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Cleaning Used Cat Tower



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 5th 07, 05:44 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Cat Protector
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Posts: 378
Default Cleaning Used Cat Tower

I just received a used cat tower and was wondering if it is truly safe for
my cats? I was told that it would be ok to bleach it before giving it to my
cats. Has anyone else here ever gotten a used tower and safely been able to
allow their cats to use it? I saw that one of the cats in this home was
pretty healthy (awaiting FELV test) and the other was a feral so it is
unknown how healthy that one was. The woman had adopted the one black cat we
found from the Humane Society while the other one she brought in from
outside. One of the neighbors said he was a longer haired cat which looked
like he was a bit large. Both cats were displaced by a fire and the one we
found we were able to get into the adoption system of a local rescue group.

The cat tower is now on our back porch so I was wondering what besides
bleach do I need to use in order to sterilize it? The tower is kind of tall
(a little over 6 feet) but it does need some vacuuming and such but it was
one of the few things which survived the fire besides both cats.



  #2  
Old February 6th 07, 03:15 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Rhonda
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 864
Default Cleaning Used Cat Tower

You know, I don't think anyone answered before because they probably
don't know or don't want to give you the wrong info.

In a case like this if you are worried about it -- I would probably just
run it past the vet.

Good luck,

Rhonda

Cat Protector wrote:
I just received a used cat tower and was wondering if it is truly safe for
my cats? I was told that it would be ok to bleach it before giving it to my
cats. Has anyone else here ever gotten a used tower and safely been able to
allow their cats to use it? I saw that one of the cats in this home was
pretty healthy (awaiting FELV test) and the other was a feral so it is
unknown how healthy that one was. The woman had adopted the one black cat we
found from the Humane Society while the other one she brought in from
outside. One of the neighbors said he was a longer haired cat which looked
like he was a bit large. Both cats were displaced by a fire and the one we
found we were able to get into the adoption system of a local rescue group.

The cat tower is now on our back porch so I was wondering what besides
bleach do I need to use in order to sterilize it? The tower is kind of tall
(a little over 6 feet) but it does need some vacuuming and such but it was
one of the few things which survived the fire besides both cats.




  #3  
Old February 6th 07, 03:26 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Lynne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,297
Default Cleaning Used Cat Tower

on Tue, 06 Feb 2007 02:15:40 GMT, Rhonda wrote:

You know, I don't think anyone answered before because they probably
don't know or don't want to give you the wrong info.


Yep. I do wonder how safe it is to clean a cat tower with bleach... seems
to me it will leave quite a cat-repelling smell, as well as potentially
damage the fibers. Bleach is nasty stuff.

In a case like this if you are worried about it -- I would probably just
run it past the vet.


Yep.

--
Lynne
  #4  
Old February 6th 07, 03:34 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Gail Futoran
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 27
Default Cleaning Used Cat Tower

"Rhonda" wrote in message
...
You know, I don't think anyone answered before because they probably
don't know or don't want to give you the wrong info.

In a case like this if you are worried about it -- I would probably
just run it past the vet.

Good luck,

Rhonda

Cat Protector wrote:
I just received a used cat tower and was wondering if it is truly
safe for my cats? I was told that it would be ok to bleach it
before giving it to my cats. Has anyone else here ever gotten a
used tower and safely been able to allow their cats to use it? I
saw that one of the cats in this home was pretty healthy (awaiting
FELV test) and the other was a feral so it is unknown how healthy
that one was. The woman had adopted the one black cat we found from
the Humane Society while the other one she brought in from outside.
One of the neighbors said he was a longer haired cat which looked
like he was a bit large. Both cats were displaced by a fire and the
one we found we were able to get into the adoption system of a
local rescue group.

The cat tower is now on our back porch so I was wondering what
besides bleach do I need to use in order to sterilize it? The tower
is kind of tall (a little over 6 feet) but it does need some
vacuuming and such but it was one of the few things which survived
the fire besides both cats.


I'll tell the OP my experience, and if it works for
him/her, great. I had two FeLV+ kittens housed
in an isolation room with cat trees, carpeted runs,
etc. When they died (lymphoma), I vacuumed,
sprayed everything with a 10% Clorox solution,
laundered everything launderable using Clorox,
shut the room up for a month, then opened it up
and let my healthy cats in. They use it as a play
room. I've also used the room to quarantine
new cats and kittens and although I don't go to
quite the extreme I did after the FeLV+ kittens
died (more recent additions test healthy), I
always clean with a Clorox solution.

You (OP) might check online about the
survivability of various contagious feline
diseases. The FeLV virus is fairly easy to
kill; I don't know if that's true for other
diseases.

Gail F.


  #5  
Old February 6th 07, 07:56 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Cat Protector
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 378
Default Cleaning Used Cat Tower

Thanks for the answers but someone I know who rescues cat gave me the
answer. She suggested I used a solution of 1/4 bleach and about 3/4 water
and then use one of those sponges that had the hard surface side to remove
the cat hair. I kind of added a bit more bleach to the solution and made it
a bit more concentrated. It was kind of heavy but I wanted to be sure I had
a stong solution to kill all posibilities of FELV. Tomorrow, I'm going to
spray it down with a weaker solution and leave it to air dry.

It was also suggested to leave out in the sun for about 8 days (2 days for
each side) which would also kill some of the germs and possible bacteria.
She also recommended spraying the tower with Lysol to remove the smell of
the cats that used it before. I got a Walmart brand of the disinfectant and
am going to use that since it does the same thing as Lysol but is much
cheaper. The tower's carpeting dries pretty well.


--
Cat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com

Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs!
www.panthertekit.com
"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
"Rhonda" wrote in message
...
You know, I don't think anyone answered before because they probably
don't know or don't want to give you the wrong info.

In a case like this if you are worried about it -- I would probably just
run it past the vet.

Good luck,

Rhonda

Cat Protector wrote:
I just received a used cat tower and was wondering if it is truly safe
for my cats? I was told that it would be ok to bleach it before giving
it to my cats. Has anyone else here ever gotten a used tower and safely
been able to allow their cats to use it? I saw that one of the cats in
this home was pretty healthy (awaiting FELV test) and the other was a
feral so it is unknown how healthy that one was. The woman had adopted
the one black cat we found from the Humane Society while the other one
she brought in from outside. One of the neighbors said he was a longer
haired cat which looked like he was a bit large. Both cats were
displaced by a fire and the one we found we were able to get into the
adoption system of a local rescue group.

The cat tower is now on our back porch so I was wondering what besides
bleach do I need to use in order to sterilize it? The tower is kind of
tall (a little over 6 feet) but it does need some vacuuming and such but
it was one of the few things which survived the fire besides both cats.


I'll tell the OP my experience, and if it works for
him/her, great. I had two FeLV+ kittens housed
in an isolation room with cat trees, carpeted runs,
etc. When they died (lymphoma), I vacuumed,
sprayed everything with a 10% Clorox solution,
laundered everything launderable using Clorox,
shut the room up for a month, then opened it up
and let my healthy cats in. They use it as a play
room. I've also used the room to quarantine
new cats and kittens and although I don't go to
quite the extreme I did after the FeLV+ kittens
died (more recent additions test healthy), I
always clean with a Clorox solution.

You (OP) might check online about the
survivability of various contagious feline
diseases. The FeLV virus is fairly easy to
kill; I don't know if that's true for other
diseases.

Gail F.




  #6  
Old February 6th 07, 08:56 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Cat Protector
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 378
Default Cleaning Used Cat Tower

BTW, just so everyone knows, the cat tower is outside during the cleaning
and disinfection process. I decided I might hold off on spraying it with the
Lysol based solution but would like to find something safe for the cats to
use that is similar. After checking the tower earlier it dried pretty well
after using the mix of the bleach and water solution which I had mixed in a
water bottle in order to spray the tower down. I have used this before to
clean carriers and it didn't harm the cats one bit. The tower should be no
different.

--
Cat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com

Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs!
www.panthertekit.com


  #7  
Old February 6th 07, 11:39 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
IBen Getiner
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 367
Default Cleaning Used Cat Tower

On Feb 5, 11:44?am, "Cat Protector" wrote:
I just received a used cat tower and was wondering if it is truly safe for
my cats?


What kind of question is that? Okay... worse case scenario... Someone
tells you it's okay to use with your cats and then they get sick and
die... then you want to start suing people...

Beware of answering this kind of question. It's a set-up to take the
heat off of this fool and his totally lack of creativity and
responsibility. Figure it out yourself, dude.

snip TRASH

IBen

  #8  
Old February 6th 07, 12:33 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Wendy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 398
Default Cleaning Used Cat Tower

Don't use the Lysol. I've heard that is toxic to cats. Why don't you check
somewhere like Drs. Foster and Smith to see if they have a good cat safe
disinfectant.

You only need a 32:1 water/bleach solution. Leave on for a while and rinse
well to remove as much of the bleach smell as possible.


"Cat Protector" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the answers but someone I know who rescues cat gave me the
answer. She suggested I used a solution of 1/4 bleach and about 3/4 water
and then use one of those sponges that had the hard surface side to remove
the cat hair. I kind of added a bit more bleach to the solution and made
it a bit more concentrated. It was kind of heavy but I wanted to be sure I
had a stong solution to kill all posibilities of FELV. Tomorrow, I'm going
to spray it down with a weaker solution and leave it to air dry.

It was also suggested to leave out in the sun for about 8 days (2 days for
each side) which would also kill some of the germs and possible bacteria.
She also recommended spraying the tower with Lysol to remove the smell of
the cats that used it before. I got a Walmart brand of the disinfectant
and am going to use that since it does the same thing as Lysol but is much
cheaper. The tower's carpeting dries pretty well.


--
Cat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com

Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs!
www.panthertekit.com
"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
"Rhonda" wrote in message
...
You know, I don't think anyone answered before because they probably
don't know or don't want to give you the wrong info.

In a case like this if you are worried about it -- I would probably just
run it past the vet.

Good luck,

Rhonda

Cat Protector wrote:
I just received a used cat tower and was wondering if it is truly safe
for my cats? I was told that it would be ok to bleach it before giving
it to my cats. Has anyone else here ever gotten a used tower and safely
been able to allow their cats to use it? I saw that one of the cats in
this home was pretty healthy (awaiting FELV test) and the other was a
feral so it is unknown how healthy that one was. The woman had adopted
the one black cat we found from the Humane Society while the other one
she brought in from outside. One of the neighbors said he was a longer
haired cat which looked like he was a bit large. Both cats were
displaced by a fire and the one we found we were able to get into the
adoption system of a local rescue group.

The cat tower is now on our back porch so I was wondering what besides
bleach do I need to use in order to sterilize it? The tower is kind of
tall (a little over 6 feet) but it does need some vacuuming and such
but it was one of the few things which survived the fire besides both
cats.


I'll tell the OP my experience, and if it works for
him/her, great. I had two FeLV+ kittens housed
in an isolation room with cat trees, carpeted runs,
etc. When they died (lymphoma), I vacuumed,
sprayed everything with a 10% Clorox solution,
laundered everything launderable using Clorox,
shut the room up for a month, then opened it up
and let my healthy cats in. They use it as a play
room. I've also used the room to quarantine
new cats and kittens and although I don't go to
quite the extreme I did after the FeLV+ kittens
died (more recent additions test healthy), I
always clean with a Clorox solution.

You (OP) might check online about the
survivability of various contagious feline
diseases. The FeLV virus is fairly easy to
kill; I don't know if that's true for other
diseases.

Gail F.






  #9  
Old February 6th 07, 05:16 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Gail Futoran
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 27
Default Cleaning Used Cat Tower

"Cat Protector" wrote in message
...
BTW, just so everyone knows, the cat tower is outside during the
cleaning and disinfection process. I decided I might hold off on
spraying it with the Lysol based solution but would like to find
something safe for the cats to use that is similar. After checking
the tower earlier it dried pretty well after using the mix of the
bleach and water solution which I had mixed in a water bottle in
order to spray the tower down. I have used this before to clean
carriers and it didn't harm the cats one bit. The tower should be no
different.


I'd be concerned about any lingering smell from
the Lysol. As you noted, Clorox should
disinfect anything, and that smell does dissipate
with time.

When the FeLV+ kittens were still alive, I'd
put them in the guest bath, clean & disinfect
their isolation room, let it dry, and return
them to the room the same day. There was
never a lingering Clorox smell once it
dried thoroughly.

Gail F.




  #10  
Old February 6th 07, 05:46 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Cat Protector
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 378
Default Cleaning Used Cat Tower

Well I decided to not use the Lysol type solution and decided to spray the
tower down again today using an anti-bacterial dish soap and water. This way
I can wash away a lot of the bleach (which I'll probably spray down with
lots of water first) and hopefully get rid of the smell of the other cats
that used it before. I want to make this tower as safe as possible to use
for my cats. It may be overkill but better to be safe than sorry.

--
Cat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com

Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs!
www.panthertekit.com
"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
"Cat Protector" wrote in message
...
BTW, just so everyone knows, the cat tower is outside during the
cleaning and disinfection process. I decided I might hold off on
spraying it with the Lysol based solution but would like to find
something safe for the cats to use that is similar. After checking
the tower earlier it dried pretty well after using the mix of the
bleach and water solution which I had mixed in a water bottle in
order to spray the tower down. I have used this before to clean
carriers and it didn't harm the cats one bit. The tower should be no
different.


I'd be concerned about any lingering smell from
the Lysol. As you noted, Clorox should
disinfect anything, and that smell does dissipate
with time.

When the FeLV+ kittens were still alive, I'd
put them in the guest bath, clean & disinfect
their isolation room, let it dry, and return
them to the room the same day. There was
never a lingering Clorox smell once it
dried thoroughly.

Gail F.






 




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