I was drinking wine and watching TV late last night.
Unbeknownst to me, my tuxedo cat (Tuna) stalked his way across the back of the couch, attacked the wine glass as I raised it for a sip, then bid a rather loud and hasty retreat, waking up Mrs. Dooku.
Tuna emerged several minutes later with red wine stains on his little white bridge-of-the-nose fur, as well as a rather large red wine stain on his rather large white belly fur. Tuna was not pleased with this development. Mrs. Dooku was, of course, also not pleased with this development, having no regard whatsoever for my lack of culpability in this matter.
I valiantly tried to remove the stains, despite the rather aggressive protestations of Tuna. I tried soap and hot water, then shampoo and water, to no effect. Then I tried dishwashing detergent, and finally Goop. No change, except for one seriously pissed off yet spotlessly clean cat…with wine stains. Googling didn’t give me any help beyond what I’d already tried.
I was hesitant to spray Wine Away in Tuna’s face, or use any other sort of strong cleanser out of fear of its toxicity.
I’m now tasked with removing the wine stains before Holiday Guests arrive. Tomorrow. As of this morning the stains hadn’t faded away in the slightest. I got some stuff from the pet store that removes pet stains from carpet and furniture, but it didn’t do jack shit. Pet store did confirm that Wine Away and OxiClean were not good things to put on a cat’s skin.
Is there anything at all I can do? Any sort of home remedy that someone may know about? It’s no picnic having every living creature in my household pissed at me.
Really. I’m not laughing. 'Cause, you know, this is serious.
I think you may be SOL, given the use of hot water which, on clothing at least, sets the stain. Have you tried club soda? If you can’t hold dear Tuna in a tub of club soda (even with the rubber gloves to protect you from dear Tuna’s claws and teeth), perhaps a washcloth soaked in club soda and applied to the affected areas?
My only other suggestion is one that will require Mrs. Dooku’s assent: in honor of the fourth of July, get out a blue magic marker . . .
Did you try brushing really, really well? I think your only hope is to shed the stain out.
At Target, in the Dog section, they have this thing called a shedding blade. A long flexible piece of metal with small teeth, and two handles. Should cost under $5. I’v never known the cat that didn’t love to be groomed with this tool, and it is very effective at pulling out fur gently.
Personally, I like Campion’s suggestion. Most patriotic cat… evar.
PS - I think your wife is a little bit off her nutter. Who cares if the cat is stained when guests arive!?
My first thought was “Let it grow out” but I doubt that’ll work overnight.
If you can’t brush it out, shave it out or wash it off perhaps a little dab of animal-safe black dye to the tummy, just make the tuxedo a little more black than white
I have heard that pink-and-black tuxedo cats are the height of fashion this year.
Seriously, my suggestion is to do nothing. After a few days of tongue-grooming by the cat, the stain will probably be gone. We had a white cat who was temporarily turned orange by spaghetti sauce (it fell on the kitchen floor and he rolled in it). The discoloration was barely perceptible in about a week.
If you really REALLY BADLY want to take the stains out, the only product I can recommend is Chris Christensen’s “White on White” shampoo. You can buy it at the 3cdog.com website (go under “grooming”, then shampoos and cleaners - it’s on the third page). It can take nasty stains out of white coats like nobody’s business. It might be worth a shot…
I’m sure that will work. This Easter my wife and I were dyeing eggs and pounding a few brewskys. After a few too many of the aforementioned brewskys, I did a cool little blue number on the poodle’s head while my wife wasn’t looking. Needless to say, my wife rolled her eyes and muttered something about ‘men’. The blue wore off in about ten days.
OK, I tried the shedding blade…he does not like the shedding blade. That seemed to take some of the stain off, but his skin underneath still has red spots on it. Also, the hair on the bridge of his nose is too short for that.
pinkfreud and Washoe: you may have missed that I’m tasked with getting rid of these stains before my wife’s family comes to visit TOMORROW. I can’t just wait for it to go away.
That’s a great idea. I’ll tell her that when she gets home. She gets really freaked out around her parents, plus they’re tea totallers, so she’s really worried about them noticing wine stains. And they’re definitely noticeable.
Elenfair, I will go try and find some “White on White” today - thanks for the suggestion. I can’t wait around for it to arrive off the internet, but I know some places that specialize in show dog type stuff, so I may get lucky.
Further updates as events warrant. I may get around to posting a picture - it is rather amusing seeing the shaved spot, the red fur, the ears back, and the total shit-eating look he’s giving me.
Hydrogen peroxide maybe? Of course, be careful not to let him lick it off, but I shouldn’t think it would be harmful. It does whiten teeth and bleach hair.
Failing that, I second what the other poster said. Pick up some nontoxic hair dye and dab a little on the spots.
