How To Keep A Clean House When You Have Cats
Cats are wonderful, graceful, intelligent creatures. They also own us. They are our glorious leaders in the home. They choose when they eat and when it’s safe for us to pet and cuddle. Yet, these sometimes aloof, sometimes skittish, always beautiful feline friends have our hearts with an estimated 3.9million cats in Australia as pets. Nearly 30% of the population has one!
So, how do you keep a clean house when you have cats? With these four-legged floofballs comes alot of pet hair, smelly cat litter for indoor cats and the occasional dead mouse or bird if your cat roams outside. Keeping a clean house without the fear of cat smell or hair everywhere can become overwhelming, but we have some top tips to keeping on top of the cleaning,creating a lovely home for you and your furball!
Regularly Brush Your Cat
For some, the phrase ‘regularly brush your cat’ may instill fear. However, with a little work you can both enjoy brush time and it can become a bonding expereince between humans and cats in the home. If your cat isn’t used to having a brush, just gently use the brush along their back once or twice as they set down to eat and then walk away. Add a little extra brush each time and soon your cat will associate a brush as a good thing. Get them while they are calm and in the same spot in the house so they won’t feel anxious that you will spring from anywhere to detangle them. You will see just how much fur even short-haired cats shed and there will be an immediate drop in the amount of hair everywhere in your home.
Spot Vacuum Regularly
Invest in a handheld vacuum and blitz the spots where your cats lie regularly. Twice a week vacuum the sofa cushion they favour, or the corner by the window where they like to hang out. You might need to do this more frequently for wooden or laminate floors as the cat hair will travel around the home more easily on hard floors rather than being trapped in carpet hairs.
Relocate Your Cat Litter
If you have a cat litter tray, there are a couple of things you might need to try. Relocate to a room in the house away from the main living areas, so the smell doesn’t waft into the living and eating areas. Also, a closed-in litter tray can contain the smell. Unfortunatley there is no easy way to deal with cat poop. It really does smell! As much as cats are very clean creatures and cover up their poop with litter politely, it can still kick up a big stink if not managed immediately. You need to become a ninja when it comes to cat poop and jump on the litter tray frequently to keep on top of it. Enlist the help fo flatmates or family members to keep vigilant and rid your house of cat poop smells!
Deep Clean Your Carpets and Flooring Every 6 Months
Whether you have cats, dogs, or kids, no matter how hard you try, your home can get a little out of control and dirty, it’s unavoidable! Contact a local professional cleaner to blitz your home every 6 months for a deep clean and professional carpet clean. This will bring up any deep rooted pet hair and debris hidden in fibres and corners, bringing a feeling of freshness back to your home as you walk in the door.
Get Your Cats Their Own Furniture!
Yes cats rule our worlds and we are merely their servants, and we might be exaggerating by suggesting we buy cats their own furniture, but only a little! Cats tend to have favourite spots to hang out, so invest in some soft, blankets to put on their favourite chair, or the bottom of the bed. You might also consider investing in a little cat house to put at height (cats like to survey their land) and you’ll see your cat take refuge there rather than on your cream coloured couch. The blankets can be swapped over and washed when then become covered in cat hair, thus avoiding tufts of hair covering your furniture, bedding and clothes. A matching throw or cover on a chair not only adds to the interior design syle of your home, they protect your furniture from claw catches and scratches too.
There it is! Some practical tips to living harmoniously and cleanly, without fear of cat hair appearing on your best little black dress, favourite jumper, or covering your house guests head to toe in white cat hair!
