How Do You Deal With Cat Hair?

[Yanaka]

Hi, all!

I thought it would get better once the cold weather kicks back in, but there's still a sh*t ton of cat hair floating around everywhere in my apartment. What do you use to catch it? To clean it? Do you have tips to help limit the hair on every surface? It's everywhere even where my cats don't go (aka dish rack). I use wet cloths but I don't think it's the best move. Please help!

 

[BlueJay]

I hope that brushing my kitty often helps collect some hair. Other than that I use lint rollers. You can use lint rollers on carpet, furniture, hard surfaces like tables, etc. They also have those things where I'm from that look like an oven mitt but are a little prickly that are supposed to catch hair, I haven't used it much though. I would think the wet rag would have similar results as a lint roller on hard surfaces. Vacuuming should help.

 

[muffy]

Back when I had 8 cats I would vacuum every day and use a lint roller on my bed and sofa. That seemed to help.

 

[Yanaka]

So no magic tricks or smart supplies I'm missing out on, huh... I already vacuum and use wet cloths for surfaces. I never thought of the lint roller other than on linen, though, that's interesting.

 

[kittyluv387]

I live in a 2bdr apt and have 3 cats and my life is cat fur. My cat's fine under hairs even get in my eye all the time. We don't clean often so yeah we just live with it. ><

 

[RajaNMizu]

One of my biggest fears before adopting cats was how much fur I would have in the apartment. The best compliment you could give me is "I wouldn't even know you have pets." I am not OCD about cleaning but I am diligent. Once a week the house gets a good, thorough cleaning. Once a week, the cats get a good grooming session. I use a furminator brush and a nubby mitt to remove all of the shedding fur. I keep blankets on the couch to protect it and wash them weekly. I vacuum about once a week, sometimes twice if I'm expecting company. I use the upholstery attachment on everything, couches, tables, furniture, etc. Daily, I surface clean coffee tables, end tables etc. I wash all of the pet bedding monthly. Of course we see hairs here and there but this routine keeps the place almost the same as before I adopted the girls and it really isn't very much more work.

 

[misty8723]

I consider cat fur on my clothes a badge of honor

I vacuum and sometimes use wet cloths on the chairs and such. Otherwise, I live with it, doesn't bother me (or DH).

 

[Winchester]

In this house, cat hair is a condiment. I do my best, but I'm outnumbered. And the cats control the house.

We have five cats (down from eight). And a Beast/beagle, who sheds about as much as the cats do. I pretty much vacuum every day. I probably Swiffer three times a week. (We don't have dust-bunnies in this house; we have dust-kittens!) I brush one cat a day.....after dinner, I look around and say, "You!" and the Chosen One and I go back to the bathroom where she gets a good brushing and combing. I've been brushing one cat a day for years. Giving them a good brushing not only is good bonding times with the kids, but it's also a way to check for lumps, bumps, and whatever else you might find.

The cats have their own laundry service; I wash a large load of their blankets and pillow covers once every two weeks at least.

And we should have bought stock in lint roller companies years ago; we'd be rich.

I am also meticulous about scooping and changing litter boxes. And cleaning kitty schnuffle from window panes.

When the guys came to put our elliptical together several years ago, they came back with me to the bedroom (that's where the elliptical is). A cat jumped up on the bed and settled down to watch. The other cats moved in, too. One of the guys looked at me and said, "How many cats do you have?" when I told him we had six, he looked around and only counted five. I smiled and said, "Look under the bed" and there was Amber, orange eyes peeking out. He looked back at me and said, "I gotta go out to the truck to get my meds; I'm allergic to cats!" And then he told me that if he didn't know we had six cats, he wouldn't know we had six cats. There was no smell, no hair, nothing. And that's what I like to hear.

 

[RajaNMizu]

And cleaning kitty schnuffle from window panes.

That made me laugh. I do have to get better about that. I'm not used to cleaning the windows that often and when I notice it I'm like "oh no!"

I had my boss over a few weeks ago to look at my bathroom remodel. She stood next to the litter box (which looks like a fake plant) and was literally touching it and I said "you do know that's the litterbox, right?" She pulled her hand away like she burned it and said "I'm surprised; I don't smell a thing."

 

[kittyluv387]

I may have to start brushing my orange dsh. He sheds the most out of the 3. Reminds me of a shiba inu.

 

[di and bob]

I got the Shark Duo Clean that has a bristle roller and a soft roller, and it has been the absolute best for sucking up cat hair, you can see the hair rushing towards it. You use the soft roller on hard surfaces. Leave the light off in the room and the light on the vacuum will show you how it wipes the dust up off the floor like you are wiping it. It actually leaves a clean trail behind it! It is the best I have found for cat hair, I even pick it up and run it over my couch.

 

[Gizmobius]

How do I deal with cat hair? I embrace it. It is now the top spice that somehow ends up in all of my food.

 

[mightyboosh]

It's just a constant battle. The biggest culprit is our big dog Chase. I've been through more vacuums than soft Mick.

 

[1 bruce 1]

What is their grooming schedule?
Brushes work to bust up big clumps of hair and remove the biggest part but a good old fashioned metal comb will do a lot more.
We learned to "line comb" from a gal that showed Shetland Sheepdogs and Pomeranians. We do this on the cats, even the short coated ones, and are pretty blown away by how much the brush leaves behind. It removes a crap ton of hair.
For the floors, a vacuum is good, and (if you have hardwood/laminate/tile, etc.) a dust mop lightly sprayed with water can collect a lot.
On serious cleaning days, a vacuum attachment is good to collect hair and debris in corners, along the top and bottom of baseboards, and stuff like that.
For furniture, vacuum it weekly or so, and a damp paper towel (damp, not soaking wet) used in a wax on, wax off method collects a lot of hair that the attachment leaves behind.
If you feel like you're going nuts, vacuum cleaners do work on couches, footstools, etc. without attachments. Just heave the machine onto the furniture and vacuum away!
Something else that works on furniture is a plain, cheap dog slicker brush. It grabs the hair that's embedded in couches, pillows, rugs, etc. The larger and more angled the pins, the better results you'll get. Our rejected dog slicker brushes are kept for this purpose when the pins start to go at all angles from over use, rather than being thrown away.
Another option to cut down on shedding is simple....add some Omega 3 fish oils to his/her food daily. It seems to help shedding lessen a little, makes their coats more shiny and soft, and is good for their joints, heart, etc.!

 

[rgwanner]

Lint rollers. Vacuum as often as possible. Brush as often as possible. But really, if you have cats there will be cat hair. To clean the tree and other flat surfaces, I use a good quality squeegee. It picks up fur from the couch, trees, chairs etc. I got that idea from cleaning at the shelter.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

What is their grooming schedule?
Brushes work to bust up big clumps of hair and remove the biggest part but a good old fashioned metal comb will do a lot more.
We learned to "line comb" from a gal that showed Shetland Sheepdogs and Pomeranians. We do this on the cats, even the short coated ones, and are pretty blown away by how much the brush leaves behind. It removes a crap ton of hair.
For the floors, a vacuum is good, and (if you have hardwood/laminate/tile, etc.) a dust mop lightly sprayed with water can collect a lot.
On serious cleaning days, a vacuum attachment is good to collect hair and debris in corners, along the top and bottom of baseboards, and stuff like that.
For furniture, vacuum it weekly or so, and a damp paper towel (damp, not soaking wet) used in a wax on, wax off method collects a lot of hair that the attachment leaves behind.
If you feel like you're going nuts, vacuum cleaners do work on couches, footstools, etc. without attachments. Just heave the machine onto the furniture and vacuum away!
Something else that works on furniture is a plain, cheap dog slicker brush. It grabs the hair that's embedded in couches, pillows, rugs, etc. The larger and more angled the pins, the better results you'll get. Our rejected dog slicker brushes are kept for this purpose when the pins start to go at all angles from over use, rather than being thrown away.
Another option to cut down on shedding is simple....add some Omega 3 fish oils to his/her food daily. It seems to help shedding lessen a little, makes their coats more shiny and soft, and is good for their joints, heart, etc.!

1 bruce 1 - Man, that's a lotta work. I just use the old narrow-track Allis. When the cat hair's all baled, I stack the bales up in the barn, and I sell 'em to them there city folk for decorations at Hallowe'en.
.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Lint rollers. Vacuum as often as possible. Brush as often as possible. But really, if you have cats there will be cat hair. To clean the tree and other flat surfaces, I use a good quality squeegee. It picks up fur from the couch, trees, chairs etc. I got that idea from cleaning at the shelter.

I got a squeegee in the shop. I will try this, great idea!

 

[Jcatbird]

1 bruce 1 - Man, that's a lotta work. I just use the old narrow-track Allis. When the cat hair's all baled, I stack the bales up in the barn, and I sell 'em to them there city folk for decorations at Hallowe'en.
.

Okay, you do know that it makes great yarn for a crochet or knitting project.

I want the , above mentioned, Shark. I had seen the ads for it. Nice to hear that it works well. My Dirt Devil just coughs up hair balls.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

Okay, you do know that it makes great yarn for a crochet or knitting project.

I want the , above mentioned, Shark. I had seen the ads for it. Nice to hear that it works well. My Dirt Devil just coughs up hair balls.

Jcatbird - I've sucked Moo Shu right up with the Miele C3 a half dozen times. Why do they make those bags out of such flimsy paper???
.

 

[sabian]

di and bob I've got the Shark Rotator Pro and it works like a champ as well. It's a hair eaten machine. It doesn't have the second brush but you can watch it suck hair to it on a hardwood floor with the lights off. Best vac I ever bought. A friend told me I should buy a Roomba. I just laughed and told them they obviously never had a long haired cat. I have to empty the canister at least once on the Shark each time I vacuum. My house would choke a Roomba out cold!

To the OP. Any tricks I know have already been mentioned above. Buy a good vac and you'll get use to the hair in time.