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?!

Pets are great for kid's immune systems op.

The amount of newspapers I'd need would be ridiculous, plus they'd need cleaning far more frequently. I'm far happier using pads.

Hey OP

You're neither ridiculous or unpleasant for being worried about hygiene around a newborns clothes!
I have a dog who's bedding and blankets i wash weekly, I then use the next cycle to wash my cleaning cloths with a drop of bleach in the machine, usually on a 60. That way I know its thoroughly clean and hair free for the next load which could be DS's baby clothes. Could you do something like this? Either that or use it as a chance to do a proper machine clean out, empty filter, run a cleaner through etc

I thoroughly vacuum the cat beds first to get as much fur off as possible then stick them in on a 60. Machine might need a wipe round afterwards for fur if I've been lazy about the vacuuming.

My machine has a cycle for cleaning itself, so if anything particularly gross goes in there - whether cat or child related - I'll sometimes run that. If I remember.

Why would there be cat poo? Cats don’t shit in their beds?!
Hair in the machine after , yes but I always wipe round the seal and door and then run an empty hot wash

Yes, I'm another one who vacuums my (rarely washed) cat beds before putting them in the machine. I also take them outside and hit them with a wooden spoon for a bit.

I only wash them at 40 degrees though.

But if you are really worried, tell DP he needs to buy another one and keep it clean this time - then chuck the old one out.

i've got a special bag that the dog blankets go in so the hair doesn't clog up the machine. They are definitely worth it. You need to empty the hair out of the bag at the end but it saves the machine.

I put a blankie in the bed then it's just a blanket not a whole bed that takes forever to dry. I wash it in anti bac soap in the bath because if I use washing powder she doesn't like the smell & won't lie on it. Remove fur first wearing a damp washing up glove . It gets it all off.

Soon OP, you will have baby clothes with poop on them, baby vomit, milk all sorts. Poonamis up the back of your baby and all up the back of a babygro. Washable nappies too if you use them. Washable san pro too (all of which washes perfectly well in a machine btw)
Years of washing icky stuff awaits you.

@Tisgrand I agree with others who have said that is appallingly wasteful. Please try to do better.

This thread is so depressing.

So so so much fucking waste. I cannot believe how much overwashing goes on. Do people know that water is a precious resource.

Not to mention the madness of thinking that it's ok to just throw things away if you cant be arsed to wash or maintain it. Bloody hell - do people think that these things just disappear when you throw them awwy?

A simpler more environmentally approach would be an old folded blanket or towel. Shake it out each day. Wash with your regular wash - chuck in some vinegar & bicarb.

If you are really concerned we wash out cloth nappies at 60 on a one hour pre wash with a half dose of detergent as a rinse. We then do a long wash on 40 with full detergent. All come out clean, no stains.

Get your dh to hose it down outside and then wash it in the washing machine. After washing it, put a 90 degree empty wash.

That should say pre wash with half detergent and a scoop of vanish. Vanish is an oxygen bleach.

How are you going to cope in a few years' time when you DC comes home with muddy rugby/soccer kit?

Your mum needs to but out if that's the stuff she's filling your head with.

My own MIL did similar to DH over my cats. DH told her to shut it with the stirring & the cats are staying whether she likes it or not. When the subtle needling didn't work. She then tried refusing to visit until we got rid of the cats. DH told her fine, your choice but the cats are family too & they are staying.

My MIL got over herself & never interfered again, I hope for the sake of your marriage & family, your DM can do the same

@thriftyhen

How are you going to cope in a few years' time when you DC comes home with muddy rugby/soccer kit?

Hardly the same as a stinking cat bed full of fur and cat poo / wee particles that hasn’t been washed for 9 months…

Just like baby clothes full of poo, wee and vomit when the baby arrives @Bagelsandbrie. Babies are disgusting when it comes to body fluids!

Poor neglected unloved little cat.

Just put the goddam cat bed in the goddam machine. And take time to give it a little stroke if you could be so civil. Doubt it.

@Blossomtoes

Just like baby clothes full of poo, wee and vomit when the baby arrives *@Bagelsandbrie*. Babies are disgusting when it comes to body fluids!

Yep I know. I’ve had 2 of them. Still prefer that to anything animal related!

You're all ganging up on the cat? Poor little creature, no wonder its bed is a mess if you never bother

I don't have a cat, but I always washed my dogs beds, blankets and towels in the washer. I then let the washer dry out, and when dry hoovered the left behind hairs out and checked behind the rubber seals. Job done, and yes I had baby at the same time.

Our cats sleep in cardboard fruit boxes, with lots of blankets which is much easier to cope with than a cat bed because you can just shake out the blankets and when the weather is good, hang them on the line to air. They really don't need washing that often, but when they do, I just put them in the machine. They do also sleep in random places all over the house!

We put the dog blankets and towels in the machine and this weekend I have been washing all the horse numnahs and tail bandages (they're usually fairly pooey), but we have all survived so far!

I just don't understand how in a family one person can be in sole charge of an animal (what happens if your DH is ill, does the cat not get fed?) and others have no input at all. If you are so freaked out by a dirty cat bed, then leaving it for 9 months without washing it seems extraordinary.

I think the cat needs a bit more attention from the family that is supposed to be caring for it.

You could buy one of the solid plastic beds that can be scrubbed out, and put soft bedding in it that can be washed more frequently. But i do think you are being a bit precious tbh.

Oh FFS! Both you and your H sound like utter twits. Cats don’t poo where they sleep. Vacuum the bed or use rubber glove method to get most of the hair off. Wash bed at recommended temperature. Job done.

Your H needs to wash the bed regularly and that goes for everything cat related.

If your last machine.broke because of an accumulation of hair, it suggests that you didn’t regularly clean and maintain your washing machine properly.

Hopefully you your H will acquire some common sense before the baby arrives.

If it’s too dirty to go in the washing machine get the poor cat a new one.