Conference misery::feline_v1

    Did you ever try vacuuming?  :^).  Seriously, though, you haven't
    seen cat hair until you've lived with 4 longhaired cats!  The breed
    standard of the 3 purebreds states they are not supposed to shed,
    or shed very little; however, someone forgot to tell the cats!!
    
    I have had much success with the sticky lint-remover rolls that
    peel off in sheets.  You can purchase them at most department or
    drug stores or order in bulk from wholesale pet catalogs (I use
    Cherrybrook).  They are excellent in removing cat hair from furniture,
    drapes, floors, etc.  Also, vacuum, vacuum, and vacuum again.  I
    do my rugs about 3 times a week.  Good exercise, and I always feel
    the house looks a lot cleaner when complete.
    
    
    --Roberta
    
    

    
    Anyone with cats has cat hair! :^}  I vacuum a lot, using an upright
    with a beater bar, plus a hand-held unit that also has a beater-bar for
    the stairs and furniture.  They say that brushing the cats seems to
    help, but my worst offender will *not* go outside, and brushing her
    indoors would only aggravate the problem.
    
    So I vacuum some more . . .
    
    Sandy
    

I have allergies - and two cats that shed everyday, everywhere...I find that
the flea comb, used daily, is my answer.  It does not throw hair everywhere
as the brush seems to, and it removes the hair before it gets shed!  The
cats have adjusted to a daily going over - at first they didn't like it at
all - and I have much less problem.  Once I comb them well, I give them
a good brushing - it FEELS good and is a reward for letting me comb out
the hair.  It also conditions the skin and THAT is what you need.  You
aren't allergic to the hair, it is inert.  You are allergic to the cat
dander (skin that flakes off the body - we all make dander), OR the pollen
the cat CARRIES on the hair when it is allowed outdoors.  If you are
allergic to pollens, it is best to have an indoor-only cat.

Also, throw a towel, sheet, or washable blanket over the pillow area of
your bed when you aren't using it.  Protects pillows, sheets, blankets, 
spreads from cat dander...
the little dears LOVE to sleep on the area of the bed where "Mom's smell"
is strongest (yep, even if you're a guy, you're "Mom" to your cats) and that
can play havoc with allergies.

Note on using the flea comb so it isn't torture:

pull the comb's teeth gently, slowly, firmly through the cat's hair, while
holding the comb FLAT to the cat's body...never point the comb teeth
INTO the cat (as we use combs on our own hair) - always be careful to keep
the comb flattened against the cat's body - you won't bruise tender skin,
and the cat will learn to fight the combing much less when it doesn't hurt.

    Cat hair, did someone say cat hair???  Hmm, I think I can relate to
    that.   sigh, with 18 hairbags plus 5 kittens, I think I know cat
    hair.  Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.  Bathe and comb the cats - removes
    a bunch.  For the furniture, a stiff brush works real well.
    A 4.9 hp vac with double beater bars also works very well.
    Vacing every day is very good exercise, as Roberta mentioned!
    Yukky, but good exercise !!
    
    I always dread spring or March, which ever comes first.  At least
    in the winter, they keep most of their hair on !!
    
    E.T.

    
    I especially like orange hair on colonial blue furniture.  Adds a lovely
    touch.  I spend at least a half-an-hour vacuuming hairs.  Does wonders
    for my husband's suits too.  His suits are constantly at the cleaners.  

    Try vacuuming the cat!  One of my Persians loves to be vacuumed.  I
    have to vacuum all the hair off my bed every morning, since they both
    sleep with me.  As soon as I turn the vacuum on, Charlie comes running,
    hops on the bed, and waits his turn.  He's in ecstasy while I'm
    vacuuming him.  

    I didn't have this problem, (Sigh).  Then I brought home 
    Rusty & Pepper.  I'm sitting here looking at my clothes (sigh).
    Rusty insists upon sleeping with me, or the second best thing,
    on my clothes.  That will teach me to leave my jacket on the
    bed (sigh).  Orange/white and black/gray/white hairs, YUK!
    
    Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, (sigh).  A lint brush is now a standard
    operating tool for hubby & me.
    
    Gee, I wonder what R & P would look like with a crewcut? :-)
    
    L-

Reminder for those of us with allergies to dust mites or cat dander:

AS MUCH AS WE HATE IT.....it is important to use the long thin tool of the
vacuum cleaner to get the area where the walls meet the floor - that is
a prime "storage" place for cat dander and dust - hence a condiminium for
dust mites.  I get down on my hands and knees and do the whole room, including
around the base of my waterbed every week.  Since I started doing it, my
allergies have been much better.  I also have to get behind the head board
on a weekly basis.....really seems to make a difference.

vacuuming a cat...hmmmmm....I have Hannah "spare hair, inc." adjusted to
the diffuser hair dryer - maybe I can get her to like a quick daily
vacuum...Worth a try.

			D  

    I'm surprized that no one mentioned the inevitable litter that gets
    tracked around the house too.  We have plenty of hair and litter and
    with the mix of colors we have now, there isn't a piece of clothing
    that won't show someone's hair!
    
    Other options to use in addition to vacuuming - air filters/purifiers.
    You'll have to change the filters frequently.  Also, there is a type
    of brush called a "Quick Shed'n Brush" that does a very good job of
    removing cat hair (from the cat).  In fact, it does such a good job
    that if you get overzealous (as I did with Mao one year) you can 
    create some bald spots on your cat.  So be careful not to over brush
    with that one.
      Nancy DC
    
    p.s. I assume you're taking your allergy medication

    RE:  .6
    
    My Kirby vacuum cleaner has a pet groomer attachment!  The cats 
    will tolerate it, only if we keep the noisy vacuum cleaner in 
    another room.  We stick the attachment through the door and close 
    the door as much as possible.  Does the trick!
    

    
    okay, I want to know how you guyes trained your cat to be vacuumed.....
    I mean a vacuum is a cat eating monster!!!!!
    

    Cat hair!  We've got it all over the place!  Even woven into
    the upholstery (I'd *love* to know  how they manage that!)
    Vaccuuming and brushing the kitties helps, but cats do have
    a genetic attraction to clothing that contrasts with the color
    of their fur, and this can't be helped ;-)
    
    Mary-Michael (whose next house will have litter-colored wall
    to wall carpeting and silver tabby upholstered furniture) ;-)

    
    	I'd like to know what kind of vacuums you folks have....mine
    	does a terrible job in picking up cat hair.  I may have to 
    	break down and buy a special attachment I saw in an "Animail"
    	catalog.... $50!
    
    	Sasha and Chloe are the worst shedders....
    

    I have a Sears 4.9 Horsepower double beater bar - it works pretty well
    on cat hair for hmm, I think 19 + 5 - I better count heads tonight!
    For a while last night it was 20 + 5 - hmm, they come in they leave
    
    
    E.T._confused

    
    My upright is a Sears, too, with beater bars, and is really good for
    everyday-type cleanups.  I have a Royal Dirt Devil hand-held for stairs
    and furniture - whenever I clean it out, I remove at least half a cat's
    worth of hair from it :^}
    
    We also have a Rainbow, which is ideal for those who are sensitive to
    airborne cat hair.  Rather than trapping the hair and dirt in a bag
    (and letting a lot of it fly around in the process), it traps all the
    mess in water in the base of the unit.  The downside of that is that
    it's really gross to clean out.  I'm hoping someday to trade it in on a
    central vac system.
    
    Sandy + 5 walking hairballs
    

    I vote with E.T. I also have a Sears tank type with power head.
    
    (must tell this story as to why I bought this particular one)
    
    You always see the sales person in the vac department take a hand full
    of some kind of stuff and spread it on the rug, and of course it does
    a beautiful job, well I collected a bag of hair from our 2 persians,
    one short hair cat, and two long haired St. Bernards. I went shopping
    for my vac at Sears and the sales person did his thing and then I said
    you have a sale if it will pick this up, as I dumped all the hair on
    the carpet and proceeded to spread it around and walk on it. He almost
    had a stroke. I told him the vac had to pick up what I had in my house
    not some unidentifiable substance they spread around that layed on top
    of the rug. The vac worked great and I have had one ever since. Of
    course I must admit we have burned out several motors in 20 years but
    they do last a long time depending on the wear and tear you give them.)
    
    We bought carpet once the color of our collies and then went and bought
    a BLACK standard poodle. You can't win
    
    Barbara

    re: 16
    
    Good God, Barbara - I DID THE VERY SAME THING WHEN I BOUGHT MY
    SEARS!!!!
    
    Unreal, the salesman nearly had a stroke - I brought a zip-lock
    bag (1/2 gallon size) of cat hair that I had been saving from
    brushing the gang - took it out when his back was turned, and
    really rubbed it into the sample run.  I then said to him when
    he turned around, "  If you have a heavy duty vac that can pick
    this stuff up, I'll buy it!"  My friend Lauren was with me when
    I did this, and she just sort of slithered away when he turned
    around like she didn't know me!  What a hoot - the salesman just
    sort stood there with his mouth open, two other customers were
    there laughing - all three of us bought the same vac - the other
    two customers also had pets !!  
    
    E.T.

    Barbara, will you come shopping with me next time I'm in the market
    for a new vacuum cleaner, hee, hee?!  You are too funny, lady!!
    
    I have a Hoover upright and a 7 year old Eureka cannister with all
    related attachments and power nozzle.  The horsepower is only 3.9
    tho.  I'd like a more powerful one.  Any other recommendations besides
    Sears?
    
    
    --Roberta (who cut 4 matts off of Kelsey last night and brushed
               off about a basketful of fur).
    

    I also have a Sears upright with beater bar - and I bought the
    maintenance contract too  ;-)

    I bought a Viking (European made Electrolux) about a year ago.  I, too,
    did the cat hair trick.  The sales man didn't bat an eye.  He just sold
    me on adding this great attachment to the sale - then I sold him on
    "GIVING" me the attachment as part of this very expensive sale.
    
    This attachement goes on the end of the wand and is used ofr stairs and
    furniture.  It has beater bars that rotate from the air passing over
    them - in other words, there is no electrical connection - so it fits
    on any machine.  It is great for getting the cat hairs off the
    furniture and the stairs - I have one who loves to sleep on the stairs.
    
    Ellen

    I purchased a Kirby through a Vacuum Cleaner Salesman that came 
    to my house.  (I requested his visit...)  After what I saw come 
    out of my rugs, whew...there wasn't any other decision.
    
    I love it still!  
    
    I paid $800 though...with a lifetime rebuild policy of $99.
    

    Hey - anyone know how much the "VAX" costs?  Somehow it seems
    very appropriate for Digital folks to have a VAX vacuum cleaner.
      :-)
    

>    Hey - anyone know how much the "VAX" costs?  Somehow it seems
>   very appropriate for Digital folks to have a VAX vacuum cleaner.
      :-)
    

Hi,  Yes the cost of the VAX at Sears and Roebuck and Co. was quoted
     at the cost of $399.00 about 3 months ago.  I am not sure how 
     much the price at Lechmere is.

 
Kathy_Bud_Tiffany_and_Tasha
 

    re: -1
    
    Today's Boston Globe has a VAX ad from Lechmere: On sale for $299.
    I noticed this cause of this note!

    Okay you guys, what is the VAX vacuum and what makes it so special?
    (Besides the fact that it's a *VAX* of course).
    
    Inquiring minds want to know.
    

    I believe that the big difference is that ours can answer the phone.

    Deb

    re: 26
    
    ooooo, could I have some fun with that one !!  Wouldn't it be wonderful
    if 'our' VAX could vacuum!!  I'd even consider buying one.
    
    E.