Mold on cat tree advice?

[Tillyandmo]

Not sure if this is where I post this for advice, hope I'm in the right place.

Last week i noticed my 7/8 month old kitten was a little sniffley and not her usual self so I took a couple of days of work to stay with her to see what was wrong, after a couple of days her sniffles were still there but nothing else, so I decided to do a good clean of her main sleeping room and noticed mold all up the scratch part of her cat tree. It was quiet bad so I've had to throw it.
I didn't want to take a chance on her getting ill.
since I've thrown it her sniffles have gone which is great but she's not happy as she uses the tree to get up to the window and also likes to lie on the top watching the world go bye.
I want to get her another but how can I prevent it getting like that again is there a cat friendly spray or a certain type of cat tree I can buy

 

[fionasmom]

You did the right thing to replace the cat tree. As you saw, your baby stopped with the sniffles which could have been mold related. Of course, continue to monitor her to make sure that she is okay and does not have a URI.

I have had years worth of cat trees, of course replaced from time to time, and have never had mold. Is this related to your location, something specific about your house, an undetected leak, other source of moisture. I am not saying that you are a bad housekeeper at all as mold is insidious. But for your own health, check to see if you can find a source of the mold.

 

[game misconduct]

you should figure out how the tree is getting damp enough to grow mold its getting wet/damp enough to grow it. you might have it growing elsewhere in your home. mold spores travel easily on air drafts that entire room probably has spores and will grow soon as conditions are right (damp/high humidity etc.)

 

[Tillyandmo]

You did the right thing to replace the cat tree. As you saw, your baby stopped with the sniffles which could have been mold related. Of course, continue to monitor her to make sure that she is okay and does not have a URI.

I have had years worth of cat trees, of course replaced from time to time, and have never had mold. Is this related to your location, something specific about your house, an undetected leak, other source of moisture. I am not saying that you are a bad housekeeper at all as mold is insidious. But for your own health, check to see if you can find a source of the mold.

The property I live in suffers from condensation, its a massive problem in this type of property, I have a couple of dehumidifiers I have to run through winter to take the extra moisture out but unfortunately it hasn't stopped it attacking the tree so needed advice on how to maybe prevent it getting to it.

 

[LTS3]

You can't. The home is humid so the humidity gets into everything even with dehumidifiers running. Mold spores are everywhere, too, and just love to grow in damp environments. If the mold was on the tree, it's more than likely going to be in other areas of the home too. Sometimes it's behind walls and floors where you can't see it. Or in the vents where your HVAC blows the mold spore around.

Do you rent? You can look up tenant laws for your area to see what it says about the landlord's responsibility to maintain property in a safe habitable condition.

 

[Tillyandmo]

Yes I rent from a huge housing association, they have around 80 properties that are all the same.
I've thrown away so much furniture have to redecorate yearly, the walls and ceilings have to be wiped down every few weeks in the winter just to keep on top of it, it's a absolute nightmare.
There advice is keep the windows open 24/7 and heating on full, which isn't possible ..so I bought 2 big dehumidifiers and they had been working so was really gutted when I saw the tree legs

 

[game misconduct]

that housing association collects a monthly fee dont they? to"maintain/repair the homes needed or so thats my understanding of the hoa's here in california start taking pictures and document all the damages.you have a good legal case against them not to mention the risk to your healthy and familys health.(windows full of condensation is good evidence to make your case as well)

 

[LTS3]

lavishsqualor is familiar with rental housing and might be able to offer some resources and suggestions on what you can do, like maybe withhold rent until the landlord addresses the mold issue.

 

[Tillyandmo]

that housing association collects a monthly fee dont they? to"maintain/repair the homes needed or so thats my understanding of the hoa's here in california start taking pictures and document all the damages.you have a good legal case against them not to mention the risk to your healthy and familys health.(windows full of condensation is good evidence to make your case as well)

I'm in the UK, the place I live Is a block of maisonettes 2 floors, you just pay your weekly rent and if you have issues they send in the builders, plumbers, electricians or what ever it is you need (that's when they can be bothered sending them out) my windows are that bad I have to use a window vac up to 5 times a day, there double glazed and in the middle of the windows are horrible streaks where the moisture has gotten into it, my doors swell every winter causing problems with the locks and rust, it's a non stop fight with them as they say it's condensation causing the mold and damp and to open all of the windows.