Good Housekeeping For Safe and Happy Cats & National Straw Hat Day
The first thing I noticed when I got home from travelling was the smell. We habituate to odors and it’s only when we leave our environment for a few days and return, do we smell with a fresh nose. Our house is almost 200-years-old and it smelled of old wood with a slightly smokey residue of fireplace soot and incense. I knew it was time plugin the Critterzone and do a good clean. For us, a good clean means a feline safe clean. A powerful vacuum able to suck up pet hair is a must. Unlike the cute cartoon, never use a vacuum on your cat. It’s finally warm enough to open the windows and boy did they get dirty this winter. Plain old vinegar and water 50/50 wiped on with newspaper is the safe and eco-friendly classic. Our window ledges, porch and painted railing took a beating this year. No amount of cleaning will help so I will do quick touch-up with a latex paint on a roller. It dries fast (within 30 minutes) but still keep curious cats away until completely dry. If you are eco-conscious there are many natural products on the market that are safer for the environment but keep in mind natural can still be irritating for delicate paws. There are seven pads on each cat’s front paws and five pads and each hind paw. That’s a total of 24 pads to keep safe. I prefer not using any cleaner on floors except for spot cleaning and use a steam cleaner on all non-wood floors.
Good Housekeeping makes a safe and happy home for all family members. While we’re cleaning our cats are playing or snoozing. It would be nice if they lifted a paw to help but nah, they can enjoy lazy pleasures like National Straw Hat Day which is today! Domino is channeling his inner John Wayne today. How about your cat?
Our vet Dr.Rich Goldstein has these additional tips.
Many household items, ranging from floor cleaners and disinfectants to plants and foods, can be toxic to our pets. It’s important to be aware of them, and what to do if there’s exposure. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Always read the labels on cleaning products to see what it says about exposure to pets. Most will recommend keeping pets away (i.e. in the other room) until the product has completely dried. Any cleaning product, even pet-safe products, can potentially cause skin irritation (if walked upon), or stomach upset (if ingested), or respiratory symptoms (if inhaled). Best to keep Fluffy out of the room, and ventilate the room until the products are fully dry and aired out.
- If your kitty does come in contact with a cleaning solution, immediately wash the paws in warm water with a mild dish soap (like Dawn or Joy or Palmolive), rinse off the soapy water completely, and dry the feet thoroughly.
- Store household products in cat-proofed cabinets when not in use.
- Put together a Poison Safety Kit to keep in your house (right next to the First Aid Kit that you have!). Among the items it should include are:
- Fresh bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide, with a bulb syringe (to induce vomiting – but only on the advice of poison control or your veterinarian)
- Grease-cutting dishwashing liquid (like Dawn, or Joy, or Palmolive) (to wash feet and fur)
- A can of soft cat food
- A soft towel
- A bottle of saline eye flush and artificial tears (to protect the eye after flushing)
- Rubber gloves
- Tweezers
- The number for your veterinarian, local emergency clinic, and Poison Control
- The ASPCA has one of the finest Animal Poison Control Centers in the country, available 24-7. Visit their website at more advice at ASPCA
- or call 888-426-4435. There is a $65 consultation fee for this service. You can also download a list of toxic household items for free list of poisons/hazards
At our Cat Wisdom101 home we love the powerful Critterzone and find it so effective we don’t keep it plugged in all the time but that’s your choice. Save $10.00 with our code CatWisdom101 at checkout at CRITTERZONEUSA.com
24 Comments
sims 4 cats and dogs code
Morning, here from yahoo, i enjoyng this, i will come back again.
The Island Cats
Wow, good info about cleaning products. The mom is always careful and usually just uses plain ol’ water.
Sometimes, Cats Herd You
Two paws way up for safe cleaning products around the house. The head peep is trying some new all-natural ones for exactly that reason.
Angel Ginger Jasper
Don’t you look fabulous in your straw hat. just lovely x
Carolyn
Excellent advice which all pet owners should be aware of! Just read your last post for the second time and realised I hadn’t commented! Would so love to go to Blogpaws and meet everyone!
Carolyn
…oh and meant to say Happy Straw Hat day. Domino looks very dapper 🙂
Cathy Keisha
TW is SOOOOO careful about what she uses around the house cos she swears the wetjet Swifter is what did Nicky in. She’d wash the kitchen floor and Nicky would be walking on it and putting his food on it even after it dried. She still doesn’t think Critterzone is safe since again she thinks it’s the constant ozone from her previous air purifier that gave both of us asthma. Yes to water and vinegar to clean glass but Method is good too. Mostly she uses plain water and “elbow grease.” I LOVE that you’re a celebrity blogger and you still honor Blogosphere holidays. Happy Straw Hat Day.
Layla Morgan Wilde
I know how you feel about ozone which is why I monitor its use. Keep in mind Critterzone is diff from the one you used. And I’m hardly a celeb blogger 😉
Coccolino
Sounds perfect, we can’t wait to plug in our critter zone, thank you!!
Layla Morgan Wilde
I use both kinds in diff. rooms sometimes just for a few minutes or longer. My husband even sometimes smokes a cigar in his home office with the Critterzone and we have a smoke-free home.
Angel AbbyGrace
Oh dear you arrive home and have to jump into housekeeping…eek!
Oui Oui
Sorry, we got off track seeing Domino in his hat! Our mom doesn’t like to use many cleaning products. In fact she doesn’t like cleaning either. MOL
Connie Marie
Also, have been meaning to get Critterzone,
Thank you for the discount.
Connie Marie
Always read labels,I’m at the store for hours!!
Great advice and am happy to say back on your mailing list
da tabbies o trout towne
dood…ewe R rockin that hat….N we hope yur mom does knot give ewe guys…toolz….for houz kleenin two day !!!! hope her feelz better verre veree soon ♥♥
Layla Morgan Wilde
LOL I had a vision of Domino wearing a tool belt like a gunslinger. Good thing he doesn’t have opposable thumbs!
Nerissa's Life
Yeah… addin’ to what Sparkle mentioned… Anythin’ we can do ’bout turnin’ down the volume on those vacuums?
Purrs,
Nissy
easy rider
I will visit critterzone, I feel the same when I come home after some days outside of Easy’s crib. I’m not a fan of all the air fresheners they have in our stores. I made chlorophyll once to neutralize the air, but the result was not really what I expected (probably my chemistry teacher would give me a fat F for my experiment). Have a Happy Straw Hat Day!
Kathryn
Very very helpful info and I love your artwork!
Tamago
Thank you for house cleaning tips. I try to be careful about choosing safe cleaning products but not yet tried vinegar/water. Thank you for the $10 off offer for Critter Zone!
Domino looks very handsome in the straw hat 🙂 Happy Straw Hat Day!
Sammy
Great info on maintaining a safe and clean (and happy) environment for humans AND our cats……there’s danger in every cupboard and it’s our job to make sure we do what we can to keep everybody safe! Thanks for all the tips Layla.
Hugs, Pam (and Sam)
The Swiss Cats
Great post to stay safe at home ! Mum is very cautious about cleaning products : she often uses “old school” natural products like vinegar, and “new school” cleaning devices like microfiber (with water) that are powerful and safe. Purrs
Sparkle
My human has a housekeeping service (she got them a few years ago when she was injured and then found budget-wise she was able to keep them), and she uses them specifically because they use pet-friendly cleaning products. Unfortunately, they still use the noisy vacuum.
prancer pie
Wonderful post! Our Mommy is very cautious about cleaning products.
Have a happy Straw Hat Day, furriends!
XOXO