[athenix]

I know this is horrendously off-topic, so apologies in advance, but it's important.

Does anyone have advice for de-catting an apartment? I'm subletting an apartment with two lovely cats, who I'm cat-sitting, but I'm slightly allergic to cats. Now, ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem, as long as I keep them out of my bedroom. Unfortunately, though, the woman I'm subletting from hasn't cleaned in what must be the twenty five years she's owned the place and the dander buildup has provoked an extreme reaction - waking up violently ill after two hours of sleep because of the buildup of allergies overnight... a persistant light-headedness even when far from the place and outside.... and of course the typical symptoms. Now, as soon as I manage to get everything out of the air, I'll be fine... I grew up with a Golden Retriever and am normally perfectly fine. As long as they're not in bed with me, I can cuddle and play with them as much as I'd like. Until September 20, when Adam comes back from his job and we're able to move into our apartment (cat-less, we're both allergic but love them...), I'm stuck here.

I'm starting classes in a week and need to be able to focus on them... so has anyone had experience dealing with this? I went out and bought $20 worth of cleaning supplies, but is there anything else I can do (beyond buying an expensive air filter, which I don't have the money for...)? This woman is just disgusting in her cleaning habits, and if she had done a bit here and there, everything would be okay... but I feel as though I've walked into an overcrowded pet store!!

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated... you can e-mail me privately at athenix@msn.com. I hate to sound like a whining brat, but I just can't deal with developing asthma again, and before he leaves, Adam and I would like to spend some quality time together... (he lives with his parents, so it's not feasible otherwise) . I'd rather him not wake up dead the next morning.

Thanks :)

[saintjon]

Well, I don't know much about de-catting an apartment, but you don't need to apologize for being off-topic in the general discussion forum. I don't think that's even possible :)

[someguy]

mmmm...no direct experience there but...

Cat dander settles into the carpet and furniture, and in the air. Air filter is out, so no good. Most likely, there is a tremendous buildup of dander in the carpets and furniture.

Have you [i]thoroughly[i] vaccumed everywhere? With carpet cleaner if need be. Maybe even a full on rental steam cleaner.

Good Luck, I love cats, but fortunately am not allergic to them. Just dust, grass, and pollen....

[athenix]

Thanks for the advice so far. What I've done is kept the cats in a separate room (they hate me, but they're cats... they'll get over it) and done a heavy duty cleaning of the apartment... went so far as to use Clorox Clean-Up with Bleach in the bedroom. When I went to clean off the fan, I found years and years of cat hair stuck to the blades in covering... when I sprayed the blades with 409, then turned it on, black dust just sprayed all over the room... truly, truly disgusting.

Adam used to be worried that I wouldn't be dilligent about keeping our apartment clean, but after this, he can rest assured that he'll be coming home to a spotless place (aside from general clutter) every night! Hopefully this will help out his allergies too... we decided to take a two month break from living together full time to ensure that we're fully prepared, and he's been unable to spend the night even once since the beginning of August due to his allergies!

How on earth can some people live with such mess? I'm the queen of clutter, but don't believe in letting *dirt* accumulate. And yes, I'm very much a cat person, but a dog might be a better choice since both Adam and I are allergic to cats but not dogs.

[saintjon]

Just don't get one of those little rat dogs. I hate those damn things.

[athenix]

*shudder* oh good god, no. walking down any street in manhattan is an excercise in control when it comes to running into the little old ladies carrying their little dogs. I (or, should I say, my parents) have a Golden Retriever, and I prefer big dogs (ie. real dogs). If you ever find yourself in Central Park with a friend and bored, try playing "cat, rat, or dog"... it's quite fun.

[someguy]

mmmm...I would have wiped the fan blades clean before turning it on, but that is just me.

You have to get deep into the fabric of the place. Chlorox wont help. That kills germs and bacteria, but I believe what we are dealing with is dander, which is just dead skin. Once it dries of, you will have dead skin covered in dry bleach flying around the room. Nothing substitutes for a really good vaccuming. Steam cleaning if necessary. And dont forget the sofa and chairs (assuming they are fabric outside, and not leather or something)

Good luck!

[Pamela]

Get one of those plastic covers for the mattress ( not the most comfortable thing to sleep but will keep you from breathing the dander in the mattress)

Also, us your own comforter and pillows. Washing the one that are already there will help but may not make things perfect.

[Carmichael]

Originally posted by saintjon
Just don't get one of those little rat dogs. I hate those damn things.

But they're so much fun to play kickball with. . . . . .

The owner has NEVER cleaned up? Man, that's just wrong. I agree with the others, its going to take a whole hell of a lot of cleaning to get that out. I grew up with cats and know just how much they shed. It may take more than just one steam clean to get all the flakes out.

That's just wrong. . . .

[athenix]

I know ... fortunately Adam is the one who's deathly allergic to cats (it can/will bring on asthma in large doses), but I did a deep clean of all and the cats are shut in the other room, so I'm fine.

I'm just having a truly awful sublet. The woman had the audacity to tell me to "get rid of that bastard" when I told her (when I went to get the keys) that the reason I looked upset was that I had just found out (as had he) that Adam got a job in S.C. and would be leaving in a week until late September... bad timing since things had just proved immensely for us and we had gotten an apartment. I couldn't believe hearing those words out of her mouth. I swear, if I wouldn't be homeless if I did it, I'd walk out right now. Two answering machine messages... "hello, hello, hello... are you there? nellie, nellie, nellie, pick up the phone... <goes on for two minutes> ... i was afraid you'd leave" (am I supposed to be locked in this apartment? I can't go out for starbucks?)

LOL, I swear I'm normally not such a complaining bitch... c'mon, someone else here has gotta have a sublet or landlord from hell story to make me feel not so alone ;-)