To not want to wash a filthy cat bed in our washing machine?

[PurpleCurtain]

We have a cat - or should I say, my husband has a cat as I'm not an animal person and therefore the agreement is that my husband looks after her and feeds her etc. She sleeps in our utility room, bed on top of our tumble dryer.

We also have a baby on the way imminently. I'm trying to ensure the house is suitably clean for baby's arrival - and asked DH when he last cleaned the cat bed. To be told, probably 9 months ago. I peered in to the cat's bed and it looks FILTHY.

It definitely needs washing but my instinct is I'm really reluctant to do it in our washing machine and follow it up with washing baby clothes etc - is this what others do?! Won't everything be forever covered in cat hair and potentially worse / our washing machine break?

Am I unreasonable to ask DH to take the cat bed down to the nearest launderette?!

Your washing machine should be able to deal with fluff the same way it deals with mud and other stuff - it's designed to produce clean clothes so you'll be ok :)

Mine's has everything from cat hair to clothes dye in it and my clothes still come out clean.

And with a baby on the way you'll have worse than cat hair in there soon - baby poo gets everywhere (not envy).

If you're worried you could get one of the washing machine cleaning solutions and run that through after you've (he has!) done the cat bed?

Yes cat beds are washed in the washing machine
No your machine won't break

Oh for goodness sake. Get over yourself. The cat and baby are about to live in the same house, presumably for the foreseeable future. What on earth difference does it make if you wash the cat's bed in the machine?! Your poor husband. And the cat.

It’s going to be years till your baby can reach on top of the washing machine.

And yes I would wash a catbed in my washing machine. I might try to remove the worst of the cat hair first (a damp hand does the job) but more to avoid clogging the machine.

Our cat is not filthy and nor is his bed. He sleeps on all our beds too and none of them are filthy. It's a washing machine, to wash things.

You sound a bit paranoid to be honest.

Stick the cat bed on at 60 and it will kill any lurking cat germs. Use a lint roller before it goes in to take most of the cat hair off.

I wash things covered in cat hair all the time, mainly hoodies and towels as they won't use their own beds so have ended up with various makeshift beds and my machine still works and we are still alive.

How are you going to cope with the cat once your baby is here?

@headintheproverbial

Oh for goodness sake. Get over yourself. The cat and baby are about to live in the same house, presumably for the foreseeable future. What on earth difference does it make if you wash the cat's bed in the machine?! Your poor husband. And the cat.

This with bells on. You sound ridiculous and unpleasant.

We have cats and a baby, there’s no drama. Baby has been known to play in the cat beds.

We wash cat bedding in the machine, we have a special bag that stops the hair getting in to the machine. Readily available-this sort of thing
Me and My Pets Laundry Bag - Choice of Size and Colour www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FF2BN4V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_5ZKB2G7YE54FWVDGJ0CV?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Wow, thanks for that @headintheproverbial

I don't know what others do with their cat beds, as I don't really consider myself a cat owner.

I suppose my concern stemmed from my mum's reaction - that by washing it I would be getting cat poo everywhere if it hasn't been being regularly cleaned, and pregnant women and babies being told to avoid cat poo! But my mother's solution is always to get rid of the cat which I don't think my husband will agree to!

Poor cat

We have a dog, use a similar bag to @Megan2018 for his bed/towels etc. Not because I am precious about dirty dog stuff mixing with our clothes in the next wash, but to stop hairs clogging up the machine

Why would cat poo be on the bed?
Think you better calm down about the cat

The cat might not want a bed washed in the same thing as your dirty underwear but there you go. Do you realise 'the cat' is sentient being? Your way of writing with such disdain seems to imply not. It's either a part of your family or not.

Why would there be cat poo in their bed? Does the cat have a litter tray? I would get DH to clean that

Hahahaa.

We wash scrubs in our washing machine. The cat’s things really won’t be worse.

Everyone at some stage will have washed undies with tiny amounts of urine/poo/blood on them,....

It's a washing machine. It is for cleaning things that are dirty...!

I am currently lying in bed with a cat snuggled up next to me under the covers. I dread to think how much that would freak you out.

Hi op, I get what you’re saying because pet hair is stubborn as hell but I’ve recently found a solution. I have an 8 month old cream husky puppy who is huge and hairy and I wash his bedding once a week.
I discovered a product on Amazon called Vamoosh which is a pet hair dissolver and although I bought it i was skeptical.

It works! I don’t know how but it does. You get 3 sachets and use 1 in each wash. I was thrilled when I also discovered that B and M sell it but at half the price I paid at amazon ( £3 instead of £6 ) and what I do is wash his bedding, put in dryer or on the line and then put my machine on a 14 minute wash which is my quickest with a capful of Zoflo or Dettol which is probably not necessary but it makes me feel better. I have severe OCD over cleaning and washing and it makes me feel like the machine is then ready for human items. Hope that helps.

I wash dog blankets, dog towels, and their beds in my washing machine. I pop them in a bag that catches the hair only because they have long coats and I learned the hard way how badly this would clog my washer. No poo on the bedding just mud and fluff. Why is there poo in your cat bed?

Thanks @Megan2018 on the one hand for the genuinely helpful suggestion - those bags might be the answer if they do keep stuff in. Not sure it's as helpful to brand me as "unpleasant" for wanting to keep baby things and cat things separate when I'm not at all an animal person though - I haven't stopped my husband from having a cat!

Our old washing machine was clogged as a result of human hair, so I'm naturally reluctant to expose it to lots of cat hair.

Sounds like your cats are cleaner than ours sadly - or maybe just that you wash the bedding a lot more frequently!

The washing machine will get the bed clean. And it will be fine to use for the baby’s clothes afterwards.

Your mum doesn’t sound very nice though, get rid of the cat? She’d be gone before the cat. Don’t let her make you child be germ phobic growing up, some diet and animals are good for kids.

*dirt

I take ours to the launderette because it's a huge dog bed that won't fit in the washing machine.
Really though the cat poses no hygiene risk to the baby. Yes pregnant women should avoid cat poo but surely its bed doesn't have any in.
On the occasion that I'v washed something really dirty in the machine I'v put in on an empty 90 degree wash after - you could do that.
I'm of the opinion it's good to let babies and children interact with animals, play in the mud as it's better they're exposed to germs while young

Purple, you're not unpleasant at all. I love cats and dogs but I agree their hair is a pain. Just regular hoovering of their beds and washing is the best way to deal with it. I think, whether you like it or not, your baby is going to come into contact with lots of cat hair over his/her life so the less you can get hung up over it, the less stressed you're going to be.

We also have pets and use the pet washing bags previously suggested - can wash pet bedding with normal wash!

OP, you sound neither ridiculous nor unpleasant, and it’s perfectly normal for expectant mums to have concerns about hygiene for their newborns.

Some people on here need to be kinder.

You’ll be fine to wash the cat bed and then clothes. If you are concerned, just run a washing machine cleaner sachet through after washing the bed.

Sounds like he needs to buy a new one and wash it more regularly if it's covered in cat poo. Poor cat. I hope he looks after his child better!!

Perhaps wash an old bedsheet in the washer after the catbed, might reassure you of it comes out clean or highlight you needing a new one if not