Raise your hand if you enjoy finding cat hair all over the place. Raise both hands if you really enjoy cleaning it up! Anyone? Anyone? Well, we all know by now if you have a cat, cat hair is an inevitable part of your everyday life. You find it everywhere: in your home, in your cars, on your clothes and all over your furniture. Yes, it is a nuisance, and on a grander scale, it can aggravate certain medical conditions, such as allergies and asthma. Fortunately, there are strategies you can use to control this pesky problem.
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Get your Groom On!
A well-groomed cat can help keep those runaway hairs under control. Regular brushing and combing will help remove old hair, mats and dander. And if you have a short-haired cat, don’t be fooled. They can still shed, only the hair will be shorter. Just take a few minutes every day to brush or comb your cat so you can collect dead hair and throw it away instead of finding it all over your home. Plus, when you remove this dead and loose hair, you will mitigate the incidence of hairballs.
No Cats Allowed….On the Furniture!
Doesn’t that chair with cat hair all over it look inviting and comfy? Not really! Yes, wouldn’t it be great to successfully discourage your cat from getting on the furniture? The reality is it’s very difficult, if not impossible to do.
Place comfortable beds or pet furniture around your living space. My cat Marty often likes to sit beside me, so I encourage him to lie on a soft fur mat, which he likes to do in the winter.
Use slipcovers and other types of decorative fabric to protect your furniture. The advantage to that is they can be removed and washed on a regular basis. However, don’t wash these with your regular wash items, as your clothes will be like a magnet for the pet hair.
Extra helpful tip: Dry the covers with a couple of dryer sheets, as this will help to move the hair to the lint trap. (Just be sure to clean the lint trip afterwards!) option is a furniture cover.
Plug in the Vacuum Cleaner
Vacuuming is the easiest way by which to remove pet hair from furniture and carpeting. You can use special brush attachments for wood furniture. Grab a magnetized dust wand to help collect and hold hair. Consider getting an air filter to help remove pet hair and other contaminants.
While regular vacuuming can help remove most pet hair, very fine hair presents a challenge, even with repeated vacuuming. Consider using damp terry cloth towels. Wipe the carpet down with the towel. This will collect hair in a small pile that can then be picked up from the surface. If your carpet is quite soiled, a steam cleaner may be your best bet.
Compressed Air Is Your Friend
Is cat hair jamming your phone, computer, TV and other appliances? A can of compressed air with a nozzle attachment can direct a forceful blast of air at those hard-to-reach areas. This will dislodge the air and then you can remove it with your dusters or vacuum cleaner.
Cat hair and clothing: when everyone knows you have a cat
It’s no secret that cat hair will cling to your clothes. Get one of those rolls of masking tape that rotates on a handle. Run the roller over your clothes to pick up the hair as it sticks to the tape. You can also use this on furniture.
Apply fabric spray to your clothes that you normally use to control static cling, as this will also repel cat hair. Use fabric softener dryer sheet and rub it over the surface of your clothes to prevent cat hair from sticking to them.
Thanks to cattime.com and petplace.com for this helpful information.
Written by Ann Butenas
An internationally-recognized author and writer, Ann began her professional writing career at age 12 and began speaking while in college. She has been published thousands of times over the past three decades in all media forms, was former editor and publisher of KC Metro Woman magazine, and has also hosted three talk radio shows in the Kansas City area.
