By Team WellJoy
Cats and dogs are creatures of routine. They absolutely love pattern and predictability, and that includes in their homes.
Scent and spatial memory is how they navigate the world, and if their favorite armchair is suddenly on the other side of the room, or the familiar smell of the house seems different, it can cause stress.
It doesn’t mean the annual spring clean is off the calendar, but it does mean a bit of extra planning for the dedicated Pet Loyalist.
Can my pet be in the house while I do the big spring clean?
This depends on just how big a spring clean you’re planning. If it’s a quick spritz of the surfaces and a vacuum, then it likely won’t cause problems for confident pets.
If you’re truly planning to go all out – and we’re talking hours of rearranging furniture, loud equipment and lots of cleaning products – then it might feel overwhelming. Pet Loyalists will know their cat or dog best, but depending on their personality, you might want to set up a calm, quiet room for them for the day.
If you know they’re particularly unsettled by changes in routine and loud noises – or you have people coming in and out – it might be better to ask a trusted friend, family member or daycare to look after them.
For pets that are prone to stress or worry, start your supplementation with WellJoy Calming+ for cats and for dogs a couple of weeks in advance. Its vet-formulated Dual-Benefit blend is designed to promote a peaceful pet household and, like all WellJoy supplements, contains the GutBoost™ biotic blend to help key ingredients work at their best, to deliver top-to-tail wellbeing.
How bothered could my pet possibly be?
If you have a very confident cat or dog, they might be curious about what’s going on. However it’s a good idea to keep an eye on behavior because moving scent markers by washing bedding or rearranging furniture can be destabilizing – particularly for cats.
Your pet will let you know if they’re feeling unhappy by pacing, clinging, vocalizing or hiding. Watch for lip licking, yawning or a lack of interest in food as signs of anxiety.
What if I’m mid-spring clean, and they’re unhappy?
If you’ve already started mopping and scrubbing and making ‘keep’ and ‘throw’ piles of clothes, and your pet’s feeling distressed, then you might want to scale back your plans.
At the least you can make the experience less unsettling by pausing noisy tools, putting familiar items back into their original place, and ensuring your pet has a safe space to retreat to. You can help calm your pet by engaging them in a round of gentle play, putting together a food puzzle, or taking a moment for you both to enjoy some quiet time together.
For the most sensitive souls, consider breaking a big clean up into several smaller tasks that you do over a few days. Pets find gradual change easier to process than a sudden transformation.
Do I need pet-safe cleaning products?
There’s a few factors to bear in mind here: pets spend a lot of time close to the floor, they groom constantly, and they have extremely sensitive noses. That means surfaces should always be fully dried before you let your pets back into the space.
As an important note, there are some ingredients to be especially careful with:
- Phenols: Often found in disinfectants and particularly dangerous for cats.
- Essential oils: Tea tree, eucalyptus, clove and citrus oils are often in high concentrations – and these are especially dangerous for cats.
- Bleach: If you have to use, ensure it’s diluted and allowed to dry fully.
- Ammonia: Not only does it mimic the scent of urine – which might encourage your pet to mark – its strong odor can also irritate the respiratory system.
- Strong artificial fragrances: If something smells strong to you, imagine how it feels for your pet.
Consider replacing these ingredients with diluted white vinegar for certain surfaces, properly diluted hydrogen peroxide, fragrance-free cleaners that are labeled for pets, and a steam cleaner.
What about cleaning my pet’s things?
Being a Pet Loyalist, admittedly, involves a lot of regular cleaning. Food bowls and water bowls? Every day. Toys? Every one to two weeks. Bedding? Every two to four weeks.
Cleaning bedding can be particularly confusing to your pet. To you, that distinctive, musty, lived-in smell is a sign to dump everything in the washing machine. However, as far as your pet’s concerned that bedding or blanket has been perfectly curated with months of carefully layered scent information that you’ve just heartlessly removed.
Washing your pet’s bedding removes familiarity, so if you notice them behaving differently that’s a normal reaction. You can ease this transition by making sure one small blanket remains unwashed, or that bedding is rotated so something always feels (and smells!) familiar. Even returning the bed to its original location can help.
So, get prepared with WellJoy supplements (with plenty of time to spare), pay close attention to how your pet is feeling, and investigate some cat- and dog-friendly cleaning swaps. A few small changes mean you can get the satisfaction of your annual spring clean, while keeping your pet feeling calm, safe and comfortable.
We’re proud to say that all of WellJoy’s content is fact-checked and verified by a Pet Loyalist team, including a veterinarian trained in companion animal nutrition and a PhD board-certified companion animal nutritionist.