Cat Hair Question- Can you Help?

[LibraLiz1973]

I've got a question & I hope this is a good place to ask it. My niece has 3 cats and there is cat hair everywhere. I tried to vacuum it up today but that was only taking care of about 40%! Aside from using about 25 lint rollers, is there a way to pick up alot of cat hair? I took the pillows outside & beat them together to get rid of hair & pet dander but I don't think it worked as well as I wanted!

Do any of you have any "home remedies" for cat hair? Something you do for multiples that are shedding like mad?

[LittleClarkie]

1. Not quite the right place

don't worry though. You're about to be bumped to the lounge, where hopefully they can give you a hand.

[tubbacheez]

2. My vacuum cleaner picks up 90% of all pet hair.

Too bad I don't vacuum as often as I probably should.



Maybe your vac needs a new bag, or replacement, or something.

:shrug:

[donco6]

3. I bought a thing . . .

. . . looks sorta like a sponge, that I use to brush off my chairs and upholstery. Works pretty good. Look at petsmart.com or one of those pet stores.

[koopie57]

4. I usually vacuum the cats before the shed

they like it too for some reason

[slackmaster]

9. Some cats do enjoy it

I'm afraid to try it on my 18 pounder. He's kind of nervous, and put me in the hospital once.

[Justitia]

5. need to use right attachment, also

best to use an "upholstery" or stair attachement that has a rotating beater brush. It will lift the hair more effectively, allowing the vac to suck it away.

I have also heard that rubber gloves (i.e., dishwashing gloves) work well to gather the hair.

[jojo54]

6. This may sound crazy

but sometimes I "waltz" around with wool socks on. When they're full of hair, then I use the lint roller on the socks, put the socks back on and go again. I've got a Kirby vacuum, and sometimes it doesn't pick it all up (got 4 cats). Good luck

[NV Whino]

7. There's the sponge

It's a very dense sponge, not the usual dish sponge. I also use a lint remover thingy. I think it's velvet or something. Anyway, it has a directional nap. Pull it one way and it gathers the hair. Do a quick, short reverse swipe and it leaves all the hair clumped together and easy to pick up. Or just rub your thumb over it in the reverse direction to remove hair.

I hope you understand that description.

[Arugula Latte]

12. Yep, a wet rag even works.

Dampness and a circular motion make little hairbally things that are easier to pick or vacuum up.

Welcome to my life. :D

[slackmaster]

8. Get a more powerful vacuum cleaner

I have a Hoover similar to this one:

http://www.hoover.com/db/xq/asp.hvrProductMain/CatID.1/SubID.2/ProdID.76/ModID.1846/qx/WindTunnelUltra.htm

The upholstery tool has a turbine-driven brush wheel. It picks up the fine undercoat from my Norwegian forest cat like a charm.

The fine (HEPA) filter bags retain cat dander, dust, ash, etc. much better than the old-fashioned paper ones.

I don't recommend the bagless models. They're too much of a pain to clean and I've never been impressed with their ability to keep fine particles from blowing through.

[Sanity Claws]

10. Different idea

I put blankets and towels in the areas where they like to lie. I then just toss the blankets and towels in the washing machine. I find this saves a lot of work. (Or else I'm very dirt tolerant.)

[Qanisqineq]

13. LOL! Sounds like my house

My brand new couch is covered with blankets and there are rugs or blankets everywhere. But I have three cats and one seems to shed all of his hair every week :D and I just can't keep up with all of it.

[Cleita]

11. I brush and comb my kitty every day.

He loves it and it removes a lot of the loose fur and stickers he pick up. I once had three cats and it wasn't that big of a chore to do the grooming thing in the evening when we were all relaxing. Also, maybe your neice needs to vacuum more often. She doesn't need to do everything, but the exposed surfaces that they brush up against or lie on.

[politicat]

14. Clean the beater bar, change the bag and clean the filter.

Lots of cat hair can kill a vacuum. (BTDT!!) If it's thick, it will take three swipes or more.

To quote Professor Moody: CONSTANT VIGILANCE!! is the only solution to cat hair.

That, or shaving and shellacking the cats.

The sponge thing is useful, as are lint rollers, but the cheapest, most effective solution I've ever found was cheap packing tape. Make loops of it with sticky out, and wipe. A roll of tape lasts a long time.

[LiberalEsto]

15. I have some sort of rubber broom/rake that helps

on carpets. It's got a regular broom handle, and a head like a smallish black pushbroom, with little rubber pegs. Bought it years ago.

This looks like the same thing:

http://www.ebizinc.us/RubberBroom.htm