Never-ending cleaning

As you can imagine a house with 12 cats and 3 humans - there's never a shortage of cleaning to be done. There's never a day that goes by that I don't have to do some sort of cleaning. Whether it's scooping litter, sweeping floors, vacuuming, laundry, picking up toys, cleaning up little hairballs, the list truly goes on and on.

We did recently replace our washer - money I would rather have spent on something else. But the washer is amazing, the wash time is shorter which I love - and the clothes come out just as clean! Laundry is one of those things that I never have completely done. I can do 2 - 3 loads a day and still not get caught up. For the longest time, I would wash the cat beds & blankets weekly or bi-weekly to help with the cat hair and dander but felt that they could still be covered in cat hair.

About 2 months ago, I realized, why am I washing the beds and cat blankets so often? They aren't dirty to the point of needing a wash, they just need a good deep hair removal. My ah-ha moment came one day when I was like how can I get the laundry done faster. My brain started thinking and came up with a simple solution. The cat beds now get sprayed with a few spritz of water or a water/laundry softner mix, tossed in the dryer for about 20 minutes and put back out!

They are fresh smelling and free of hair. The cats also get to enjoy a hot bed at nap time! I know, what am I saving? 30 minutes of time for 3-4 loads of cat bedding - trust me that adds up when you are out of the house for more than 8 hours a day. While it may be a ton of energy/electric to run the dryer (for those conservative people out there). I do line dry some items that get washed everyday.

We have some cats that prefer to pee direcly on puppy pads instead of in a litter box with litter. So I do 2 loads a day of re-usable puppy pads - on days the weather coaperates, they get hung on the line. I have an entire closet dedicated to cat pads. This way if I get behind on the washing, there are always clean ones.

As you can imagine, it could get a bit stinky where they use the puppy pads instead of litter. One of my cleaning finds - OdoBan. It works to freshen the air, puppy pads and litter boxes. This is something that is a multi-use and a true product win in my house. Not only does it help keep the house smelling fresh and clean, but I can also add it to the laundry as a disinfectant! Which helps keeps things smelling fresh too! I recently discovered - it is available on chewy and amazon for a refillable size - much cheaper!

I'm sure you can imagine the amount of litter, dust, hair and dander that is flying around and collecting in the corners of my house. I have been throught a billion heavy duty vacuum cleaners that all claim to be made for pets. Another more recent find - a lightweight bissel vacuum - that I absolutely adore. It works on all of the hard floors and has the ability to be a dustbuster. The one thing I don't like - the cord is exteremly short. Otherwise it checks off all the boxes: Lightweight, easy to use, picks up more dirt and debris than if I used a broom.

I use that everyday now on any hard floor surfaces. Followed by that I do a quick swiffer mop of the floor. I'm still amazed at how much I can vacuum up in one day - but now my house is that much cleaner by using it daily.

The take away here - use the dryer for a quick removal of pet hair and vacuum or sweep everytday!

Till our tails cross again,

Mel

Hazel

Did I save the best for last? Absolutely not - all our cats are the best. I did save Hazel for last, as she is the last cat that Gene mentioned he would be "ok" taking in. Hazel is a calico - so she's a mix of all the colors: Black, white, orange, brown. She is adorable beyond words.

While Gene may deny he said he would take her in - his words were if there's a calico in this litter I would be interested....low and behold there was a calico along with a few other standard cats. Gene ultimately named Hazel (I believe he had a name picked before he knew for sure there was even a calico to be had!)

Much like her siblings she is a little shy and skittish, I'm really hoping they all grow out of that phase - I'm used to cats who are more needy for pets and cuddles. Hazel will cuddle and let you pet her, just once you are situated and not really moving. Her favorite spot to eat wet food is on the stairs, where she is half hidden by the wall, and can hear everything. I'm not sure what it is about those steps, but lots of our cats prefer to eat there. Hello tripping hazard!

Hazel loves to watch me crochet or work on projects at night when I watch TV. My wind down time before bed has become her wind up time. We watch TV for an hour or so before I go upstairs for bed. Once I get in bed she climbs in, walks around, makes biscuits and finally settles down on my shoulder or next to my side. If we don't have TV craft time, she doesn't come to bed with me. Guess she needs that time to feel comfortable with me. She has a tendency to walk back and forth from Gene to me, which bothers him to no end as she won't just lay down.

She has claimed the window behind our bed as hers. She spends most afternoon's laying in the window, hidden behind the curtain. It does have a great view for cats - shaded, with just the right amount of sun coming in. Tree branches that allow the birds & squirrels to entertain her. Best of all, she has all the quiet time she wants! When she's not chilling in the window, she naps on the chair next to Gene's desk while he works.

Tanners Grand Introduction

I know you're thinking how many more introductions could there be?! Just a few more - I promise! We've gotten through most of my purrfect dozen crew. That being said - today is Tanner's grand entrance.

He is a brother to Peaches, Bear, Ash, and Hazel - all from the same litter. You may have noticed that I always say these kittens are less welcoming (they love attention, but hate fast movements and any noise!). Tanner is still pretty skittish, even around me - I simply move too fast for him and make way too much noise. When I manage to move slowly, he does come for pets and belly rubs. He has a mustache on his face, has a little more white on his belly, and is almost triple the size of Peaches and just slightly bigger than Roughy, who is 5+ years older. Otherwise, they look very similar!

Tanner sometimes gets a case of the zoomies when I'm not home and can run around like a horse. He must save all his zoomie energy for when Gene is the sole person at home. As shy and hidden as Tanner likes to be, he does warm up to guests. Recently he became buddy-buddy with Carlo - must have been a mutual liking, as Carlo has a soft spot for orange cats.

We are fortunate (maybe?) to have 3 orange cats. These orange cats could be a breed all on their own. I believe it. They have strong personalities. Since we have 3 of them, I noticed Tanner has the softest fur! His orange siblings - Roughy & Peaches - both have more coarse hair. I hope his stays so soft forever!

Til our tails cross again,

Mel