Living with animals is mostly a cleaning problem and occasionally a safety one. The safety part is short and worth knowing exactly.
Toxic to pets, which people get wrong
- Lilies are lethal to cats. Every part, including the pollen, and a cat brushing past
one and grooming itself is enough. This is the single most common serious plant poisoning in cats in the UK. If you have a cat, do not have lilies in the house.
- Chocolate, grapes, raisins, onions, garlic and xylitol are all toxic to dogs. Xylitol
is in sugar-free gum and some peanut butters and is the one people miss.
- Antifreeze tastes sweet and is lethal in small amounts. Clean spills immediately.
- Many household cleaners should not be walked on until dry.
If you think a pet has eaten something, ring a vet straight away rather than waiting for symptoms. Do not make them vomit unless a vet tells you to.
Hair
A rubber glove dragged across upholstery gathers more hair than any lint roller, and costs nothing. A window squeegee does the same on carpet. Vacuum slowly, in two directions.
Accidents on carpet
Speed matters more than product. Blot up as much as possible with paper, then treat with an enzyme cleaner made for pet urine. Ordinary carpet cleaner masks the smell without breaking down the uric acid, which is why the smell returns in warm weather and why the animal goes back to the same spot.
Never use ammonia-based cleaners on pet urine. Ammonia smells like urine to an animal and tells it that this is the right place.
Smells generally
A house with animals in it smells of animals to everyone except the people who live there. Wash the bedding more often than feels necessary, and see heating, damp and energy: ventilation does more than any plug-in.