My Top Tips for Managing Pet Fur

As you probably know, I have three very adorable and very furry cats.  Two have long hair and it’s no joke they shed a lot.  I’m also a bit of a neat freak, and while I think some fur is acceptable (and perhaps even a sign of a healthy mind), I will share my top tips for managing pet fur.

DF Julie reached out this week as she is a new cat mom, loves the cat, but is not so in love with the shedded fur.  I have a few simple tips that keep my house pretty fur-free.  But I will be honest, I have to keep on top of it DAILY.  Yep, every day.  Like brushing my teeth.  Or scooping the litter box.

Kinsey is my little nugget who spends the most time on the furniture and she also has short hair, so it’s not so overwhelming.

I shared many of these tips over the year while I was spring cleaning, but a refresher might be in order.  My top tip:

Rubber Gloves on Furniture Surfaces

A bit of water to dampen regular old rubber gloves and then running my hands in circles around furry furniture, ball the extra fur right up.  It can either be easily picked off or vacuumed up at that point.

Trying to vacuum fur off of furniture is really just an exercise in frustration.  It doesn’t work well and it’s a lot of effort.  However, getting that fur balled up first makes a huge difference.

If your fabric cannot take a bit of water, rubbing the gloves dry works too, just not as quickly.

Pet Rated Robot

We call ours Rosie after the robot maid in The Jetsons (are you old enough to remember that space-age cartoon?).  We now have a Eufy brand and this is probably our third robot over the years. 

Robot vacuums are great for hard surfaces and carpet alike.  The Eufy is the most affordable option we found.

The key is to get a pet-rated robot.  The brush and battery power are robust enough to live up to the extra beating fur gives it.

I generally run the vacuum every day and it is shocking how much hair and dust it picks up.

Dyson

The cordless Dyson is so easy to run around and the attachments are so easy to use or remove, we spot vacuum with it most every day.  It may also work well on all the crumbs I leave all over the kitchen.

The robot does not cover the entire house every day, so using the Dyson for the off areas means everything gets done with very little trouble.

BTW, our Dyson doesn’t have a name.

Fingers

If I see a little hunk of fur flying around, I just bend over and pick it up.  I know that sounds sort of obvious, but if I keep on top of the little fluff, it keeps from growing into bigger fluff.

Super Duper Walmart Boots

In other cleaning news, remember these boots I got for like $16 a couple of months ago from Walmart?  I had a little accident with them and spilled cream all over one.  Even though I wiped it off, it was stained and stiff. 

Fifteen minutes in the washer’s speed cycle, warm with a bit of Tide and a few minutes on the dry cycle in the dryer and they are fluffy and good as new. 

It’s a little hard to tell in the pics with the difference in lighting, but you can see the stain in the first pic. They did not come out a different color, that’s just lighting.

Can I ever explain how in love I am with these?  I just use them as house shoes so I’m not saying they would climb a mountain, but they are perfect for me.

Happy New Year

Our community set off the fireworks on New Year’s Eve we didn’t get back in July .  We walked to a nice spot off the golf path and watched them.  It was a beautiful show and the chill was staved off a bit with a thermos of cocoa and a tad of peppermint schnapps.

It was a simple and lovely evening ringing in what we all hope will be a better year.

God bless you and yours in 2021.