Used cat furniture, safe?

[suri]

Some cat furniture can be kinda pricey so I bought some
second hand stuff for Milo. They we're so cheap less then half
the cost but just as good. I was wondering If it was safe,
health wise. I scrubbed everything down...but I just wanna
be sure its okay. I don't want Milo to catch anything contagious!

 

[missymotus]

I got some second hand pieces, sprayed with vet disinfectant and left out in the sun for several days.
Some people also sprinkle some flea powder.

 

[goldenkitty45]

IMO I'd never buy used cat furniture/treehouses. Carpet is difficult to disinfect. I'd save the money and buy a new one.

 

[strange_wings]

I'd prefer not to have second hand, either. Even if it came from a home with healthy cats, cats scratch on cat furniture (as intended). The very act of scratching scent marks items. I wouldn't want to bring a strange scent into my home and risk it upsetting my cats.
My fear is that it would make a couple of them uneasy and they'd redirect that onto other cats in the home and then I'd have to fix that.

If you're looking to save money, you could try making your own cat furniture. It's really not that hard. Due to scrap wood and posts I have around the house (technically in our shop building), I can toss something together pretty quickly - only needing to buy rope.

 

[littleraven7726]

I used furniture flea spray and a diluted bleach spray on our used cat furniture and that worked just fine. It did take several days before it was ready to come into our home though. First I did the flea treatment and let dry in the sun. Then the diluted bleach spray and let dry in the sun. Back when we were very very broke, that was my only option besides no cat furniture (mine were freebies though). I also used a slicker brush & vacuum to get them cleaned of other cats' hair or anything else.

I do have a cat toy we got off of Freecycle, but it was all plastic so I could bleach the heck out of it.