One of the things that comes with having indoor pets is indoor pet hair. You’ll find it on your carpet, on your furniture, and sometimes even on your toothbrush. Sometimes it seems like a constant battle between you and your pet’s shed hair for who controls the household. Fortunately, there are a few things that we can do to reduce the amount of rampant shed hair that is around the house.

1. Get a breed that does not shed as much (or shed very little.) For cats, your options are the Cornish Rex, Sphynx, or the Devon Rex. For dogs, there are a few more options, mostly terriers.
2. Brush your pet daily. Shedding is natural to the point that if your pet does not shed, they could be sick. There is no way to avoid having pets that shed unless you get one of the breeds in item 1. Brushing your pets will help make sure the hair ends up on the brush and into the trash instead of on your sofa. If you can brush your pet outside, that’s even better. Make sure you use a good brush – my cats love the Bamboo Pet’s Furbuster.
3. Use a brush to remove the undercoat, which can account for up to 90% of shedding. Fortunately, my Furbuster effectively removes that cats’ undercoats as well, so I don’t need two brushes.
4. Give the pets a bath – if needed, use a shampoo that can help moisturize any dry skin. I haven’t the nerve to give Daisy and Hobbes actual baths, so I use grooming wipes every month or so after a good brushing.
5. Watch what they eat. A high quality diet can help insure that your pet gets the vitamins, oils and minerals needed to keep their coats healthy. Check with your vet to see if they recommend them for your pet.
6. Get a pet whose fur matches your carpet – then no one will even see the cat hair on the floor!

If you have any other tips to help reduce the amount of vacuuming you need to do, please feel free to share!

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