four cats, lots of hair

Less cats? Investing in some hairless cats? Haircut day for the cats?

On a serious note... Someone said they purchased leather couches and similar. That could definitely be a good idea to still be able to live in peace with the family pets and not have to worry about the hair. Also, I don't know how crazy your cats are about a possible bath time (seeing as I had a couple of my cats in the past just LOVE baths, for some odd reason) but I had picked up a bottle of pet shampoo that was supposed to help with the coats, and yes, it really did help. It was a bit on the expensive side - just over $10 for a medium sized bottle - but I also did see a difference. There sure didn't seem to be as much hair. Brushing is also a good way to keep the hair down. My cats have all loved the brush, with the exception of one - he'd much rather attack your hand - or you - when the brush was close by. The dog also didn't like the brush. I would sit on the couch in the evening to watch the news or whatever program was on, and mindlessly brush the cat as it layed beside me or on me. I found it was something that could be done with less than half a brain set aside for doing it and my cats loved it. Other than that, I dunno... I'm sure others will have more and better ideas to go with.