Cleaning Up After Your Cat




Cats bring their owners a huge amount of joy and comfort. Simply watching a cat explore your garden, or curl up in a sun-warmed patch of floor can flood you positive feelings. Unfortunately, there is a darker side to pet ownership. When you’ve cared for a cat for any length of time, you’ll have experienced the unexpected gifts a cat can leave for you that require a hasty clean up.

Today we’re having a look at this issue - how you clean up after your cat effectively, and what you can do to prevent your cat making these messes in the first place.

Warning Signs

If your cat is normally very neat, burying its waste in the garden or the litter tray then finding mess around the house - especially loose or watery stools - could be a sign something deeper is wrong. Rather than just being annoyed or complaining ‘my cat has diarrhea’ to other sympathetic pet owners, keep an eye on the situation. If it continues, you could have a more serious situation that requires a trip to the vet and a change of diet or medication!

Cleaning Up

Once you’ve dealt with the possibility that you have a seriously ill cat, you still need to deal with the mess it’s left behind. When you have a pet it’s important to have a cleaning tool kit so you’re ready. Make sure you have a stock of:

  • Paper towel
  • Soap and sponges or cloths
  • Cleaner spray

When you first notice the affected area, get to work immediately - the longer you leave it, the worse the problem will get, and the more your cat will be tempted to return to the scene of the crime. Quick cleaning prevents them from establishing your carpet as an acceptable toilet location!

If your cat has left a puddle of pee, soak up as much urine as possible with paper towel and throw it away - in the same place as you’d dispose of their litter tray. Wrap stools and vomit with paper towel and throw them away in the same way - be careful as cat faeces can contain parasites that are especially harmful to pregnant women. Wear gloves at all times and don’t do this at all if you’re pregnant.

Soak and scrub the area with cloths or sponges soaked in soapy water. If you’re lucky, this could be all you need to do. If staining or odours remain after this step, you need to bring out bigger guns.

When you’re choosing a cleaner, choose a non-toxic, natural one - however annoying it is to clean up their pee, you don’t want to poison your cat! Enzyme neutralising cleaners are some of the best options, as they break down the compounds that cause a smell.

You’ll need to leave the area to dry - try to keep your cat away from it during this time, while leaving it exposed to the air. Covering it in an upturned box or laundry basket will allow it to dry while also creating a suitable barrier.

This should eliminate both stain and smell, and make sure your cat doesn’t return to the same location, meaning you’ll have less clearing up to do in future!

CONVERSATION