h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You could buy a dedicated cat/dog hair remover - it's basically a roller with sticky paper wrapped round, sticky side out. However, a much cheaper alternative is to just wrap sticky tape around your hand (sticky side out) and press on to the 'hairy' area to remove the hairs. Easy, innit?

I agree with the sticky tape for small areas like clothing, but when it comes to carpets and upholstery I'm afraid the only answer is to dye the cat to match.

For cat hair on carpets and upholtery, I suggest vacuuming (canister has most maneuverability) at least twice a week (I do twice a week and have one long-haired cat). Vacuum the whole room and conduct visual searches at the same time (those dust mice are good at escape and evade). If the carpets aren't tacked down to the floor, you must also vacuum underneath the carpets (bothe the floor and the underside of the carpets. Don't forget the upholstery -- make sure to remove all the cushions and vacuum all sides of them, too. Don't just pass over the area once, it doesn't all get picked up the first time, and even if you have a black cat (like myself) the fine downy underhairs (which are the real culprits, especially for allergy/asthma sufferers) don't show up even on light coloured carpets. I find the cat hair actually forms a ball attached to the head of the vacuum cleaner and I have to pull it off and then let it pop down the tube quite often (at least every minute). If you know of any places where the animals especially like to rest, make sure you do that region at least three times. For cats, you know you've gotten it all when you no longer have hairballs forming on your vacuum head.
If your animals are smelling up the room, I've heard a cheap tip: sprinkle baking soda over the smelly surfaces; let rest for at least 15 minutes; vacuum out.
And for clothes, here are some prevention tips: keep your clothes in closed closets and drawers -- don't leave them out at all. Not for a moment. Of course, once you've gotten your clothes on, your pet will want to hug you and there go your best efforts. And my personal plea to cat owners: please don't leave a folded guest towel just lying on the bathroom counter. A guest will reach for the towel without realising the cat loves to sit on it and then end up with a hair-covered face. Not fun.

The simplest method is to remove the hair from the hairiest area of all - viz. the cat or dog.

If you don't have any sticky tape handy, I find an oxyacetylene torch is a good substitute for defolliclisation purposes.

Not only does this protect the furniture, but you also have a well smart pet sporting a David Beckham haircut.

NB Please be advised that no animals were harmed during the production of this forum posting. Well, not many. Those little yappy ones don't really count, do they?

There is a breed of cat without hair. I wonder it hasn't caught on.

No, you're thinking of the catfish.

Because it would look like a sick rat. Bluh, a cat without hair? Yuck. I'd rather vacuum all the time.

Nonsense. Our honourable Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition, the lovely Mr Hague, has no hair. And HE doesn't look like a sick -

Oh. Yeah, he does, actually.

OK, you win.

But isn't the point of having a pet so that you can stroke it.
(Please don't take this comment the wrong way)

Any way, if you take all its hair off then someone might mistake
it for sunday lunch and cook it before you can stop them.

That would be very sad- if you accidently ate your own cat! I would cry.

This forum is getting very soppy.
for more about cats visit http://www.cats.org.uk

Ever been to a really cheap Chinese restaurant??? )

Yuck.

Not as mad as it seems. My cat enjoys being vacuumed with the low power Black and Decker 'dustbuster', provided that I cover her ears so she can't hear it.

I wouldn't recommend using a Dyson, though