carpet, cat and rented property!

lolo62

anyone any ideas on how to cat proof the carpet in a rented property prior to introducing kitty to her new abode?

landlord is VERY fussy but has agreed to allow cat as long as i take responsibility for any carpet damage

im wondering if there is any way i could lay a layer of rubber down with another carpet on top or something to that effect...

anyone ever tried anything like this?

do you think is it a worthwhile endeavour in the long term?

thanks

ps have rented with cats before and never had problem with pee-ing on carpet but this is a different individual and everyones different!

portgirl123

what sort of damage are you talking about.

Bullseye1

Cats will use carpets on their nails if you don't provide alternatives. You can buy those polls with rope around them at most good pet stores. Should help.

anniehoo

To save your sanity id definitely cover the carpet with something, be it a rubber mat or other rugs. My cat uses my bedroom carpet as his own private giant scratching post. Its wrecked and needs replacing this year so im not too bothered, but if i had a rent deposit at stake id be driven demented.

Also, they will also scratch other furniture i.e. couches and curtains. To be honest id be trying to find a more animal friendly landlord otherwise the stress of furniture damage will be too much.

angry kitten

My cats love to claw things and can turn pretty much anything into a scratching post. I have a big rug over the carpet in the living room that solves that problem. I'd recommend getting a few scratching posts, I've a few around the house and the flat ones you can lay on the floor are great too. I get mine from zooplus.ie. The ones that I put on the floor are designed to screw into a wall but ours prefer it on the carpet.

planetX

buy a Yucca (small tree-like houseplant)
best scratching post my cats have ever had:mad:

Sigma Force

Is it carpet for only specific rooms or carpet for the whole house that you need to protect? Could probably be cheaper for you if you offer the landlord some sort of deposit in case there is any damage.

I took in a few stray kittens when I rented years ago, for the first few weeks they were confined to one room as they were all fluey and then they used it as a bedroom after that. Although they were litter trained we just replaced the carpet in the end with a near identical one think we re-painted the wall as well. We probably were bad tenants in that we didn't say anything about it. Although we did ask permission to paint other rooms. Don't think there were any contracts back then though.

The Sweeper

planetX wrote: »

buy a Yucca (small tree-like houseplant)
best scratching post my cats have ever had:mad:

Yucca is toxic to cats.

http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants/yucca.aspx

They do love to scratch them though. It's whether or not they'll then start chewing on it too.

OP, buy a load of rag rugs or other machine-washable floor covers, and protect the carpet with those. For areas where you'd put the cat's food and water bowls and litter tray, either keep them on tiles or buy lino off the roll and cut large lino panels to put underneath food, water and litter, and protect the carpet.

Buy a specialist carpet shampoo - steer clear of anything in a bright pink cannister from the supermarket, because much as they appear to fix stains they can cause longer-term issues with carpet care, and if you're having a steam clean when you move out the areas previously treated with quick-fix solutions can cause a problem. Proper carpet shampoo is low-foaming and cleans with minimal suds. Clean up stains immediately - absorb with kitchen towel, clean with a sponge and warm water with shampoo, rinse with a sponge and clean warm water (not hot, blood-warm), and dry thoroughly with kitchen towel again.

I actually went out and bought a pet vax - a vacuum cleaner that specifically lets me do wet/dry cleaning. I was never as glad to have it as the day the dog, as a pup, had an upset stomach and crapped runny dog crap on the study carpet. (That was in a house I owned.) My first reaction was to rip the carpet out, frankly, but once I calmed down I was able to completely clean the carpet with the pet vax. (It was just about the grossest thing I've ever had to do, mind.) I don't necessarily believe pet vax is the best brand on the market for such things either, but if you're really worried about the carpet, investigate the argos catalogue for carpet shampooers. Steam cleaners don't cut it - you need something that will suck up mess, then throw water and cleaning solution over it, let you work it into the carpet, suck it all out again, and then let you rinse with clean water and suck THAT all out again.

lolo62

thanks for all the replies guys

my main worry is urine and the smell. ive never had cats pee on carpet in the past but have had duvet and hard floor accidents that were a pain so just wanting to put as many precautions in place before bringing a cat home to carpets

cat posts is first on the list, the curtains and couch are mine so not worried about those, to be honest i wasnt even that worried about the carpet until i spoke to the landlord and he absolutely grilled me on possible worst case scenarios!

then i did some research on the net about urine stains on carpets and there are lots of reports of people not only replacing the carpet but resanding and finishing or even replacing floor boards where wet patches were to get rid of smells..

got a quote for the downstairs room which is 18 square yards, would cost €380 fitted..actually not as bad as i thought but still a lot of money
will look into rubber lining and rugs...

if i thought it would be easier to move i would but i have a one bed terrace to myself with large back patio and free parking for €560 a month (in dublin city)..not going to find that anywhere else!

The Sweeper

lolo62, is your cat likely to pee on the carpet? If they are, the most important thing is to clean it up thoroughly each time with an enzyme based cleaner - I also then like to rinse and dry with a couple of drops of lavender oil in warm water because it totally masks any scent. If the cat can smell pee, they'll return to the spot as an official toilet over and over again. That repeated peeing is what causes urine to soak through the carpet and into the boards.

lolo62

The Sweeper wrote: »

lolo62, is your cat likely to pee on the carpet? If they are, the most important thing is to clean it up thoroughly each time with an enzyme based cleaner - I also then like to rinse and dry with a couple of drops of lavender oil in warm water because it totally masks any scent. If the cat can smell pee, they'll return to the spot as an official toilet over and over again. That repeated peeing is what causes urine to soak through the carpet and into the boards.

ah gotcha with the repeated peeing..that makes sense

im probably just awfulizing with this but just want to be cautious...starting to wish i never said anything to the landlord and just went ahead as i have images of him going around like a sniffer dog after i move out now:p thought it better to be honest though

i havent actually got a cat at the moment...my two ginger tom brothers are with my mother now, theyre happy where they are and have nice big territories to roam

im looking to adopt a female from a previous owner so that she's already trained (hopefully will minimize risk) and can assess personality before hand (its a small house so a really playful kitty would probably be climbing the walls) hoping to find a placid cat

that pet vax thing sounds great!

planetX

Have plenty of litter boxes around and it's very unlikely the cat is going to pee on the carpet at all.
Scratching will probably happen though - watch where the favourite spots are... usually near doorways or steps, and cover the carpet with something.
And don't get a yucca - there goes another houseplant, binned with all the lilies. I'm just growing catnip from now on:)

The Sweeper

Yeah I have no frickin house plants left.

anniehoo

The Sweeper wrote: »

Yeah I have no frickin house plants left.

Me either! I have one very baldy spider plant that has about 4 leaves left on it! When Beanie gets the last leaf off it ill throw it out

Lawrence1895

The Sweeper wrote: »

Yeah I have no frickin house plants left.

There is also artificial christmas trees or one of those lamps with paper lamp shades. They do the trick as well

But seriously, I got a cheap rug to put over the carpet. Once the cheap one is wrecked, I get another cheap one. It works until now.

lolo62

just bought a couple of second hand turkish rugs from a lady on adverts...think theyll probably be nicer than the boring beige carpet actually!

funny all the talk about plants...my one and only trusty tesco 4.99 plant that ive had for 7 years just died recently so it must be fate

its lucky the stairs are at the back of the sitting room so can just keep an eye and and ear for clawing at the carpet there and the bedroom will be out of bounds (if i have a say!)

now all i have to do is find the right cat..theres two looking for homes on the sabcci site one is a burmilla..anoyone on here experienced with asian breeds and theyre needs?

The Sweeper

Burmilla is a relatively recent breed, created by crossing burmese with chinchilla. They have the long hair gene and sometimes kittens will be long haired, so find out what sort of coat it has. If it's a short coat it needs weekly grooming, and it generally will be a hairy cat so be prepared for cat hair (as with all cats, to be fair, but moreso with the thick-coated kind). It should be intelligent, calm and laid back, but also fairly playful. I'd wonder why the burmilla was in rescue, so get a definite history including checking whether it's already started peeing in the home (a prime reason for rescue surrenders in cats).

Breeds like siamese, burmese, tonkanese and so on are 'a lot of cat', similarly to how a husky is 'a lot of dog' - they'll be more energetic, more playful, often more interactive and cuddly, but their behavioural problems can also be exacerbated by this intelligent, outgoing temperament and that's always something to keep in mind.

lolo62

The Sweeper wrote: »

Burmilla is a relatively recent breed, created by crossing burmese with chinchilla. They have the long hair gene and sometimes kittens will be long haired, so find out what sort of coat it has. If it's a short coat it needs weekly grooming, and it generally will be a hairy cat so be prepared for cat hair (as with all cats, to be fair, but moreso with the thick-coated kind). It should be intelligent, calm and laid back, but also fairly playful. I'd wonder why the burmilla was in rescue, so get a definite history including checking whether it's already started peeing in the home (a prime reason for rescue surrenders in cats).

Breeds like siamese, burmese, tonkanese and so on are 'a lot of cat', similarly to how a husky is 'a lot of dog' - they'll be more energetic, more playful, often more interactive and cuddly, but their behavioural problems can also be exacerbated by this intelligent, outgoing temperament and that's always something to keep in mind.

thanks for that! reading between the lines of the ad the cat 'hasnt settled' in her current home which i guess means is peeing..

i dont think id be able to give a cat like that what it needs