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Discussion Forum

Cat puke in the cracks

etherhuffer | Posted in General Discussion on July 28, 2004 01:46am

Nice grabby title, eh?  I plan on laying some prefinished bamboo flooring, but I fear the the feline barfers in my house. How could cat puke NOT go into the cracks? I think a coat or two of finish over the final job would seal the cracks. Man can they toss a load of dinner………..? Any comments on barf in prefinished floors?

Reply

Replies

  1. Jeff | Jul 28, 2004 01:53am | #1

    Barf happens.

  2. FastEddie1 | Jul 28, 2004 02:57am | #2

    Eliminate the source ... get rid of the cats.

    Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!"  Then get busy and find out how to do it.  T. Roosevelt

    1. calvin | Jul 28, 2004 03:01am | #3

      I would think it necessary to contact the manufacturer and find out the coating proceedure.  You would want to top coat w/a compatible product.

      The bamboo nail down goes pretty tight together and I haven't seen it "move" as much as oak and maple.  You might be wasting your time.

      Course this from a guy with tile in the whole downstairs.  Puke.........no big deal.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

      Quittin' Time

    2. calvin | Jul 28, 2004 03:04am | #4

      sorry ed, trying to watch a ballgame and read this stuff.  I meant to send it to the original poster. 

      It's a slugfest.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

      Quittin' Time

  3. UncleDunc | Jul 28, 2004 03:41am | #5

    I was going to say, don't worry about it. Mop it up, sprinkle a little baking soda on it, let it dry and sweep it up. Then I remembered, IIRC, you live in the Pacific northwet (no, that's not misspelled), where the air is dang near as wet as the water and nothing ever dries.

    So I'd have to concur with one of the earlier responses, arrange a fatal accident for the cat.

  4. AdamB | Jul 29, 2004 10:13pm | #6

    Prefinished floors have cracks.  The crack is really a bevel between the two floor boards so that you have a harder time seeing the difference in height between them.

    Sand in place Bamboo is just like sand in place oak.  Laid tight together, sanded down, there is no need for that groove / bevel / crack.  also with a sand in place you can put a multi level finish down and not worry about cracks or cat barf leaking into them.

    Adam

  5. User avater
    RichColumbus | Jul 29, 2004 10:21pm | #7

    First choice... get rid of the cats :)

    Second choice... most flooring manufacturers will begrudgingly tell you what will top coat their finish (or maybe even sell it to you).  Be aware, however, that top-coating will probably void any warranty that they offer.  Two coats should do the trick.

  6. splintergroupie | Jul 30, 2004 12:17am | #8

    My Manx X cat Bob(RIP)was a dedicated serial barfer, but the problem was cured by a special food made by *Hill's Science Diet for Sensitive Stomachs*. It's not cheap, but if you offset the cost with foregoing the delights of clean-up...worth it to me!

    1. JonE | Jul 30, 2004 01:51am | #9

      Yeah my feline hairball hurls on whatever surface he happens to be on at the time - living room (laminate floor) bathroom (tile) or shop (concrete). Also has yakked on the oldest son's bed once.  Clean it up while it's fresh (!) and disinfect w/ something, scrape out the cracks with a sharp blade or something, toothpick, maybe.  Wife said that the instant he lets go on a piece of furniture, he becomes an outdoor cat, permanently. As he is terrified of the outdoors, this is a good threat.

      1. User avater
        CapnMac | Jul 30, 2004 06:36pm | #14

        Saw this in a paper years ago:  put a dab of mayo (not miracle whip) on the cat's paw.  The oils help in processing the fur in the correct direction (as opposed to reversing on the floor).  Won't help if the cat has a nervous stomach, or a sensitive digestion, or is startled soon after eating (or is just perverse, as some cats are . . . )Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

        1. UncleDunc | Jul 30, 2004 08:39pm | #15

          Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just put a dab of mayo on the cat's food?

        2. JonE | Jul 30, 2004 10:15pm | #16

          Understand about the mayo bit, how the cat gets the oils in him is irrelevant.  I would like to feed him some tuna in oil occasionally, but my local supermarkets don't carry tuna in oil anymore (a side effect of the health and diet craze in this country).  We've tried many different cat foods, dry, wet, hairball control, diet, nothing seems to stop him from barfing up hairballs. 

          Maybe a complete shave.  He's half Maine Coon Cat and long haired to boot.  Too much oil or fat in his diet, he's an indoor cat and already 13 pounds, he'd double that if we let him.

          He loves buttered popcorn.  Maybe if we add extra butter.....

          1. User avater
            CapnMac | Jul 31, 2004 12:01am | #17

            Maybe if we add extra butter

            It's been a gazillion years, but, I think it had to do with the emulsification, which "bound' the hair a bit better (and the egg protein 'encouraging' more rapid digestion).

            I could be wrong, it's been long ago since I read the article, which, IIRC was offered mayo as a preferable to cat over vaseline or the like.  Worked on my old (now late) long-haired American Bi-color.  Truth be told, his urping a hairball was more related to whether or not he ate a whole sparrow on a full stomach or not . . .

            Dunc, don't know if mayo on chow works.  My memory of the article was to but the mayo where the cat was grooming anyway.  My manx does not like mayo at all (perverse cat).  There's only two 'people' foods that he wants:  black-eyed peas and deviled ham.  He's drill seargent cat too; dry food, hard floor--none of that sissy, girlie-cat sleeping on pillows.  Nope, thin rug on wood floor, and then only halfway.  I swear he's only one opposable thumb away from enlisting in the Marines.

            Good cat, though.  Good thing too, at 19 pounds 4 ounces, just shy of 4 fands ad the shoulder, about 24" long & with a standing vertical leap of around 30" he could be a terror . . . Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

    2. etherhuffer | Jul 30, 2004 01:52am | #10

      Youse guys are really funny! My wife has vetoed any violence to poor Miles and Zzyxx, both of whom are probably retching up hairballs as we speak.

       

      Every floor company touts its edge bevel as better than the next guy. I really don't care that much. The company we found sells the flooring prefinished and sells the urethane product with thier own label. No warranty issues. The sealing coat will also be used in the kitchen on the same product. I am just afraid that the evil felines will simply find new methods of destruction. They always do!

      1. AJinNZ | Jul 30, 2004 06:42am | #11

        One simple solution......feed cat, put outside immediately to barf to its hearts content out there, then let it back in.

        I have a serial whizzer. Doesnt like going out the cat door past the dogs, so straight after breakfast "Dirty Dave" or "Dave the Armhole" goes outside for the day. Comes in at night for food and sleep.......till morning, then bye bye. Sooo much easier. 

        Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.

        DW

  7. blues_hound | Jul 30, 2004 03:54pm | #12

    Cinder block...

    Burlap sack...

    A river...

    Cats....

    Nuff Said!!!

    man found sitting on toilet is said to be high on pot!
    1. zbalk | Jul 30, 2004 04:18pm | #13

      blues hound, I'm not a PC kind of guy and would defend anybody's right to sqush a cockroach and splat a fly, but yours is really a nasty, chilly suggestion. Hope you're never locked in a room with cats that read these forums. zbalk

      1. blues_hound | Aug 02, 2004 06:12am | #18

        Twas just a joke heard of it being done on a farm before though!

        I personally could never do it.man found sitting on toilet is said to be high on pot!

        1. etherhuffer | Aug 03, 2004 10:03pm | #19

          Oh Lord. The product in question in Petromalt, a combination of mineral oil and maltose. This greases up the GI tract and large greasy hairballs get fired right out! WARNING! My wife gave old Zzyxx a big goober of this on the back of his paw. Lick it off? NO! He flung it off on the wall and rubbed off the remainder on the the paint too! Then licked it off the wall! AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!  Then this AM the wife hit her grape juice and got the carpet, the tablecloth, the chair and clothes. (missed the cat)  See why our remodel is leaning to hardwood floors?  I may even have to consider stainless floors with a drain in the center of the room!

          1. Wylcoyote | Aug 03, 2004 11:37pm | #20

            I'm thinking you could market your special cat puke floor crack filler as the latest "green" building product.....

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