A Potpourri of Miscellaneous Cat Tips

Bathing
  • To shampoo your cat, use a small amount of Johnson's Baby Shampoo and then rinse clean.  The fragrant baby shampoo leaves your pet smelling fresh, and it won't hurt your pet's eyes.
  • To give your cat a dry shampoo, rub Kingsford's Corn Starch into your cat's fur, then brush out.
  • To avoid clogging the bathtub or sink drain when bathing your cat, ball up an SOS Steel Wool Soap Pad and shove it ito the drain opening to catch stray pet hairs.

Catnip Ball

  • To make a catnip ball, cut off the foot of a clean, used pair of L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty hose, stuff it with catnip, and knot closed.

Fleas

  • To kill fleas on cats, bathe the animal, pour Alberto VO5 Conditioner on its coat, rub in thoroughly, and rinse clean. The hair conditioner kills fleas and gives your pet's coat a wonderful shine as well.
  • To repel fleas from a cat, cover the cat with a thick coat of Miracle Whip, rub it into your pet's skin and fur, and then wipe the animal clean with a damp towel.  The cat will continue the bathing process by licking itself and the Miracle Whip clean, resulting in a clean coat that repels fleas.

Food Bowls

  • To keep ants out of pet food left in a food bowl, sprinkle McCormick Ground Cinnamon on the ground around the bowl.  Cinnamon repels ants.
  • To repel ants from a pet's food bowl, rub a small dab of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly around the bottom rim of the bowl.

Furniture

  • To keep a cat from walking along the tops of chairs or sofas, rub the spot with a clean, used sheet of Bounce.  The fragrance in Bounce repels cats.  [My cats don't care.]
  • To prevent a cat from walking across your sofa or other furniture, place a sheet of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil across the item.  When your cat tries to walk on the aluminum foil, the metallic rustling sound will frighten your pet away.

Houseplants

  • To prevent a cat from having a love affair with your houseplants, add used Maxwell House Coffee grounds to the top of the potting soil. Kitty will be turned off by the scent of coffee.  The coffee grounds, filled with nutrients, also fertilize the plants.
  • To prevent a cat from chewing on plant leaves, spray them lightly with a mixture of water and black pepper.

Litter Boxes

  • To deodorize a litter box, cover the bottom of the box with a one-quarter-inch layer of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and then add the litter on top.
  • If you're tired of cleaning the litter box or you've run out of cat box liners, place the box inside a Glad Trash Bag and pour the cat box filler on top of the plastic covering the open side of the box. To clean, lift out the bag, turn it inside out, and discard.
  • To control the odors created in a litter box, mix one and a half cups of 20 Mule Team Borax to every five pounds of cat box filler.

Pet Hair

  • To remove pet hair from furniture, spray a Kleenex Tissue with Alberto VO5 Hair Spray and pat the furniture with the sticky tissue to pick up the shed hairs.
  • To pick up shed pet hair, rub the area with a clean, used sheet of Bounce, which magnetically attracts all the loose hairs.
    To clean pet hair from upholstered furniture, take a strip of Scotch Packaging Tape, wrap it around your hand sticky-side out, and pat the upholstery.

Pooper Scoopers

  • To make a cheap pooper scooper, cut an empty, clean Clorox Bleach jug in half and use the half with the handle to scroop up the mess.
  • To scoop up 'presents' left behind by your cat, turn a Ziploc Storage Bag inside out, put your hand inside the bag like a glove, pick up the mess, pulling the bag right-side out again, seal shut, and discard.

Stains

  • After blotting up as much of the pet stain as possible from the carpet, pour a small amount of Canada Dry Club Soda onto the stain, rub gently with a sponge, then blot up with a paper towel.  Let dry thoroughly, sprinkle on Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, let sit for 15 minutes, then vacuum up.  The baking soda neutralizes the odor.
  • To clean pet urine from carpet, use a Huggies Baby Wipe to blot up the liquid.
  • Mix one-half cup Lysol All Purpose Cleaner, one teaspon Parsons' Ammonia, and one quart water.  Use a sponge dipped in this solution to clean a pet accident from the carpet.  This mixture also deodorizes the stain.
  • Open a Pampers disposable diaper, place it facedown over the stain, and put some heavy books on top of the diaper.  Let it sit for one hour.  After the superabsorbent polymer flakes in the diaper soak up most of the urine, clean the remaining stain with Heinz White Vinegar.
  • Dampen the spot, rub in 20 Mule Team Borax, let dry, then vacuum or brush clean. Borax absorbs the odors.


These handy tips were generously provided by Joey Green from his book "Fix-It Magic" Copyright 2008
Note from the preface of the book:  "The author has compiled the information contained herein from a variety of sources, and neither the author, publisher, manufacturers, nor distributors can assume responsibility for the effectiveness of the suggestions.  Caution is urged in the use of cleaning solutions..."

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