Did you recently see a flea in your cat’s hair? Do you want to know how to clean a cat tree with fleas.
Are you now looking for a kitty-safe way to disinfect your cat’s belongings?
The first thing you should do is spray the cat tree with a flea spray Available On Amazon to kill the fleas, then there are a few more things you need to do which I will cover below.
How To Clean A Cat Tree With Fleas?
To clean a cat tree with fleas you need to brush the cat tree all over with a firm brush then vacuum the lose dirt. Then disinfect with a cleaning product and soak and rinse.
Fleas are nuisance and can be easily eradicated with flea-fatal treatment for your cats and a good scrub to all your furniture, floors and walls. Fleas thrive in little crevices and corners so make sure those are the ones thoroughly cleaned.
Can You Clean a Cat Tree?
Yes, absolutely! And it is recommended that you should regularly too. Leaving your cat tree messy can lead to allergic reactions by you and your family members (especially if your cat sheds a lot).
There are lots of ways to clean cat trees. It may depend on what your goal is. If you want to just give it a good brush and vacuum to get rid of the superficial hair, that’s great for maintenance.
If you want to deep clean and disinfect your cat tree you may need to use antibacterial products and a few more chemicals to kill all those harmful microorganisms.
If the hair is all matted and stuck to your carpets, a simple brush or vacuum won’t do. You’ll have to introduce moisture and pick the clumps out manually. It’s best to maintain the cat tree so it never reaches this stage
How Do You Disinfect a Cat Tree?
Cleaning a cat tree the traditional way sometimes just doesn’t cut it. It won’t get rid of all the bacteria and other microorganisms. Here is a step-by-step approach to deep cleaning and disinfecting your cat tree:
- Disinfect: Lots of cleaning products are available online that are combinations of hydrogen peroxide and water. Spray this solution all over the cat tree including the scratching post, hammocks, burrows etc. Leave it on for a few minutes and then wipe all the surfaces with a dry towel or tissues. Don’t let you cat climb the tree while you do this step.
- Soap and rinse: Just like you do the dishes, take some dish soap on a sponge, dip it in some water and Ruba-dub-dub! As before, cover all surfaces. Take another wet towel and wipe away all the foam and soap.
- Dry it out: Take a clean towel and dry out the entire cat tree. Some moisture may persist. If this is the case, use a hairdryer or fan. Alternatively, you can leave the tree to soak in some sunlight or next to a heater. Make sure it dries out within an hour or two so it doesn’t create another microenvironment inviting more bacteria.
What Kills Fleas on Cat Trees Instantly?
There is virtually no instant kill substances available for a flea massacre. It takes just a little bit of patience with instantly available substances at home.
In addition to the products mentioned here, you can use flea killing sprays and insecticides. Just be mindful not to use pyrethrin products as these are toxic to cats.
There are lots of quick fixes to fleas on cat furniture and your house available such as salt, baking soda, diatomaceous earth, dish soap etc. In this article we highlight our top favorites :
- Salt/baking soda: These are two of the most instantly available substances in any household. Sprinkle salt and baking soda on your carpeted cat tree. Brush it thoroughly. Both these substances are cat friendly and so can be left in for a few days after which the tree should be vacuumed. These work by dehydrating the fleas, eggs and larvae and killing them.
- Dish soap: Simply mix some dish soap and water in a bowl. Leave this bowl on a tree or near a tree in the room. This simple solution will act as a glue and attract fleas and trap them. This solution would need to be changed daily.
- Diatomaceous earth: also known as amorphous silica, does a wonderful job of dehydrating fleas. Sprinkle this powder all over the surfaces where flea activity is noticed to be most. Wait 2-3 days and vacuum. Voila! You’ll see a drastic decrease in flea activity.
In addition to this, vacuum your house thoroughly. Fleas tend to settle in crevices and corners so go over these meticulously. Discard the vacuum bag immediately as fleas that are not dead can rapidly reproduce and multiply within the bag itself.
Easiest Way to Clean a Carpeted Cat Tree
Carpeted cat trees are very popular amongst kitty parents because of their durability, affordability and versatility. It is anti-slip material and easy to climb; 2 features that are very desirable to our fur babies.
Although this is not the only available component out there, it is the most common and cleaning it is not as exhaustive a task as some may think!
Listed below is the 2-step process of cleaning a carpeted cat tree :
- Brush: Brush, brush, brush! Approach the messy tree and brush out all the hair you can see. Cover every nook and cranny, underside of the platforms, inside the hiding corners and scratching posts. Your brush may fill up with hair frequently. When this happens, take a comb and get all the hair out of the brush and repeat.
- Vaccuum: A vacuum is used to enhance the cleaning. It will suck in all the hair the brush couldn’t reach or collect. Additionally, it will also pick up any soiled litter your cat may have gotten onto the tree. As before, make sure you really get in there. Your cat may be alarmed at the noise of a vacuum cleaner which is perfectly normal.
Once you have done the above you should make sure to check the fleas have completely gone, Check out this guide I wrote about that
This is the most common way to clean a cat tree. It’s great for maintenance and will definitely leave you with a neat, mostly hair free cat tree. It is recommended that you deep clean the tree at least once a month to avoid buildup of bacteria or fungi. Happy cleaning!