Vacuums should be mere suction, not having these rotating brushes underneath, those can destroy rugs, I believe.

Cats with claws: here's what works with mine (who used to think of every rug as a scratchpost):

I have a very finely woven full-pile tekke rug from the 1940s, this is woven so densely and finely that she doesn't manage to damage it (although the pile, as with all older tekke rugs is quite low from the start)
Any full-pile densely woven good quality rug with a finer knot count (144 kpsi up or so) seems to be ok with my cat.

Here's what my cat would destroy easily:

Any rug that is coarsely to medium densely woven, e.g. gabbay, but also much finer rugs, even if it is full pile
Any rug with a lower knot count that is low to medium pile,
Any rug that is down to the knots

By scratching those rugs, she gets out whole knots.

The worst: I have a couple of antique (pre-1900) partially down to the knot caucasian rugs - I had to put them into a room the cat is not allowed in.

Long fringes (as on some beautiful tribal rugs) are a terrible temptation to many cats, and by playing with them they can suffer (sometimes badly) - the fringes I mean.

Having said all this, I think oriental rugs and cats are virtually made for each other. All cats I've ever lived with loved to lie on the rugs, roll on their backs, find the sunny spots, and look very photogenic and aesthetically pleasing.

Pic is of my 18 1/2 year old cat on my signature rug - which at that point needed vacuuming badly - the rug, not the cat.