Jordan
Cat lovers who are lucky enough to live with a cat, understand that cats can be amazing companions that have the ability to reduce stress with a simple purr. However, when owning a pet, keeping your house clean can be a challenge. If you own a cat, or more than one, your house can develop malodorous smells, that you may not notice until you have guests in the house. If you have a cat, it is not impossible to maintain a clean home but it will require you to clean the home more often and deeper.
Owning a cat does not have to mean that your house has to be constantly dirty or smelling of cat. Although having a cat will require more time and energy to maintain the house clean, having a clean home smelling fresh is not impossible and there are a few things you can do to ensure this.
Empty the Litter Box
A good piece of advice to consider when you have cats is to have more than one litter box, even when you only own one cat. You can check the most suitable litter boxes by visiting https://www.howtohome.com/automatic-litter-boxes/, as this will ensure the cat does not use the carpets or the floors when needed. Emptying the litter box is something you should be doing on a daily basis; and deep cleaning it, meaning remove old litter, fill the box with water, bleach, and cleaning detergent and give it an in-depth scrub and renew the litter completely every two weeks. This will further reduce the smell in the house.
Ditch the Carpet
This may seem a bit drastic piece of advice, however, carpets can be the home for many odours and they are very difficult to clean and maintain clean, this is emphasised if you have cats. If this is a viable option, you should opt to have laminate or hardwood floors in the house, so that you can clean the floors as often as possible and with water and detergent you can be assured the floors would be clean. If removing the carpet is not possible, investing in a vacuum designed to remove pet hair as well as in investing is ideal, this will remove pet hair as well as helping any odours that may occur in the home.
Have a Room for Your Cat Stuff
If you have enough space, you should consider having one room to keep your cat’s things like food, water bowl, scratching posts, beds, toys, etc. The room should be ventilated, if possible. Doing this would potentially contain the smell caused by things your cat uses in one room only, rather than spreading it to the whole house. This would also make it easier to maintain clean. Plus, you can always get modern cat trees that the cats enjoy and that also look stylish
Stay on Top of Messes
This advice applied to all pet owners. If your cat makes a mess, you should aim to clean it as soon as possible. Messes can range from a dirty litter box, vomit on your sofa, hairballs, etc. Make cleaning daily messes a priority, as they happen to avoid odours from developing and building up.
Regularly Brush Your Cat
One of the biggest challenges for individuals with cats is hair as it can settle everywhere around the house, including the furniture, curtains, hardwood floors, and carpet. We mentioned above the importance of cleaning the home, although the best way to control hair and fur shed is to regularly brush your cat. This way you can collect the hair on the brush instead of it shedding around the house and it will also help your feline friend to not digest as much hair, whilst grooming themselves. You may want to look into cat grooming in San Diego during the summer months when your cat is excessively shedding. This will save you a ton of time and effort, as well as help keep your house clean and hair-free.
Vacuum Often
You should aim to vacuum using a vacuum cleaner with a high-efficiency allergen filter to reduce dust and allergens and to also remove the pet hair. For increased effectiveness, consider vacuuming a few times a week, also depending on how much hair your cat sheds.
Protect Your Furniture
If you own a cat, but also want to maintain a clean and tidy home you should invest in cat-friendly furniture, which means, for example, that your sofas have to withstand a lot of wear and tear and that furniture, in general, is simple to keep clean. Therefore, prior to thinking about cleaning the house, you must consider if your furniture is suitable for cats. the type of furniture in your home. Another option is to cover your furniture with blankets that can be washed often, keeping a barrier between the cat and the furniture.
When you have a cat may feel like it is impossible to maintain a clean home, and although it is definitely challenging and time-consuming it is indeed doable.
If you take care of your feline friend and make sure you clean any messes instantly, you too can be able to have your human friends come over without worrying if they have picked up on the smell.
