If you live in one of the 36,117,000 cat-owning households across the USA chances are you are all too familiar with what a mission it can be to keep your home, and especially your rugs and carpets, clean and odor-free. Although cats are known for their general cleanliness and personal hygiene, sharing your home with a cat does still require a substantial amount of cleaning to keep your floors and furniture hair-free and your home smelling fresh and welcoming without even a hint of a cat litter box in the air. Here are a few handy tips that will help you keep your house in tip-top shape while ensuring that your favorite feline continues to live a royal life.
Vacuum regularly
Don’t wait until your carpet has more cat hair on it than your actual cat before you give your floors a good vacuum. Ideally, aim to vacuum at least twice a week to reduce the amount of dust and allergens brought on by the cat hair and dander on your rugs and carpets. If anyone in your home is sensitive to cat hair, invest in a vacuum cleaner with a specialized allergen filter to reduce the contaminants in your home even more. Remember that you need to keep the floor underneath your rugs clean as well so be sure to roll up your rug and give the floor a wipe down at least once a week.
Clean your cat’s litter box regularly
A dirty cat litter box can result in your entire home being enveloped in a putrid smell. By only making use of litters that controls odor and cleaning the box on a daily basis you can reduce the stench that escapes during litter changes. Where possible, avoid putting a litter box on a carpet or rug and consider investing in an enclosed pan that will prevent the litter from being pawed onto the floor. If you are forced to place the box on a rug or carpet, put down a sheet of plastic or newspaper first to protect against any litter that gets flung around. A self-cleaning litter box is ideal as it will not only eliminate any smells but is also a lot more convenient as it does not require you to scoop out the dirty litter on a daily basis.
Don’t feed your cat on the carpet
Place your cat’s food and water bowls somewhere, like tiled kitchen floors, where spills will cause the least amount of damage. If anything does get spilled, be sure to clean it up right away to prevent it from staining or mold and mildew from occurring. The same applies to your cat using your floor as a toilet (although this will rarely occur, if ever), being sick on it or bringing in a bloodied sacrifice in the form of a lizard, rodent or bird from outside. Remove the mess with either toilet paper (or a knife to avoid it being pushed into the carpet) and then make use of a gentle stain remover and enzymatic cleaner to eliminate the odor. Make sure you have familiarized yourself with the correct carpet and rug cleaning procedures as to avoid doing further damage by making use of the wrong cleaning materials.
Cats undoubtedly make for the most amazing pets and thankfully they are inherently clean on themselves and their living environments. The guidelines above will help you to keep your entire home clean with ease without causing too much disruption to the real master of the house.
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