary, but other than that there is no extra fabric anywhere on the chair that I can borrow (the underside is solid wood). I do have an industrial sewing machine and a staple gun, and have done some upholstering before, I was just looking for something less invasive on this piece since I will never be able to replace the 50 year old fabric with anything even close. I am just devastated by this event...

Thanks so much for your help!

If it's shredded really bad, in several places, I don't see how it can be repaired. If there's just a rip or two, you can try to find a mender (but lots of luck on that one, maybe ask a tailor if he/she knows one) to invisibly mend if, if possible.
Another option is to just have the arms recovered in a coordinating or solid color, and that way the rest of the chair will still be the same.
Sorry, can't think of anything else.