How To Disinfect A Soft-sided Carrier

[silverpersian]

We keep our cat carrier in the garage. A bird has made a nest in it. Once the chicks have hatched and have flown the coop, how would I go about disinfecting the carrier? I know that birds can carry mites, and probably bacteria as well.

The carrier is a nice one, so discarding it would be s last resort.

 

[GoldyCat]

I would scrub it thoroughly with soap and water. A disinfectant dish detergent should work well. You can use a toothbrush to get in all the cracks. Rinse with hot water. Then spray the whole carrier inside and out with bleach and let it air dry. It's a good idea to rinse it again with hot water before you put your kitties in it because the bleach, even dry, isn't good for them.

 

[LTS3]

I wouldn't use straight bleach. It may discolor the carrier fabric. Use a diluted 10% bleach solution and use a fabric-safe non-chlorine bleach.

Keep the carrier zipped up or in a box or garbage bag if you plan to store it in the garage to keep brids from nesting in it in the future.

 

[GoldyCat]

Oops, sorry. I didn't read the title carefully and was thinking hard plastic instead of soft sided. My soft carrier can be disassembled and the fabric part thrown in the washer. You could soak it in a disinfectant bath first rather than spraying with bleach after washing.

 

[Marasoul]

We keep our cat carrier in the garage. A bird has made a nest in it. Once the chicks have hatched and have flown the coop, how would I go about disinfecting the carrier? I know that birds can carry mites, and probably bacteria as well.

The carrier is a nice one, so discarding it would be s last resort.

I have one of those . Got it from another cat person. I soaked it in hot soapy water & a half cup of bleach. The container fit half at a time so i soaked for about30 minutes then flipped it to soak other side . Used about 3 - 4 gal.water, a squirt of laundry soap ,half cup bleach. Hosed it down in drive way to rinse. Dried out in sun. Worked for me

 

[kittens mom]

Replace the pad and clean with diluted bleach water and then unzip and hang in direct sunlight.
Aside from airline travel in the cabin with you soft sided carriers offer no protection for your cat. Many hard carriers snap apart and store easily and are easy to disinfect.