Just 2, short hairs. And I have hardwood floors, mostly, with rugs on them.
If the keys are in the litter box, I may need new keys.
I do have air conditioning (obviously) but, unfortunately, the windows are original to the house (1928) and somebody has not just nailed and painted them shut, they’ve cut the cords. I tried to open one but the glass started to crack. If I want windows that open, I have to either replace my original windows (which I hate to do - some of the panes are original and wavy) or recondition the old ones, both of which are expensive propositions.
I’m going to work on cleaning and I’m definately going to try the carpet stuff and maybe that Odors Away thing.
ETA - would you believe, I had to drive up to Abbeville last night to rescue my boyfriend and his busted ass motorcycle, and he left his keys in the damned motorcycle? Two people, no keys, getting by on one spare housekey and two spare car keys.
Make sure your cat isn’t having out of litterbox adventures. I had a cat who was great about using the litterbox, except now and then she thought behind the furnace was a nicer spot.
I also agree that nothing beats a throrough cleaning. You’d be amazed at what odors can cling even to the walls and ceilings. A well scrubbed house is not just nicer smelling, it’s healthier. People talk about air pollution outside, but indoor air quality can really suffer, especially in a house that can’t get fresh air because the windows are unopenable. What about leaving the doors open? Do you have storm doors with screens?
All the deoderizing odor neutralizing products in the world can’t permanently change the fact that something stinky is stinky. You need to remove the source of the stink.
I know whereof I speak. I have a cat and a dog, but the house we just moved into had seven cats and a dog. We’ve been living there for three months and are still trying to get the smells out. There is an area in the wooden kitchen floor where cat urine had completely saturated the wood. It will have to be replaced to completely eliminiate the odor, but in the meantime I keep soaking it in Nature’s Miracle. There was an area in the basement floor that was so full of cat urine that when my husband took a mop and bleach water to it, it fizzed. Not good. There was also a cache of cat poop behind the water heater and furnace. shudder I just keep scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing, and it’s getting better little by little.
Try an ozone generator. We walked into the local hydroponics store to look at one. The owner said he runs one because he smokes (It was a hydropics store. I didn’t ask WHAT he was smoking). There was no smoke smell. I would have never guessed. We’ve started using one, and it does make a noticable difference, and not just to cat smells. I’d suggest getting a timer to go with it. You really don’t need to have it on 24/7. I think ours is running a couple of hours at night and a couple during the day while we are at work.
Some people just have more acute senses than others. My son, who grew up in this house, just came back for a visit and said the house smells like cats. Not cat pee–but like cats live he; he said houses with cats always smell that way. His girl friend, who did not grow up here and does not live with cats, and who claims to have a great sense of smell, said she was very impressed that our house does NOT smell like cats. These conversations took place on successive days; the GF wasn’t around for the first one.
A lot of stuff sitting around does tend to have odors that cling to it. I speak from experience. A good cleaning may help. But my son showed up after we’d just spent two days clearing clutter, dusting, and vacuuming, so… (Yes, that’s right. We raised him, he knows exactly what slobs we are, and yet, we cleaned up the house for his visit.)
