The Cat Behavior Answer Book - Arden Moore [58]
Another common mistake is attempting to clean soiled carpeting with a steam cleaner. Steam cleaners work great to remove ordinary dirt, but the heat bakes organic stains into the carpet fibers, leaving a permanent odor.
Timing is key. The faster you can remove fresh urine, vomit, and feces, the fewer odors will be left behind. Poop is fairly easy to scoop with paper towels or a plastic bag, but urine stains are more challenging. Short of replacing the carpet and pad or revarnishing the wood floor, here are a few tips to a sweeter-smelling home.
SOAK IT UP. Remove as much urine as possible by blotting it up with paper towels, newspapers, or old cotton rags. Keep pressing on these materials until you no longer see any yellow moisture. Rubbing pushes the urine deeper into the carpet.
NEUTRALIZE THE ODOR. Apply a pet-stain enzymatic cleaner to the site. Follow label directions and allow the solution to set before soaking it up by stepping back and forth with paper or cotton towels.
Be patient. Enzymatic products need at least 24 hours to successfully clean the area. Two highly effective enzymatic cleaners are Nature’s Miracle and Zero Odor.
BRING ON THE BAKING SODA. For urine-soaked bedding and other machine washable materials, add one pound of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) along with your detergent and wash with cold water. Baking soda naturally absorbs odors and discourages bacterial growth. Avoid hot water because heat can set the odor in the fabric.
SPOTTING OLD STAINS. Old pet messes, especially urine, may be difficult to locate. If you can’t pinpoint a particular spot by sniffing it out, buy a black light bulb at your local hardware store. Turn off the lights at night and survey the floor surfaces with this light. Old pet stains give off a greenish-yellow fluorescent glow. Use chalk or other easy-to-clean material to outline the old stain to ensure complete cleanup.
PART V
The Basics of Chowing and Grooming
Cats were born to groom. Really. In fact, if you recorded a typical 24-hour day in the life of your cat, you would discover that cats spend around one-third of their waking hours fussing over their coats. When was the last time you spent that amount of time styling your hair?
When cats are not grooming or sleeping — or daydreaming about grooming and sleeping — they are eating or thinking about eating. The rest of the time is consumed by finding inviting laps and comfy blankets, toying around with toy mice, and occasionally harassing the family dog for sport.
Perhaps one reason you chose to adopt a cat is because of the feline’s fastidious reputation. After all, you never hear someone declare in disgust: Phew! He smells like a cat! Nope, that dis is hurled at dogs — and old socks. You also never hear the term chowcat, even though there are plenty of plump felines who put chowhounds to shame.
In this section, I share some inside secrets about two favorite feline pastimes: grooming and consuming. Read on!
Saving Face after a Fall from Grace
Q I know cats are very agile and possess great balance. So I have to laugh when my cat, Chandler, misjudges the distance of a window ledge, leaps, misses, and falls to the ground. There is not much distance from the ledge to the floor and he never gets hurt. Whenever it happens, he immediately launches into grooming himself. Chandler is a shorthaired black-and-white cat, about four years old. His coat always looks shiny and clean. Why does he groom after he falls?
A Cats are dignified critters. While they often act playful or even silly, they are easily discomfited by unexpected events or surprises. Many cat owners notice that their cat will quickly turn away from a startling experience and begin a mini-grooming session. For cats, grooming has important functions beyond health and cleanliness.
The many benefits of grooming began at birth.
Mother cats meticulously clean their kittens. That vigorous licking imparts the power of touch and strengthens the emotional connection between mother