How To Clean A Cat Tree? Easy step by step guide.

There are many advantages of having a cat tree for your lovely feline. Most importantly, your cat or kitten will have a special place for it to play freely. So you won’t have to worry anymore about your cat scratching on your favorite couch, stealing your socks, or messing with toilet paper.

But like everything else, you will need to clean your tower when it gets dirty or smelly. But how to clean it properly is the big question here.

The cleaning process depends on how dirty the cat tree is. Let's take a look at several cleaning methods we recommend.

Removing Cat Hair From the Cat Tree

Depending on your cat's breed and how much hair it sheds, there could be a lot of cat hair left on the tree.

It is relatively easy to remove the hair, and should not take you more than an hour. Usually there is no need to reassemble the tree. 

To clean the hair you'll need:

  • Scrub Brush
  • Vacuum
  • Comb (recommended)

First, take the scrub brush and start brushing all of the carpeted area on the cat tree. Start from top to bottom. Once the scrub brush gets tangled and full with pet hair, then you can remove it with your hands or use a comb.

Continue with the scrub brush until you've cleaned the whole cat tree. Then it's time to vacuum it. Make sure you vacuum all the areas of the cat tree, including any corners and hard to reach places. 

Using a vacuum is the best way to clean a cat tree, since it will deep clean the carpet surface from any hairs or litter. 

More useful tips:

  • Make sure you clean the cat tree  every two weeks, so the hairs don't build it.
  • You can use a lint roller for a quick cleaning. However, it won't deep clean the carpet. Simply roll the lint over the carpet surface, and then throw away the dirty sheet when you're finished.
how to clean a cat tree

Removing Stains from Cat Trees

It may happen occasionally, that your cat has an accident on the cat tree. If there are some stains from urine or throw ups for example, these will need more effort to clean. 

In this case you'll need:

  • Vacuum with attachments
  • Cat Urine Remover Spray or Enzymatic Cleaner
  • Paper towels
  • Rubber gloves
  • Water 
  • Bucket
  • Sponge or cloth

Take the pieces apart

Taking your cat tree completely apart should be done once or twice a year, or if the stains and odors have built up and need to be cleaned thoroughly. 

The first thing you want to do is to remove the condo piece by piece as best as possible. After removing them, separate and arrange each piece so you can clean them easier and avoid losing components in the cleaning process.

Cleaning a furniture that is completely assembled makes it hard to reach the corners and nooks.

Clean the exteriors 

Use a specific tool or a brush and sweep all the dirt and exteriors out of the condo. Then use a hand vacuum and remove other impurities.

You should start with the surface and focus on the fibers where dirt settles in then move inside your cat mansion. Make sure you don’t forget to clean the corners because this is the places that are dirtiest.

Remove the odors

If the odor is not strong, you could remove it with a cat urine remover spray or just place your tower outside to ventilate. But if the bad odor is strong and looks like it won’t go away easily, you’ll need a more advanced method.

Rocco & Roxie Professional Strength Stain & Odor Eliminator - Enzyme-Powered Pet Odor & Stain Remover for Cats Urine

One very powerful pet odor and stain remover, which is enzyme-powered is the Rocco & Roxie Professional Strength Stain & Odor Eliminator

It's works on any kind of cat stains and residue, and can be used on any type of surface: carpets, floors, furniture, and others. So you can keep at home and be ready for any cat accidents in the future.

Step 1: Spray your entire cat tree with enzymatic cleaner. This will break down the stains, and make them easier to remove. 

Step 2: After 5-10 minutes, wide down the cat tree with paper towels. If there is a lot of dirt on the paper towels, then the cat tree must have been more dirty than expected.

Step 3: Mix some cleaning soap and water together, and dip your scrubbing sponge (or cloth) inside. Then run down the entire condo with the wet scrubbing sponge, to loosen any dirt and stains. 

Use Baking Soda: This is another way to remove odors, just sprinkle some baking soda all over your condo. Leave it one night, so it can absorb all the odors then clean your tower with a hand vacuum.

If you recently purchased a cat condo, and it has an unpleasant chemical smell, check out my blog post on how to remove chemical smell from the cat condo

Reassemble the parts

When the cleaning is done, reassemble all the pieces just like how you remove it in the first place. Carefully check to see if your mansion is sturdy and safe to use again. 

How To Clean a Used Cat Tree

If you have bought a used cat tree or a friend of yours gave you one, make sure you first examine in what condition it is and if it's safe to use. 

Check the different parts of cat tree, condo, perches, hammocks, etc, and see if you'll find any hairs and stains. Depending on the condition, you might need to just vacuum and scrub it with a brush, or you'll need a more deep cleaning with an enzyme cleaner. 

Follow the same steps outlined in this article, so it will look like new again, and your cat can use and enjoy it's new cat furniture. 

More Tips on How To Clean a Cat Tree

  • Use non-toxic and pet safe cleaning detergents. There is a wide variety of cleaning detergents on the market, which are specifically made to tackle different cat accidents (urine, throw ups, poop, etc.).
  • If your cat is sensitive to smells, make sure you use a non-scented cleaning detergent. Otherwise your cat might not want to use the cat tree once it's been cleaned.
  • Taking part and disassembling your cat condo can be done once or twice a year, so you can clean and reach all the corners and hard to reach areas.

Also Read:

How to Make a Cat Tree

Best Cat Tree for Large Cats

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