Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

cat owners - the hair!

31 replies

mayfridaycomequickly · 21/03/2015 07:41

We recently got a cat (oldish kitten really) and, even though she's short haired I'm really struggling with the hair she leaves everywhere!

She climbs onto the clothes horse so all the clean washing gets covered (nowhere to put it away until kitchen extension next year)

I have to wipe the kitchen counters, the hob, the big bay windowsill in the living room, the couch.... Every day

She's not keen on being brushed - would brushing cut down on the hair much if we persevere with it?

We don't let her upstairs because I don't want more rooms hairy!

Dp has had cats before and isn't bothered about it but it's really bugging me!

Any tips gratefully received! Smile

OP posts:
icelollycraving · 21/03/2015 07:45

I have a persian & the grooming is intense! I've just used a mobile cat spa,they can come & give any cat a good brush etc.

gamerchick · 21/03/2015 07:46

I hear you Grin

I would persevere with the brushing.. I'm lucky that mine likes (and asks) to be brushed but we get loads of hair in the brush.

I wonder if there's other types of brushes.

lostindubai · 21/03/2015 07:47

Yes brush her every day this will help a lot. Also it won't be this bad all year, they go through periods of moulting.

A Dyson is a must and you can also get sticky lint remover rollers which will clean obvious hair off clothes. An upholstery brush for your sofa etc.

Also you will notice it more depending what colour she is. White hair shows up a lot more in my experience.

She will grow out of climbing the clothes horse. But could you keep it upstairs anyway if she's not allowed access there?

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 21/03/2015 07:50

We use a rubbery brush (Zoom Groom), I keep it on the patio table and pick the cats up and brush them out there, rather than in the house. One of ours didn't like it at first but she has got used to it now. It gets lots of loose fur off them.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 21/03/2015 07:51

And yes to the handheld Dyson and lint rollers.

Marshpillow · 21/03/2015 07:51

We have a white cat and no matter what we do we still find white cat hair everywhere. We have lint rollers everywhere so at least the clothes we're wearing aren't covered.

Original poster
mayfridaycomequickly · 21/03/2015 08:19

So glad it's not just me being scruffy!

We bought a dyson handheld pet - so that's helping (I need more lint rollers though - ta for the reminder)

Has anyone got a JML reusable one?

OP posts:
flanjabelle · 21/03/2015 09:22

I Hoover everywhere at least once, maybe twice a day (including the sofa) and that seems to keep it under control. I don't let her on the counters, and shut the door to the kitchen when I'm not in there. I don't let her Jump on the clothes horse either, she gets told off if she's on there. She has a high up cat scratcher so I think she is happy with that as a high viewpoint.

Iwasbornin1993 · 21/03/2015 09:31

YY to the Dyson, lint rollers (we go through at LEAST one pack of 5 a week!), and brushing every day if you have the time. We have two lovely boys and their fur still gets everywhere but since we started grooming them every day, even for a few minutes, it's got much better. Lint rollers are a life saver! We tried the reusable/washable ones but they just didn't stay sticky long enough to be much use so we've stuck excuse the pun to the disposable sticky paper ones.

TenThousandSpoons · 21/03/2015 09:37

Ikea lint rollers are about 70p each. We have one on the go in each room of the house!
This is the worst time of year for moulting as it's getting warmer so they shed the extra hair they've kept over winter.
Sitting on the clothes horse would drive me mad though - can you shut the clothes horse in a bedroom? Otherwise tell off the cat every time she gets on it. (Can't quite imagine how a cat gets on a clothes horse but you must have a different type to me!)

gamerchick · 21/03/2015 09:47

I was hoping to come back to a post that someone had found a way to hoover the cat. That would be much simpler Grin

Original poster
mayfridaycomequickly · 21/03/2015 10:06

At the minute we only have 2 rooms downstairs (living room and kitchen) - she's only allowed downstairs so if the clothes horse is up she's on it (we both work so no one to tell her off during the day, although we do wrestle her off it when we're home)

OP posts:
WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 21/03/2015 10:49

We tried the washable lint roller and found that not only was it very hard to get clean, but all the fur ended up down the plug hole. Ours don't seem to be shedding too much so far this spring, but we did notice a definite increase this time last year. Maybe we've just got so used to it now it doesn't bother us as much [slob].

Deux · 21/03/2015 10:58

I have a brilliant comb called a Furminator. It's much better than a normal cat comb and gets loads of hair out.

My cat loves it and purrs away happily.

I probably only use it twice a week.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B004WJ0L3Q/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1426935336&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=cat+brush+furminator&dpPl=1&dpID=41wtI0iPigL&ref=plSrch

Germgirl · 21/03/2015 11:10

I have a Furminator too, it's really good, gets loads of hair out. But really I've just learnt to accept the fine layer of black hair that coats everything.
PicklePig (the cat) sleeps on our bed so our duvet cover is always covered in hair, as are any clean clothes I'm silly enough to leave out, any towels that I hang on radiators and the carpets. I've just learned to live with it tbh.

Original poster
mayfridaycomequickly · 21/03/2015 11:12

Thanks for the tips so far - keep them coming!

How do you display cards? I've had a birthday and engagement in the last couple of weeks so we've had lots of lovely cards but they're all just in a pile on the sideboard as the cat keeps bowling herself at them and knocking them everywhere!

OP posts:
GoooRooo · 21/03/2015 11:15

Another hairy house here - two cats and a long haired dog.

I have learned to live with it and warn visitors not to wear black trousers (blonde dog is a particular culprit)

Brushing does help keep it down, as does the Dyson animal vacuum.

Also - tumble drying gets rid of fur.

If I'm wearing black trousers to work I put them on just seconds before I go out the door and carry a lint roller just in case I've missed some fur anywhere.

It does my head in!

I bought one of those Sticky Buddy reusable lint roller things - waste of time and it went in the bin. The traditional lint rollers are much better.

Also, at a push, baby wipes will get fur off clothes.

GoooRooo · 21/03/2015 11:16

And cards go on on window sills and get picked up every 30 minutes Wink

icelollycraving · 21/03/2015 20:30

Oooh that furminator thing,is it just a big comb? How does it differ from the usual combs?

icelollycraving · 21/03/2015 20:38

The reviews say its like a razor comb

Germgirl · 21/03/2015 21:11

It's not a razor comb. It strips out the dead underneath hair but it doesn't cut it.
Watch Furminator videos on YouTube, I seem to remember there's quite a few.

Iwasbornin1993 · 22/03/2015 01:27

Yep we have a Furminator, they're great! Our cats love their brushing time too so that's a bonus!

Cards on the fireplace are picked up every ten minutes until we get that fed up that we become slobs and just leave them on the floor until bedtimeBlush. Our youngest cat (5yo now) just LOVES knocking every single item possible off of surfaces so I'm used to it now! No vases of flowers out on display in this house as he's broke them all! Gotta love him though!

GrinGrin To picturing trying to hoover the cat!

echt · 22/03/2015 07:03

The trick is colour co-ordinate. We have a very brown (wooden) house so have brown dog and cat. The dog was bought, at least in part because his breed does not shed, nor does it drool/slobber.

Woodenheart · 22/03/2015 10:31

Another fan of the Furminator, well worth it, Amazon were cheapest, just do gentle brushes with it.

Before & after pic, courtesy of Mr Google Grin

cat owners - the hair!
WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 22/03/2015 10:55

Christmas cards we use a wire loop stand that holds about 100 cards on the mantelpiece. Birthday etc cardsgo on the windowsill and get knocked over, we only keep them up for a few days. I've found the trick with vases, plants etc is to crowd the shelf with smaller items so there is no space for the cats to get a foothold, luckily we are not a minimalist house.