A black-and-white cat looks out of a fence.

Should I Visit a Friend with Annoying Cat Hair? Cat Lovers Speak Out

We posed a question to our wonderful Petplace.com cat lovers.

QUESTION:

When I go to my friends house (she has 7 cats) – I leave with cat hair all over me – what should I do?

Most cat owner said you should Visit and deal with the hair.

We further asked for comments on why the responders felt one way or another. This is what they told us:

  1. Invite her to visit you instead.
  2. Bring a hair roller and keep it in your car to de-hair and or one of those mitts at her house, too.
  3. Multiple cat homes usually have a hair removal roller or something. Ask if you can use it as you are leaving. OR just get one yourself and keep it in your car. Your relationship with your friend should be able to withstand a bit of hair!
  4. NO outfit is complete Without a few pet hairs!
  5. buy yourself some hair removers
  6. Take a brush with you to remove the cat hair where you sit.
  7. Carry the little brush with you/ wallmart offers them for couple dollars
  8. Its up to YOU-if it bothers you SOOOO much do something about it-if its not that big a deal then say nothing and deal with it
  9. keep a lint brush in the car and use it in private after the visit
  10. Carry a lint brush or a roll of duct tape and when you leave, remove the hair, or ask your friend to meet somewhere, or to come to your place.
  11. Ask her to give you a lint brush before you leave and help brush you off – bring your own if necessary.
  12. It’s her choice to have 7 cats; your choice to be her friend; you can’t dictate how she handles her cats; buy a lint roller to use after you leave her house to pick up the hair on your clothing; also, don’t wear your best clothes to her house
  13. This was hard to answer for me. I have 12 cats but have a hair free house. Well almost hairfree lol. I clean a lot and have a very good vacumn.
  14. buy lint brushes for yourself and use them after you leave. With that many cats it is impossible to not have some hair in the house even if you clean 3 times a day.
  15. Visit with your friend elsewhere, like your place.
  16. Take something to clean yourself up after the visit.
  17. Nicely tell your friend that you have a problem with the cat hair and ask her to put a towel or blanket on the chair you are sitting on, if she’s really your friend she won’t be offended
  18. Bring a hair brush to use when leaving
  19. buy yourself a roller to remove cat hair from your clothes and make subtle comments and suggestions
  20. or rather get yourself some coveralls specifically for going there or a lint brush, etc.
  21. wear something that it doesn’t matter if it gets hairy
  22. wear clothes that don’t hold hair, and carry a sticky roll for hair for when you leave.
  23. Meet the friend at Starbucks!
  24. or visit with her outside the home. have her to your house!
  25. take a lint roller along
  26. love me-love my cat
  27. if she’s a good friend – buy a lint roller to keep in your car and use after your visit. If she’s a really really good friend then ask if you can help tidying up
  28. Buy a tape roller and get over it.
  29. Carry a roll of sticky tape with you to deal with the hair.
  30. Keep a lint brush with you and use it when you leave.
  31. Deal with it or stop going… Buy a lint roller, keep in your car, use it when you leave, or use it before you exit the door and maybe they will get the hint.
  32. wear clothes that you don’t care if they get hairy
  33. That’s why it’s called “FURniture.”
  34. close friend, deal with the hair
  35. meet at a restraunt
  36. Take a lint roller with you
  37. Meet her somewhere else–and don’t ride in her car.
  38. Buy a clothes brush and consider yourself blessed
  39. Depends on how close of a friend. Bring a lint roller when you visit. Trust me, it is a PITA to keep the hair out of my house and off guests. I try to make sure that I ask people to give me notice so I can vaccum my furniture if they are over for a long visit. Or give her slipcovers & a furminator catbrush for christmas, that way she can always take them off and wash the hair away!
  40. its her house. if you dont like the hair then invite her to your house, otherwise deal with it or get a new friend
  41. wear clothes that hair doesn’t stick to as easily
  42. mention the hair and ask her if she would like some suggestions on how to keep it under control. ex..refer her to this website.
  43. Wear old clothes and use a lint roller.
  44. If it bothers you that much, invite her out for lunch, shopping, etc. Don’t go to her house so much.
  45. I have 8 cats of my own. This is what I do for my friend out of respect for her not liking cats. Ask them to put the cats away, in a closed room, while you are there. Then make sure you sit in a non-cloth chair, cause it will not have the collected hair of a cloth one, on which one of the cats may have slept. Hope that works.
  46. wear old clothes
  47. Have her to your house.
  48. With humor, ask her for a cat free chair to sit in or wear old clothes.
  49. as a fello cat owner and I hae 2 doesnt bother me am used to it
  50. If she loves her cats, you have to decide if your love for her is strong enough to tolerate it. Wear clothes that you don’t care about when you go to visit her.
  51. I offer a lint brush to my guests when they leave or advise them where there isn’t any cat hair
  52. wear soemthing you don’t mind getting hair on
  53. she wont know that vistors are getting cat hair and it may help her realize why some people don’t visit anymore
  54. bring along a towel to sit on, don’t lean back on upholstered furnutre
  55. and have a lint roller, tape or pet hair sponge in the car to take care of the hair.
  56. The house belong to her and her cats and you are the guest. If you don’t like fur, stop visiting. Or meet her outside.
  57. wear something very casual and easy to wash.
  58. if she is a good friend, mention it to her and see if she gets the point before having to say something blunt to her. I have 3 cats, and am always sweeping and vacumming (including furniture so that this doesn’t happen to my friends/family or my own immediate family. It is a quite annoying.
  59. Wear jeans and enjoy your visit.
  60. find another place to visit each other
  61. get a sticky roller and keep it in your car!!!deal w/ it!!
  62. Carry a lint brush in your car or purse..
  63. Carry a sticky roller and clean your clothes when you leave. Your friend knows she has a cat hair problem but doesn’t care because she loves her cats. It would only insult her or hurt her feelings to buy supplies, offer to clean her home or saying something.
  64. wear vinyl
  65. Always carry a lint remover and use it when you leave.
  66. get a sticky roller and roll the fur off after you leave
  67. Wear slippery clothing, eg satin, and the fur won’t stick
  68. take along a lint roller
  69. get yourself a lint brush or stop going
  70. bring in a large (beach) towel to sit on, cleaning up hair is a consant battle with that many cats.
  71. say im allergic – what can we do?
  72. It is her house-if you don’t like it-don’t go
  73. Give it up. Your friend, the cats and the cat hair are a package deal. If you can’t deal with the fur, offer to meet your friend for coffee or dinner someplace other than her house. Perhaps invite your friend to your house!
  74. Ask if she has any roller lint brushes or suggest buying some for her.
  75. Keep a lint roller in your car
  76. Where light colored clothes, it would be best if she was thoughtful enough to clean before people came, I do, but if she isn’t it is their house, so you have to deal with it.
  77. suggest going out for coffee, or ask nicely before sitting down if you can put a towel down to avoid getting hair on your clothes.
  78. I have 10 cats and they are messy. I clean as thoroughly as I can when expecting visitors, since not everyone feels like I do about the cats. I love it when people can suggest better ways to keep the mess under control.
  79. IF YOU LOVE YOUR FRIEND, DEAL WITH IT. GET A HAIR REMOVER TO KEEP IN YOUR CAR. GET A CAT OF YOUR OWN. I HAVE 22 AND ALWAYS LOOK LIKE A HAIRBALL!!!
  80. I’m the woman with the cats — 6 of them!!
  81. That is provided she is a good friend and you are not alergic to cats
  82. Have her come to your house instead
  83. Mention that the cat hairs are all over your clothes ruining them and siggest she purchase hair removal supplies
  84. Don’t wear clothes that pick up cat hair easily – no corduroy, no short nappy stuff – and keep a sticky roller in your car for on-the-way-home cleanup…After all, she is a friend..
  85. Love your friend?, love her cats, deal with it.
  86. try and cope with the cat hair or drop a few hints on how much hair is around her house…….or else don’t go over.
  87. You know she has 7 cats, and no matter how much you clean, there is always going to be cat hair. Wear something that won’t show the hair so much.
  88. I KEEP A LINT ROLLER IN THE CAR AT ALL TIMES.
  89. Being a devout cat lover with cats of my own, people just have to deal with it if they want to see me. Remember: no outfit is complete without cat hair. I’m sure most people won’t agree with me, but that’s what people have to put up with when they come to visit me. Course I do clean the house first.
  90. Take a lint roller with you and brush it off before getting in the car. Maybe even do it in front of her and then she might realize this is a problem.
  91. suggest some good hair grooming products
  92. I have 5 cats, vacuum 3x a week and if guests can’t deal with the hair, they can stay home.
  93. bring a lint brush for when you leave
  94. Don’t wear black! Suggest you meat somewhere else. Tell her the hair is ruining your cloths.
  95. Invite her to your house.
  96. wash clothing as soon as you get home!
  97. Visit, deal with the hair and use a lint roller when you leave.
  98. invite her to your place,because the hair bothers you.
  99. never wear black while visiting or don’t visit
  100. If you like your friend be her friend. Just don’t wear your best clothes that might be ruined by cat hair. Wear something nice but washable and relax!
  101. Have her visit you in your home and explain why, especially if you are allergic.
  102. (I think that the cats live there she doesn’t)
  103. Keep a lint roller and some fabric refresher in the car to clean up after you leave.
  104. Ask her to visit with you. That way, you can enjoy your friend and not have cat hair
  105. Depends on the situation. The friend comes with cats, and even under the best of circumstances, there will always be hair. If you can deal, keep visiting. If you can’t, don’t.
  106. I always wear all washable items and plan on doing so when I go to such a home
  107. bring your OWN supplies to pick up the hair should you choose to visit, or visit elsewhere
  108. tell her you have allergies, ask if she minds if you sit on a towel or sheet when you sit on her furniture, b/c contact with the hair really aggravates your allergies
  109. wear old clothing
  110. Wear cat friendly clothes
  111. Bring a lint/hair remover with you. When you leave the house, use it.
  112. 2 choices – either don’t go to her house to get together…meet somewhere OR visit and take a lint brush to use after leaving the house.
  113. Let them know you leave with little fluffies all over you. But be prepared also by wearing only washable clothes.
  114. Suggest the friend move to a farm
  115. Carry a pet hair roller and use it in your car.
  116. buy a brush that remove hair from clothes – wear things that aren’t as apt to pick up hair.
  117. just buy hairnpick up stuff and when you are leaving start puting it on.
  118. Buy a brush to pick up the hair on your clothing and stop complaining about the little things.
  119. With cats you always get a ton of hair – I’m a cat owner and always offer to put a clean sheet or towel down to protect the visitors clothing.
  120. Invite your friend to your house…problem solved
  121. wear clothes that are less likely to attract hair and visit when you are agreeable to leaving being covered
  122. If you’ve visited before, you know you’re gonna get hair all over you. Take a brush along with you. If you know your friend that well, she/he will understand what you are doing, and you can just mention, that you have a small allergy (lil white lie) to cat hair, that’s why you’re brusing it off.
  123. Have the visits at your house and explain why to your friend nicely
  124. i kinda hard to keep it all cleaned up maybe bring a sheet or blanket to sit on
  125. Buy supplies for yourself to clean the hair off after you leave. Sometimes no matter how well you clean, there will always be cat hair.
  126. If that doesn’t work meet at your friends house
  127. It is her house…apparently she is comfortable with it.
  128. Bring a roller with adhesive to get the hair off. Not worth losing a friend for a few hairs
  129. Buy a lint brush/roller and use it
  130. suggest certain supplies
  131. Spray your clothing with static guard
  132. BRING A LINT ROLLER!
  133. bring along a dehair roller, wear old clothes or try to bring it up tactfully
  134. depends upon relationship with friend. maybe throw on old tee-shirt over clothes, ask for towel or sheet to sit on. Tell friend can’t get cat hair on clothes, hard to get off.
  135. she should really know – this is very inconvenient – and I’m the one with the hairy cats!
  136. The hostess should provide sticky rollers in the rest room. Perhaps a chair could be covered nicely and the cover removed when guests arrive.
  137. I have 3 cats; they leave hair wherever the lay. I have purchased those little cotton blankets used for wrapping babies, and place them on the chairs, etc. and then when company comes over I remove them, or place clean ones down. What can I say, I’m a cat lover, love me and my cats, or deal with it. I try to make my company comfortable, but sometimes can’t always.
  138. It’s not really anyone’s place to tell someone else how to live in their own home, unless it is a health violation. Just take a few lint brushes/rollers with you when you go or bring a big loose t-shirt with you to throw on when you get there over your clothes and take it off after you leave.
  139. Bring a sheet with you to drape the sofa, chair (or bed) you will be sitting on, and bring a pet-hair roller.
  140. Invite her to your house instead
  141. Tell her your allergies are acting up and it must be the cat dander. Suggest to meet her in a restaurant.
  142. visit your friend with a lint roller in hand
  143. Wear clothes that don’t attract hair as animals will shed not matter how clean your house is and how well groomed your pet is
  144. Don’t wear black when you visit her!
  145. Cats have hair. Its impossible to keep it contained 100% all of the time.
  146. Have you ever heard of lint brushes. That’s what they are used for. The hair won’t hurt you.
  147. bring a lint roller with you, i always have one in the car
  148. Invite her to your house.
  149. If she’s OK withthe hair in her home, you would be overstepping your boundaries by commenting. However, if she apologizes or wonders how to handle, then you could make suggestions.
  150. Buy a lint roller and clean yourself afterwards.
  151. Meet her some place else. A restaurant, movie, etc.
  152. Arrange for visits away from her house – meet for drinks or dinner
  153. Don’t wear dark clothing.
  154. Love me, love my cats….and their hair
  155. Ask her to visit you
  156. Cat hair is inevitable and very difficult to keep under control…if you care about your friend you will just live with it and get yourself a lint pickup tool.
  157. Cat hair is a constant at our house and if someone offered additional supplies, I would be grateful.
  158. Depending on how close a friend and how much you want to help, you could offer to help with cleaning and then give her information on the best ways to help mitigate the cats’ hair shedding – for everyone’s comfort. Also wear your oldest clothes when you visit – those that you wouldn’t mind getting cat hair on!
  159. Wear older clothes and throw them in the wash when you get home.
  160. Ask her if she has a sheet you can put over the chair when you come to keep the cat hair off.