Multi-pet households

Anybody out there with several pets? By several I mean 5 or more. I rescue abandoned animals. Right now I’ve got a total of 8. 2 rabbits, 3 dogs and 3 cats. I work 40+ a week, go to school, and care for all these critters as well. As you may imagine, I don’t have a lot of playtime. So I’m seeking opinions on cleaning products or procedures–is there anything I can buy, anything I can do, to cut down on the mess or the time it takes to clean it up? So far I’ve purchsed two Luna hutches for the rabbits, which are huge time-savers. I scoop litter boxes twice a day, sweep and mop 5 rooms of the house every day, and wash as many pet dishes as I do people dishes. The curtains come down every two weeks to get washed, and the pet beds and blankets get washed weekly. I live alone so the chores aren’t shared; it’s all on me. I have no upholstered furniture anymore because it is impossbile to keep clean. I have all hardwood and laminate floors so that is a plus at least. So far I’m doing a good job–I’ve had more than one person tell me that the house always smells nice and doesn’t make them sneeze from the fur. But I’d like a little more time to play with the dogs instead of clean up after them–anybody got any suggestions?

Have you considered an automated litter box? They’re quite expensive and I’ve actually never used one myself but I hear they’re handy.

I’ve found that to be the complete opposite! I hate hate HATE hardwood floors with a passion. The fur flies everywhere and clumps under furniture and it’s just a pain. I can’t wait to get carpets again. But what I have found is super helpful for hardwood is a dust mop. Much easier on the back and picks up fur you never even saw.

2 dogs, 4 small parrots, and a cat currently (we had a chinchilla and another parrot until last year, but added the cat after they died).

We don’t have any secrets; frankly, the only way we can keep up is by sharing chores (married couple). All the furred ones are shorthairs which probably helps.

About the only shortcut we take is to keep a dedicated cat-fur duvet on the bed that we can launder frequently, and a sheet over the car seats when driving the dogs somewhere.

Thank you for rescuing.

My aunt had one of those and found that it would start while the cat was in it–resulting in poo flying everywhere as the cat scrambled to get out of the way. It also didn’t do a very good job–it only raked the surface of the litter, missing the stuff that was buried deeper. Maybe they have better models now–something worth looking into at least.

I like my hardwood because I can bleach it. Yeah, it takes up the polyeurothane but I can clear out a room and lay down a new coat any time I want. It’s my house, after all. It also doesn’t absorb odors like carpet does, which is important. I won’t put up with smell.

We usually have five or more cats, but our oldest, Ajax, died a few days ago. I expect within a few weeks another stray will show up at the door - that’s what usually happens.

I don’t have a lot of help for you - I spend too much time cleaning as it is. Sounds like you have it way more under control than I do - I’m considering tiling the whole house and putting a drain in the middle of each room so I can just hose the place down once a week. We are laminating many of the rooms as we get a chance, and the cats are all great about using the catboxes in the basement (except Ajax during his last few weeks, but he did his best, poor little guy, and made it most of the time. Going to take a while to get the industrial-strength toxic wate he was producing out of the carpet where he missed).

5 cats–and I love my cordless vacuum for picking up fur off the hardwood floors. It is far lighter and easier to use than any previous vacuum.

I’ve got 4 cats and a dog but I live in the country and they’re all indoor/outdoor pets and I don’t need litterboxes. I have hardwood floors in most of the house and I have to vacuum constantly or it looks like tumbleweeds are blowing across the room. We’re just about to rip out the last of the carpeting in my sunroom because my fading dog is incontinent now. It’s a joy. I haven’t decided whether to replace it eventually or do it in wood or tile since I’m bound to have more animals making more messes in the future.

I’m also thinking about replacing the couch but I’m not sure of the best way to go. No matter how hard I try some of the cats still claw the furniture and fabric gets pulled and looks awful. I’m guessing that leather would show the claw marks even more.

I have this same problem. Until everybody finds homes (with the exception of the rabbits and one permanent resident dog) I will be without furniture. There is no stopping them from clawing and peeing on it when I am at work or asleep, even the fixed ones. I have one of those circular chairs that I keep put up in case I feel like watching tv. The only other place to sit in the whole house is at the computer. Interestingly, they have left the leather computer chair alone. Go figure.

3 cats, one large dog.

Hardwood floors, we dustmop daily and vaccum weekly.

Litterboxes, we clean them three times a day, it’s not as hard as it sounds. We put down a sheet of newspaper and a handful of litter. Pick that up, throw it in the bin, put a new one down, takes 10 min, and no mess/smell sitting out.

Cover the bed, cover the couches, we’re all good.

We also foster a lot. Right now we have 3 dogs (the last one we found, very pregnant, in a sugar cane field, and I like her too much to adopt her out) and three cats (one a foster.) We’re also dogsitting a mama dog and her NINE puppies right now, which is insane, but the weather is nice enough to leave them in the yard most of the time, thank god. Nine 5-week-old puppies can really make a mess, fast.

Anyway, I feel ya.

One thing that has made it all easier is this cordless vacuum, which totally rocks.

Our cats are good about using the litter box, and we only clean it once a day, but I’ve heard good things about the automated ones. How long ago did your aunt have the bad experience with hers? This one gets excellent reviews, although it is pricey. So does this one, which isn’t automated but is a lot cheaper. I’d get one myself, but we’re moving soon to the country, where the cats can safely go outside.

The other thing that has made a big difference in our lives has been switching the dogs to homemade dog food. They used to smell doggy and shed a lot (and poop a TON) and now none of those things is a problem. It’s cut down on our laundry, bath times, sweeping, and yard pickup, and costs about the same as mid-grade commercial dog food.

No matter what, there is going to be more clean-up than in a pet free household, but they’re worth it, aren’t they? Good luck.

I would love to switch to homemade dog food, it sounds easy and fun. We are looking at putting my dalmatian on prescription food however, so now’s not a good time to switch. I don’t have a vaccum since I have all wood floors, but I’ve been looking at Roombas. Thing is, with an average of 2 accidents a day (dalmatian with bladder stones, plus a beagle who used to be an outside dog an isn’t learning very quickly) I’m afraid it would get ruined. Plus, the cats might attack it. Does anybody know if those things are waterproof to some degree, or at least durable?

The automated litter box incident with my aunt was some years ago. I believe it was a LitterMaid or something like that.

Cats enjoy roombas. Or at least some of them do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ-jv8g1YVI

I think that’s the most hilarious thing I’ve seen all week!

Do you have a friend with a responsible pre-teen who could be responsible for brushing the cats, bathing the dogs, and maybe coming over 1-2 week to give you a break from poop-scooping? I suggest a youngster because that would be more affordable, and also I doubt you’d find older kids willing to pitch in. But this is the sort of job I would love to see my son do as a way to teach him responsibility and help a friend.

I just watched that and it made one of my dogs, who could see the video from his perch on the papasan chair behind me, growl.

I don’t allow anybody under 18 inside my house, let alone to handle my animals. First of all, because I hate children (with a fiery burning passion that consumes my soul) and secondly because I’m not getting sued when somebody gets bitten. Luckily they all have short hair. The only major nuisance is when the rabbits molt, and the dalmatian, who sheds year-round. Brushing only takes care of so much in his case, so mostly I just make sure to sweep and mop his areas every day. The rabbits get brushed weekly since they can’t vomit a hairball and could potentially die if they get clogged up with one. When they are molting they get brushed 2-3 times a day. I do bath day the last week of every month. I found that keeping the critters cleaner helps keep the house cleaner too–they shake off less dust onto the floor and walls. I installed a hand shower in my bathtub for easier rinsing, and I’ve just stocked up on big, cheap beach towels to dry them all with.

I personally only have two kitties. But my friend, who runs an animal rescue organization, has about thirty. Several with AIDS, or other disabilities. Several that are all but feral. And one dog that’s part mastiff, part Godzilla.

And the amazing thing is, her house smells fairly normal, her cats are all well-cared for, and she has time to run her rescue, hold a job, and occasionally have a life.

They sell models of the Roomba specifically designed to deal with pet hair. Just a reminder, though, that you need to empty out the little collection bin each time, and clean the collected hair out of the brushes at least every third use. (I still love mine, but I only have the regular version to pick up my hair and other stuff - ferrets don’t shed continuously.)

I like the Nature’s Miracle brand of enzymatic cleaner. They sell it in sizes from a regular spray bottle up to a gallon jug for refills.

3 cats+1 dog+1 small parrot=5 pets=a lot of hair, feathers and seed hulls

Tile floors and a roomba FTW!

I have 6 dogs, 4 cats and 2 horses. How do I manage? I lower my standards.

The cats can go in and out and I have three litter boxes which get emptied weekly. I used compressed pine pellets for litter, which I buy in 40 lb bags sold as horse bedding at the feed store. They are all short-haired and I’ve never seen evidence of a single hairball.

The dogs go to the bathroom outside (of course). On the weekends I roam the yard with my muck fork from the barn and scoop any poop in the yard. They’re encouraged to go in the fields. The dobermans don’t really need grooming, the standard poodle gets sipped down with the horse clippers, the malamute gets brushed a lot when he blows his coat twice a year, the english setter gets his feathering combed every so often, and the wolfhound mix doesn’t seem to get burrs or matts. They are all house dogs.

The horses have a run-in shed, so they don’t need to have stalls mucked. I do muck out occassionally, but they really don’t poop in there much. I don’t like outside round bales, so they get square bales free-fed in their shed. The get grain once a day, so I can look them over and make sure they’re in one piece. They get brushed when they’ve gotten particularly muddy, but only after things have dried up.

I sweep my floors weekly. I feed kibble and the bowls rarely get washed, although the water bowls get wiped out regularly.

StG