10 Pet Hygiene Tips To Follow

Having a pet at home brings lots of joy to the family. Nevertheless, pet could also make a mess to your home with their fur shedding, food crumbles and excretions.

It is a challenge to keep your home clean when you have a pet. However, being diligent about pet-related hygiene chores is critical for keeping our fur baby and ourselves healthy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 6 out of 10 infectious diseases are zoonotic, meaning that they pass from animals to humans.

Keeping these diseases from surfacing is often a matter of practicing good and simple hygiene. The following are essential pet-related housekeeping chores that you should be doing on a regular basis. Do them not only to keep your space looking and smelling great, but also to ensure the health of your loved ones—both furry and human.

·       Always wash your hands after contact with your pet, especially before you handle or consume food, or before you come in contact with your human baby or young children

 ·       Clean your cat’s little box every single day. A filthy little box is a fertile ground for a number of germs, including a single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, which can cause toxoplasmosis, a disease that may result in flu-like symptoms and cause birth defects in newborns of pregnant women who have been infected

 ·       Wash Your Pet’s Bedding regularly. Besides being a magnet for collecting fur, dirt, and grime, bedding can also harbor flea eggs and larvae, ticks, and other skin parasites.

 ·       Store Pet Food Properly. Dry food should be stored in airtight container. Wet food should be refrigerated to prevent growth of microorganism (This also applies to wet canned food that has been opened)

 ·       Clean food and water dishes. When pets eat and drink from their dishes, their saliva may transmit bacteria. If not cleaned properly, the bacteria could grow and cause illness in pets, as well as for children who play with the bowls. 

 ·       Be diligent about flea and tick prevention. Keeping fleas at bay reduces the chance of you developing a disease like bunonic plague, which is often the result of infected flea bites. A good flea and tick regimen can also prevent the spread of Bartonellosis, a disease popularly referred to as cat-scratch fever. Pet parents can also wash their dog’s paws with mild dish soap or baby wipes when they come in from a walk or outdoor playtime. This helps to avoid trekking in bacteria and parasites, while protecting your dog from allergens and parasites at the same time.

 ·       Vacuum pet hair from furniture and floor. If you suffer with allergies or asthma (and even if you don’t), regular vacuuming is a must to maintain good hygienic condition of your home, especially if you live with pets.

 ·       Wash and replace pet toys regularly. Pet toys can be cleaned with hot soapy water and disinfected with a mild bleach solution. Remember to rinse thoroughly.

 ·       Clean Your Outdoor Space of dog waste, especially if children play in that area. Remember to wear gloves, and use a poop-removing tool or earth-friendly dog waste bags to avoid contact with faeces. 

·       Use the right types of cleaners. Some household cleaning products such as drain cleaners, concentrated dishwasher detergent, concentrated toilet cleaners are poisonous to pets. Use natural cleaners that are mild and approved for pet use, alternatively regular soap and water will typically be adequate.