please may i have your tips for clearing up after cat poo accidents?

[mckenzie]

My old cat must have an upset tummy today as he was sick in four rooms and left hideous poo in two others! The sick cleaned up really easily and cleanly (perhaps because I caught it quite soon after he'd done it) but the poo has left a horrible stain and smell so i dont think i can have cleaned it up orperly. I used a solution of diluted persil followed by vanish carpet stain remover.

Any tips gratefully received. One of the poos is in our bedroom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TIA

oh poor you Mckenzie.

cat poo is foul.

I would have used vanish carpet stain remover also. must be bloody toxic if thats not worked.

apparently if you put stain remover on and then place plastic bag over top this stops it drying out too much and cleans more efficiently- check after a couple of hours and then remove.

let me know if this works.

and put the cat out!

thanks mamabea. I might leave it until the morning now and try that tip - I cant face doing it again now. Cat was banished the minute we found it all but is back in now scrounging round as he can smell staek in the kitchen. I've told him he must be kidding but he hasn't got the hint yet. He wont be cuddling up on my lap though tonight, that's for sure.

oh god I sympathise - our cat is getting ever older and more crappy.

I have two methods for really grim poos:

1. soak carpet in dilute washing up liquid and scrub with a brush, then use an old towel to soak up the wetness. Repeat ad nauseum until the stain is gone - basically you need to draw the remaining poo up out of the carpet - anything else just spreads it around or attempts to cover up the smell (which never works).

If that really doesn't work then:

2. Beg borrow or steal a wet carpet cleaner - a vax or a miele. The sort with the revolving brushes works best. They have a really powerful suck and will draw the pooey water up out of the carpet much more effectively than a towel.

sympathies too, cat poo/pee/sick is just GOPPING.

my cat went through a phase like this and I used to buy brilliant stuff from the vets (could prob also get it in a big pet store). It's proper odour removal stuff and it really does work. Get rid of actual poo stuff first then follow instructions, may take more than one go and also you need to make sure you're allowing the solution to sink right through to the carpet backing/underlay. Sometimes cats get in a habit and go back to the place where they've been pooing before, so you need to get rid of any old smell so they don't think that there's a lovely new warm indoor cat loo ready for them....

thanks for the replies and advice. I shall visit my local pet shop on monday and see what they have. We have a good carpet cleaner man that we use who is very reasonable. I think after this large bout of sickness and poo that I might have to invest in a full carpet clean. As soon as the poor cat expires we're replacing all the carpet says DH but that could be in three years time so a good clean is called for I think in the meantime.

I'm assuming that this could well happen more and more as the poor cat gets older and older. Should I invest in a litter tray perhaps for instances such as this or will the little bugger just get really lazy and use it all the time?

Try diluted Dettol to kill the germs.

you should have a litter tray for him anyway for those times he's in the house with no one to let him out

they prefer to go out if the option is there but if he's elderly he can't be expected to hold it for hours til someone is there to let him out.

I've done the dettol Lyrasilvertongue - but thanks for the tip.

We don't usually leave him in the house when we are not here PinkTulips as we have a house alarm. About 6 months ago we got some rooms changed to make them not cat sensitive so he can stay in now in certain rooms. Until now though we haven't wanted a litter tray as our youngest was too young to not leave it alone. Now that I think we can trust the children I will get him one. .

my kids are pokers and messers of the highest order and we've always had a litter tray lurking somewhere. the trick is to put it somewhere the kids aren't allowed on their own anyway so you get plenty of advance warning if they're heading for it.

cats are like people, simple bodily functions let them down a bit as they get older and like people they get very stressed by it.

hope he's over his bug now, for his sake and yours