Smelling Like Roses to Me

Tidy Cats recently held a contest to help dispel what half of all n0n-cat owners believe is the nastiness of multi-cat homes. Consider the numbers regarding multi-cat homes: 87% of non-cat owners expect to find hair all over the furniture and floor 48% expect there are stains on the furniture and floor 49% have avoided visiting a home where they know 2 or more cats live 60% would be willing to give something up to avoid visiting these homes (Purina Tidy Cats Survey) Well, I've got to say, as a multi-cat owner, you have a point. Certainly there is hair everywhere if you don't vacuum and dust regularly. Certainly there are carpet stains, but that's why there are professional carpet cleaners in the world. Quite frankly, I have the same issues with homes that have multiple dogs, ferrets, children...all of them make messes. It's not about the animal (or child) so much as it is about the home owner's general sense of clean. I've been in a home where I watched the dog pee on the living room carpet and, no lie, it took easily 10 minutes before the homeowner noticed my look of horror and ran off to get something to clean it up with. I've been to a multiple cat apartment where the litter boxes were stored right inside the apartment door. And let me tell you, they weren't being cleaned out as often as they should be. I've been in apartments where you can smell the gerbils/hamsters/ferrets long before you see them. I've also been in homes where you wouldn't even know a pet lived there if it hadn't wandered up and sniffed your hand. My point being that cats are getting a bit of a bad rap because sometimes humans don't do the best job taking care of them. When you don't have to take the cat outside to do its business, it's sometimes easy to "forget" the litter box is there. But then again, that person probably doesn't wash dishes until there aren't any clean ones left. You get my point. I've had friends over who are allergic to cats who haven't had a symptom. I've had people over who didn't realize I had cats until one streaked past as she was leaving. I understand not wanting to visit homes you perceive will be dirty. But don't automatically avoid befriending the woman in your yoga class simply because she mentions Muffy and Princess. Most people care for their animals and their homes better than you think. The Grand Prize Winner of the Purina Tidy Cats "Search for America's Most Welcoming Home" is proof positive that smelly cat homes are the minority.