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Washing catnip toys

Published on: February 10, 2024 • By: lipaz · In Forum: Cats
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lipaz
Participant
February 10, 2024 at 10:03am
Hello! I wonder how can I wash my cat's catnip toys? Can I machine wash them woth a pet friendly detergent? Like "Seventh Generation"? I use it on her blankets.. but I wonder if I use it on her cantip toys. Some of them were exposed to mold, so I don't want to wash them with only water, and definately not throw away all of them... Thank you.
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Liz Buchanan BVSc MRCVS
Keymaster
February 10, 2024 at 10:50am
Hello - This question has foxed me.  I wonder whether, if your vet isn't sure, they can check with their lab pathologist?  Having run a rough search on the topic, I strongly suspect that the temperatures and time (at that temperature) required to guarentee the destruction of all mold spores from a catnip toy are relatively high.  This is when compared to the temperature that must not be exceeded to preserve the useful action of natural catnip or the sorts of materials used in that kind of toy.  Mould thrives on damp fabrics, so if the objects have been kept extremely dry, the mold may not have the correct conditions to grow.  However, cats have a habit of salivating on their toys / leaving them out in the rain etc and we know that your house has been damp. Leaving the toys out in the sunshine / scrubbing the surface with a stiff toothbrush may help to reduce or remove any spores, but none of this kind of step can guarentee that mold spores are absent from the toys.  The most certain way to acheive peace of mind may be to dispose of the soft materials, but your pathologist may be able to give you objective facts and figures.
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lipaz
Participant
February 10, 2024 at 12:33pm
Thank you for your answer! I used rubbing alcohol to clean the mold of the toys, of course I let them dry before she used them again. I know that rubbing alcohol kills mold for sure, I just wonder if that is enough, so I thought it might be better to wash them. Please let me kbow what you think... I live outside USA, and the vets here don't really familiar with this things...  
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lipaz
Participant
February 10, 2024 at 12:48pm
I'm not from Europe also**
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