Entries Tagged as 'Pets'

Ask The Audience: Puppy Cleanup

March 3rd, 2009 39 Comments

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

Good morning, Home Eccers. I sincerely appreciate all the good wishes you all sent last week about my grandmother. She is, at this moment I’m writing, still alive, but weakening. If you’re at all interested, I did write a long post about the situation yesterday over at my parenting blog. Here’s a link.

Now, for my question. It’s primarily for pet owners, but parents who have potty trained a kid might have answers as well. My puppy is crated (sort of, she has a doggie playpen that’s about 3.5 feet in diameter and has space for her bed, toys, food and water bowls and a puppy pee pad) when I’m not home, but generally when I am home, she is free to roam the living room and kitchen. (I gate off the rest of the house to keep her safe.) I try to keep a close eye on her to get her outside quickly when it appears that she needs to go potty, and have pee pads down in several areas, but she still ends up peeing on the floor quite often.

I don’t necessarily need dog housebreaking tips, although if you have some surefire way to housebreak a dog quickly, I’m sure we’d all love to hear it. And I don’t need “this is why I don’t have pets” comments, I’m in no mood for that whatsoever, heh. What I do need to hear is what’s the most budget friendly/greenest way of cleaning up the messes. Here’s what I’m doing now- using paper towels to wipe up any liquid mess and then spraying the area with a vinegar/water solution to clean the area. Oh, and I have laminate flooring like Pergo in the living room and vinyl flooring in the kitchen. With solid messes, I generally grab some TP and flush the mess down and spray down the area with the vinegar and water solution.

I’m going through an awful lot of paper towels this way, but my thinking is that if I use rags, I’ll be doing a whole lot more laundry, which I both don’t have time to deal with, and seems about as expensive since we recently had a 60% electric increase plus, I’ve been using Tide lately which is spendy but worth it.

So, what do you think, Home Eccers? Is the paper towel/vinegar water solution the best way to go or do you have a cheaper and better route? Better yet, how do you get your puppy to consistently use puppy pee pads? I don’t get it- when she’s in her playpen she uses them no problem, but when she’s out, let me look away for a second and she’s peeing 3 feet away from the pee pad. Is it REALLY that hard to get over there, dog? Really?

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Keeping Fur Off The Furniture

August 19th, 2008 17 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

My cats seem to drop enough fur to make a few new cats on my furniture every day. It’s ridiculous. How can I both prevent this and keep my furniture fur-free?

Thanks,

Fuzz Butt

Ivy says:

There are several things you can do to help keep the pet hair at bay. Of course, being a cat lover, you know that there’s no way to keep it away completely, since cats have a tendency to drop more fur than one would think is possible every day, but you can at least keep it to a minimum with some of these ideas.

First, prevention is key. I have found that brewer’s yeast supplements help some with shedding. It’s also a natural flea preventative, or so I hear. You can find these supplements at just about any pet supply store, they aren’t terribly expensive.

Brushing your cat daily is also very, very important. Cats like to groom themselves, but they don’t do a good enough job of getting all the loose hair off their bodies. (Thankfully. Can you imagine what they’d hoark up if they did?) So you need to pick up the slack by giving them a thorough brushing every day. I’ve experimented with different sorts of brushes over the years, but the kind that works the best for me is a wire brush. I’ve heard people have had great results with the Furminator, but I haven’t tried one yet.

As far as keeping it off the furniture, I’ve tried lots of different products, but the best thing, really, is to vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. If I don’t have time to do a thorough vacuuming, or I’ve got a chair that is particularly covered in hair, running a slightly damp paper towel over the area works well, too.

Good luck with getting everything de-furred!

Submit your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com!

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De-Flea

September 27th, 2007 5 Comments

Dear Home-Ec 101,

My boyfriend has recently gotten bug bites, mostly on his right arm but other places as well (legs, etc.). They are small, red, and itchy. Smaller than mosquito bites. I haven’t gotten any. He thinks they happen more on a particular couch, but it’s hard to pinpoint (the bed and a computer chair have also been suspected). He can’t catch them in the act, and we haven’t seen anything.

So we think they’re fleas, but we’re not sure. We don’t have pets or any reason they would be here, but who knows (neighbors have cats, and we live in an apartment building). We’ve read a little about bed bugs but feel like we would see those…

What’s the best way to deal with this? Preferably without having to remove our dishes somewhere while we wait 4 hours? I don’t mind bug bombing, just don’t wanna have to worry about all my plates and stuff…

Anything we can do right away and cheaply to get my boyfriend relief?

I’ve searched the internets so far for help, but it’s confused, usually sponsored by some pest company trying to sell me something I’m not sure I need, and usually pet directed… we have no pets and want to figure out if these bugs are living ON my boyfriend or what?! Eww!

I figure I’m getting bit as well but just don’t have a reaction to it or whatever.

Signed,

Scratchin’ in Scranton

retrochick.JPG Ivy says:

It definitely sounds like you have a flea infestation. The reason your boyfriend has bumps and you don’t is because some people are allergic to flea bites and other people are not. I’m not allergic to them, either. Better them than us, eh? ;)

Since you don’t have pets, flea removal is going to be slightly easier. I have two cats and a dog, and when we got fleas a couple of years ago, I went ahead and went the flea bomb route, because I wanted to knock it out as soon as possible. If you do go the flea bomb route, you’ll need to make sure you are vacuuming really, really well, and make sure you wash everything you possibly can in hot water. Curtains, area rugs, everything.

I don’t think you will have to go the flea bomb route, though. I did a little research and found this nifty contraption on Amazon. It’s a flea trap, and the reviews are largely really good, and it’s priced right, $16.

I’d probably get a flea trap and then vacuum the absolute heck out of everything in my house. Make sure you are taking the vacuum bag (if you have one) entirely out of the house immediately after a vacuuming session. You can even put the bag in a plastic bag and put it in your freezer to kill them all before you take it outside. If you have a bagless vacuum, empty it outside directly into a trash bag. Seal the bag and throw it in your dumpster (if you have one).

Wash everything that can possibly be washed in hot water. Take the sofa cushions out and put them in one of those giant plastic bags and leave it outside in the sun. Then vacuum the entire couch really well again, making sure to follow the bag procedures outlined above.

I think that’ll take care of it! If you do get a flea trap, let us know how well it works, it looks neat. I totally want one, except I don’t have any fleas (knock on wood).

Send your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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The Great Pet Hair War

August 13th, 2007 7 Comments

Dear Home-Ec 101,

We have two dogs and two cats, all dark-haired. Our
house is COVERED in pet hair-hardwood floors, carpeted
floors, tiled floors and counters. Even the back of
our television collects HUGE fur-balls.

Help! How do I keep this under control without having
to spend 2 hours a day sweeping, vacuuming, dusting,
and washing? Our animals are taking over.

Before you give me the old, “brush them daily” crap,
it doesn’t work. It helps, but it just adds an hour
to the 2 hour clean up routine.

Thank you!!

Lost in a sea of pet hair

WinkIvy says:

I wish there was a simple way to keep the cat and dog hair away. I’ve tried miracling it away, I’ve tried waving my magic wand, I’ve even tried to entice the cleaning fairy to come clean it up, but it was all for naught. I’ve even tried teaching the dog to vacuum. Let’s just say that didn’t work out.

No, the only way you are going to get the car and dog hair to go away is to work at it every day.

Brushing your animals daily really does help. I know you have said it doesn’t work, but it does, I promise! You have to keep at it and brush those suckas every single day without fail.

I have found adding brewer’s yeast to their diet helps with the shedding, but you still have to brush them every day. Every day! Brewer’s yeast doesn’t totally stop the shedding, but it really seems to slow it down. During the natural times of the year that they shed more, the brewer’s yeast seems especially work well.

You’ll need to vacuum daily to keep the fur at bay as well. Do an extremely thorough job of vacuuming once a week- move the furniture and get under there, vacuum under cushions, the entire nine yards. This makes the job easier throughout the week.

Hardwood floors especially seem to collect the fur. I find a stick vac to be the best way to deal with pet hair on hardwoods. Make sure you clean the stick vac filter after each use so the vacuum doesn’t lose suction.

I have 2 cats and a dog, myself, so I truly do feel your pain. There just isn’t a fast or easy way to deal with the fur, beyond getting hairless animals, and then they would be no fun to pet.

Send your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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Cats in the Carpet

May 7th, 2007 4 Comments

Dear Home-Ec 101,

Our cat marks all areas of our house by peeing especially when another animal comes to visit or where she last marked. We are at our wit’s end…. is there any solution to this problem?

Signed,

Kitty Mama in Kalamazoo

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

I know way more about cat behavior than any normal person should. You name a strange cat behavior and I’ve had a cat that has done it. Go figure.

Female cats who mark indoors is indeed a strange cat behavior. My vet told me less than 10% of spayed female cats mark indoors. Outside, it is a way for a cat to attract a mate. Inside, it is generally a behavioral problem caused by stress and frustration.

I’m assuming your cat is spayed. If she’s not, that is the very first thing you need to do. Please comment and let me know if you need a link for low-cost spay and neuter service- I have the link around here somewhere.

Clean the area throroughly with en enzymatic cleaner that does NOT contain ammonia in it. Ammonia one of the primary ingredients in cat urine, so any cleaners with ammonia will cause them to come back in the area over and over. Spray some Feliway in the area, that will change the scent from the marking scent to the cheek gland scent (you know how cats rub their cheeks on everything? It’s not because they’re showing they love that item, they’re showing they OWN the item.) and calm your kitty down.

Make sure the cat is as unstressed as possible. Try not to have a bunch of other animals traipsing in and out of your house, and if you do have a reason for having a lot of unfamiliar animals coming in and out, make sure there are lots of places where she can get up and out of the area. My cats like the tall bookshelves I have.

Try moving her food and water bowls near the area of the spraying. Sometimes this will stop it.

If none of that works, you’ll probably need to take her to the vet for some kitty valium. I had a girl cat once that sprayed and NOTHING we did stopped it. I took her to the vet, and the vet prescribed a mild tranquilizer for her, after awhile we were able to wean her off of it, and she never marked again.

Good luck, I hope one of these suggestions work, I know how frustrating it is!

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