Does cat hair annoy you? No, is my answer and I’ll tell you why. I am used it. It never really bothered me but I am completely used to it, now. I treat it the same way I treat dust – ignore it.
I am joking. I don’t ignore it neither am I concerned by it.That is the key to dealing with cat hair: get used to it and treat it as a part of life, a very minor, almost insignificant part.
The places where cat hair usually finds itself are:
- on the bed
- along skirting boards and in nooks and crannies where breezes make the hair strands settle
- on chairs and sofas
Hoovering obviously deals with 2 and 3 while I have special brush that is extremely effective for picking up cat hair from the bed. I use the brush as it is quiet so I can do it, if needs be, while Charlie, my cat, is still on the bed. He gets a brush sometimes too.
Some cats like to be hoovered!
A lot of people don’t adopt a cat because of the hair they produce. They don’t like it flying around the home. I can see that but it is a shame because humans produce a lot of stuff that flies around the home too. What about human skin cells? We have about 1.6 trillion skin cells and we shed about 1 million every day. They all end up around the house, on shelves and near skirting boards and on picture frames. I think we contribute nicely to the things that need to be hoovered up.
Humans should get over the idea that a home is like a picture perfect possession and start treating it as a home.
The problem is about attitude. A lot of people seek “the dream” that they are fed by media 24/7. Included in that mythical dream is a wonderful, permanent show home. It has to be perfect all the time as if no one lives in it. It is a measure of their success. You’ve “made it” when you have the perfect show home with two kids, a dog and a gorgeous fluffy, white, Persian cat, with a large 4×4 people carrier parked outside next to the permanently lush, green, beautifully manicured front lawn adjacent to the pink roses.
Please get over it and start seeing a home as a home with all the usually defects. Defects including cat hair add character to a home. It is lived in and a cat adds soul to the home.
You’ll find that people who are considering adopting a cat search the internet for “cat shedding” or “Non-shedding cat breeds“. They are looking for a cat that does not shed hair. All cats shed hair unless there is almost no hair – one of the hairless cats – and even then there is some downy hair. The Devon Rex is meant to be the cat breed with the lowest levels of shedding but that is anecdotal.
Shedding takes place due to increased levels of ambient light in the summer months not due to increased heat. Steps can be taken to minimise hair shedding. What about regular grooming? That is good for your cat and good for you if you are ambivalent about cat hair around the home.
Do single coated cats shed less hair than double coated cats and do short haired cats shed less hair than long haired cats? I don’t think it is worth asking those questions and in any case the difference won’t be significant.
The bottom line is to accept cat hair without question and groom your cat routinely. You can forget about anything else to do with cat hair. And remember the human skin cells.
I gave up house perfection a long time ago. Now, my morning goal is just to make better after each unsupervised night of feline frolic here.
Hair is simply a fact of life, and I am often wearing “furry” clothing and coughing up a fur ball now and then (LOL).
By the way, it took me a second or two to figure out that “hoovered” meant vacuumed.
Marvellous. Great. You get the cat caretakers award for excellence for July 😉
Hi Michael. One day someone will do a study of carpets and all the contaminants, insects, fleas, dust mites, bacteria, and other pathogens that they harbour. Most people will be horrified but not me. It does not take much imagination to know that a carpet is ideal for collecting all that is nasty. Vacuuming only scratches the surface. The dirt lies beneath the surface in the pile. Rugs can be removed and given the real treatment with detergent and disinfectant AND insecticide. . My washing machine is big enough to take rugs and quilted mattresses. I bought it with that in mind. The amount of dirt and fluff that simple sweeping and mopping picks up is amazing. Rugs would only collect that dirt, but the cats would love them. One day I may have fewer cats so at least I can have real Turkish carpets in the living dining area, but maybe that’s not such a good idea, just a dream, like conforming to the ideal show home vision thrust upon us by society. I remember several occasions when I got unexpected visitors and the house was in a bit of a mess. They never noticed anything, only the large fluffy white cats with blue and odd eyes. So maybe having a spotless house is not as important as people think.
Dust mites that feed on shed human skin cells are a major cause of allergies, and they lurk in bedding, mattresses, carpets and soft furnishings. So the fewer the better. For those that are indispensable you should have the means to thoroughly but easily clean them.
That has to be a post in the near future. Thank you. You paint a bleak picture of what lurks within the carpet. A true one though.
Harvey, I have a few Persian rugs, but I have to take them outside and hit’em with the hose, always waiting for it to turn cold first, of course. And the cats love those rugs as much i do! Drying them is problematic, as they should be kept out of the sun. They are almost as dense as me. 😉
Whoa, watch the context there, you! lol
You can imagine what it’s like having 30 Angoras/Vans, 15 of them in different areas of the house. They don’t really have fur. It’s more like fluff and has the consistency of spider’s web. It is very light, soft, and fine, and it floats on the least current of air. Does it annoy me? Yes and no, because the extremely fine fluff gets up my nose, but getting annoyed is not going to solve the problem. I have all kinds of tricks to deal with it, ranging from regular grooming to having no carpets. A marble and ceramic floor doesn’t really need carpets unless you are prepared to do the Turkish flying carpet act. They would need to be glued down. It’s also hilarious to see the cats skidding and sliding all over the place as they chase each other around. The funniest part is seeing them not moving forward at all as their paws frantically try to get a grip, like the wheels of a car spinning on the asphalt. But now they seem to be learning not to try to accelerate so fast. A large damp sponge with a little disinfectant and dish-washing soap works fine on upholstery.
I want a Turkish Angora 😉 LOL
Seriously, I find that comment interesting because Charlie leaves quite clear black hairs – sweet boy. They are not “soft” and floaty. They just sit there on the bed with my skin cells 😉
I don’t have carpets either. I guess in a hot climate carpets are crazy. I think carpets in houses with cats are not that suitable. I prefer wood floors or lino with a rug. Rugs are better than fitted carpets for cat owners. Wrong? That is not to criticise. It is not that big a deal but no carpet = less problems = more functional etc. What about vomit…. 😉 And fleas…..?
And the large intake vents for the air-conditioning/furnace unit need to be wiped regularly or you lose efficiency. Funny, in my friend’s house who lets me reside because of my cats, I sometimes get absentminded and use the Firminator. 😉 Sometimes, I use my own hairbrush on Luck and Shrimp as I was just brushing my hair and they look at me… 😉
In my house cat hair is the same as dust , although with two Persian cats at home, its quite a lot of cat dust. I am embarrassed when guests occasionally come home and strands of cat hair flies around the house on switching the fan.Seems, all cat owners are accustomed to slight strands of cat hair in their house, totally acclimatised to living with their cats.Its only the occasional guest or visitors unaccustomed to cats or cat haters who would notice and be uncomfortable with slight strands of cat hair.
‘I treat it the same way I treat dust – ignore it’
lol Michael you are funny!
Cat hair has never bothered me either as it’s part of life, like you say we humans shed about a million cells a day but people who don’t like cat hair don’t think about that.
It’s surely simple enough to hoover up any cast off cat hair along with our own cast off bits.
We only need to brush and comb Walter daily but Jozef needs two lots of grooming a day as his coat is very dense and he has much more loose hair and is very prone to hairballs.
We make grooming time fun so our boyz enjoy it.
It’s a labour of love and people should just look upon it like brushing and combing their own hair or their children’s hair.
Shoot, I misread that, Michael. I thought that you said it was about “altitude” (where are my reading glasses?) LOL
“They don’t like it flying around the home.” And as for that one, dust your ceiling fans or one day you WILL wake up with cat furballs up your nose! 😉
lol Caroline you and Michael have both made me laugh today already