This should be very interesting!

[gometros]

I can see the next CSI spin-off:

CSI: Walt Disney World

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by inkkognito
Sure enough, I discovered that those wicked beasts have been using the bedroom closet as an outhouse!!

Well, I'm not sure if I am returning to the original topic or straying further from it because I have a cat question.

We had a very similar situation involving our couches and several carpet spots with our one kitty that we just had to put to sleep 3 weeks ago. To make a very long story short, we tried for months to stop her from this behavior with many vet consultations and were not able to stop her from repeating the behavior. I'm just curious as to how you intend to handle this with your kitties?And, NO, this was not the reason we had to put her to sleep {although it was getting pretty aggravating}

 

[Scratch42]

It all started when the manufacturer changed the formulation of the kitty litter he was used to! Then he stopped when I found a litter he liked. But now, if we go away, he torments me by going on the couch! Thank goodness he doesn't do it when the cat sitter comes 'cause I would lose her for sure!LOL

I had asked at the Pet Store, WHY?, they said, he is upset with me and knows this upsets me, so he does it! Sometimes he just pretends so as to sorta play with me!

Thank goodness the couch is pleather!LOL

I just thought of something, I'll be getting a surprise next Tuesday!LOL

And Barb, do you really want to know?

Scratch

 

[Empire Day]

I guess now we can look for "Hidden Mickey Stains".


__________________

Thats just too funny!!!!! or sick, I'm not to sure!!!!!

I want one of those but I don't think I really want to know!

 

[inkkognito]

I checked the light in a "control environment" (our loft, where nothing goes on that would cause organic stains, or at least not that I know of!). It definitely seems to be reliable. But even if it turns up "evidence," I'm not going to be too worried about it. Nothing short of flood or fire could drive me out of stateroom 5650! I know how thoroughly we cleaned Muse's vomit, and it still shows up, so I'm going to figure in a liberal margin of error.
Nope, Toonces doesn't drive us around...we used to let him, but he always drove our car off the cliff
As for handling kitty potty problems, with Stitch and the bird cage, I put aluminum foil all over there. They don't like the feel of it on their feet. That worked with Muse when she was a kitten, too, and had chosen a spot in my old apartment. Also, putting a litter box in the favored area and slowly moving it can help (and of course being obsessive/compulsive about keeping the cat box clean...when she was young, Muse refused to use it if it did not meet her standards. She let me know, too...she'd wait till I was watching her and then pee right next to it! I used to be more negligent of the box in my young & carefree days, but she taught me to keep it clean).
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Fay Ray]

Barb,

Just to let people know what the heck we're talking about.....
"Toonces the driving cat" was a recurring skit on Saturday Night Live back in the, I'm guessing, late 80's or early 90's. I remember that Phil Hartman (God bless his soul!) and Victoria Jackson were often in it. Toonces would take them for drives and then he would drive off the cliff. I know it sounds crazy but for whatever reason, it always made me laugh hysterically!!!

 

[Cruzin1st]

I was "enlightened" on the Oprah show a few years ago. Nothing has changed, I'm sure, concerning stains in the rooms, and how clean things really are in the rooms. My cousin's husband was general manager for very nice hotels for many years, and he said most hotels change the bedspreads once a year. And I know when we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge a few years ago, the bedspread was not newly laundered. On this cruise, I will request that.
I take a can of lysol with me anytime we travel and spray the room, carpeting, sofas, and chairs heavily with it. I also swipe the bathroom fixtures with antibacterial wipes, just for SOME peace of mind. There is a new spray out now called OUST that is supposed to disinfect the air, too.

 

[cathyrob]

For all those interested, you don't have to spend $14 on an ultraviolet light, just go to any major home store and pay $2.99 for a regular black-light light bulb. It does the same exact thing!!!!

 

[tezb]

I too regret reading this thread...If I saw all the hidden spots I know I wouldn't want to stay there and I would be very edgy just being in the room. Some rooms we've stayed in have had spots/stains visible to the human eye so I can't imagine what you would see w/ a special light!

The same goes for movie theater seats. They say never wear shorts to the movies because fecal matter and urine have been found on the seats from people not washing their hands after using the bathroom. I think of this now whenever we go to the movies....which is really not that often anyway.

I wonder though, just because a spot is there, doesn't mean it's a dirty spot. If you cleaned the cat's vomit very well then it's probably just a clean spot...if there is such a thing, like a chemical spot or something from the cleaner...we just can't see it.

 

[disneyholic family]

i'll add a eeeeewwwwww to that..
the only thing i ever worried about in movie theatres was head lice.....fecal matter never crossed my mind....
actually, remembering a recent newspaper story, you can add fecal matter and urine to what you worry about on your airline seats....
maybe we should all just stay home....

 

[keith & co.]

Hey,
Just wanted to give yall a little FYI..........

During my 5th year of teaching we had some "ISSUES" come up in several of our spec. ed class rooms ( not mine! I am the lysol queen!) concerning the students and the care it took to keep them at school all day... ie. diapering, tube feeding, mouthing toys and anything else the students could get their hands on!

The districts answer was to bring in a sanitation expert from a local hospital...... And yep.... he brought the black light! What we learned was that A LOT of things leave a 'MARK" that will show up under a black light. There were specific darker shades that indicated a germ or health risk. But basically he told us that unless an area was ... Sorry for the graphics.... Crusty or wet or seeping(Mushy) it was not much of a concern unless you actually try to orally digest it. The toys he had gathered from some of our classes just turned all shades of color!! Sprayed with lysol and allowed to dry... and the colors faded to the safe range. He brought hospital washed linens and showed how even after their hot water and bleach wash there were still "marks".

Now the funny part of this day was when he sent us on a scavenger hunt of the school the inservice was being held at.......
EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You would not believe the things we found!! But when he went back and tested with his handy dandy swab kit... not a single spot was a health risk! The moral of his story was this... Unless you can scrape it off with your finger nail, it is just a "mark" and don't eat things that are not on your plate!

He did go on to tell us that 80% of all germs are spread through the air and another 15% through hand contact. Wash your hands, but there is really very little to be done about the breathing issue...... I personally spray our room with lysol when we enter -- and let it dry! And I will also probably bring the Oust this trip. I hope to never see another black light vision again... And I will never bring one to my house.. I'm afraid I would just feel the need to move! HAHA

Sorry if I got "Teachery", but I thought this info might make some of you feel a bit more comfy in your cabins.

So, on DCL ..... Don't suck the bedspreads, or chew on your shower curtain. Avoid licking your door handels and we should all be fine!!

Barbara

 

[mmouse37]

Speaking of licking door handles, this is a little different, but....when our son was about 3 we took him on his first sub-way ride in NYC. We were visting the WTC and took the train in. Well he would not let me hold him so he was standing in front of us holding the grab pole. I turn away for an instant and look back AND HE IS LICKING THE POLE!! YUCKKKKK!!!!! Now this is a pole that hundreds of people of questionable nature touch every day. I almost died....I thought he was going to come down with every known disease in the world. He is now a healthy, strapping 18 year old and gets grossed out when I tell him the story!!!

MJ

 

[inkkognito]

That pole story reminded me of my brother. My mother always told the story about how, when he was little, he had a strange habit of licking fences! Eventually he got trench mouth (whatever that is) and it cured him.
Licking fences....ick!!!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[SMDent]

Then DON'T go to some second world (Mexico,Korea, India, Turkey, Brazil Panama) or third world (Most of Africa, Central America) resorts.

We North Americans (USA and Canada) are perhaps the CLEANEST people on the planet. Even Western Europe pales in comparison.

That might be why we do have so many auto-immune problems.

Any-who, washing your hands with soap (water temp. unimportant) for a complete verse of "Happy Birthday" is enough to keep the vast majority of germs and such away.

Something like, 60% of the people born since 1960 do not wash their hands after going to the bathroom on a regular basis. It is worse for those born since 1970. (This was from a hospital-med school study; I'm looking for my original source -- SD)

It is the most important step in prevention. Second is keeping hands away from your face and keeping any open cuts or sores covered.

Also, contrary to all those "safety at home" and "Cost Cutter" advice -- Keep your home water heater above 150 degrees.

HOT water, hot enough to kill bacteria in/on clothing and bedding most be over 140 degrees, and BLEACH alternatives do not kill bacteria. (Nor does bleach in hot water either, but most folks use it for making white cottons, white)

Now a pre-soak in cold water with bleach will start killing germs and such, but you have to change the water to HOT for the wash cycle.

If you wash sheets, bed linens, and underwear in cold or warm water -- well........

Your Mom, Grandma (or Great-Grandma) was right, wash whites in HOT water (with Bleach for whitening) and dry in the sunshine. (UV light kills many bacteria and germs not killed in the wash process.)

Note: Borax based laundry products don't kill the germs and such, it only treats for smell.

Martha Stewart, I am not, but my family is not as getting as sick as they used to either.

 

[Makaroni5]

Hey Barb, thanks for the info, I feel much better already. I will bring my Lysol along and Oust too. I was thinking about this in bed last night and again when I woke up this morning. The thought of all that germ stuff is sickening. But I have read recently that people who are not exposed to any germs at all do get sick more often as they have no immunity to them, so we do need a little germs in our life to fight off the big ones.
That being said, I have no intention of getting my mouth close enough to the bedspread that I might accidently lick it, or am I planning on being hungry enough to be sucking on the shower curtain. I've NEVER been that hungry, believe me. haha

I am going to take some precautions with sprays and use what common sense I can muster up, but I'm not going to dwell on the "germs" or I'll go totally bonkers.

Thanks for the tips again and let's all have a wonderful, happy, almost-germ-free cruise. ONLY 3 WKS. FROM TODAY, WE ARE SO PSYCHED!!! Bon Voyage and Bon Appetit!

 

[SMDent]

He brought hospital washed linens and showed how even after their hot water and bleach wash there were still "marks".

keith & co.

That might be from not drying in UV light. I had to take a sanitation class a few years back, and that was where I found out most of this stuff. And it works!!

He did go on to tell us that 80% of all germs are spread through the air and another 15% through hand contact.

keith & co.

If you have someone with a deficient or compromised immune system this is a MAJOR issue. I won't go to filters -- I am changing mine at home every other month (we have a Lab-Pointer mix that SHEDS!)

I think that's why "SARS" is getting all the attention, since it seems to be spread by microscopic droplets that are inhaled, not person to person contact.

I look at all this in one regard -- humans survived all this time with more filth than hidden or faded bedspread stains.

Reminder again: No chewing knobs or sucking on sheets! Thanks "keith & co."

trench mouth

inkkognito

"Trench mouth", like "Trench foot," is a fungus infection. Unlike "foot in mouth,"

 

[tezb]

This is why babies & toddlers get sick a lot...because their immune system is weak since they haven't been exposed before. While it's hard on the parents, it is good for the child to get these illnesses to build up their immune system.

It is true, how did we manage to live in the 60's and 70's as kids. No one talked about germs back then nor did they have antibacterial soaps, etc. Makes you wonder.

BTW, I was born in 1960 and I am someone who does wash my hands often.

 

[Jeanne434]

One time when DD was about 3 we took her to local diner type place. She is suddenly chewing gum- says he found it under the table- "want me to get you a piece Mommy?" EWWWW She ate her lunch- I couldn't after that! But she lived thru it and laffs at the tale now! Still makes me shudder tho! I am NOT going to worry about germs or stains or ultraviolet tests on the cruise. i figure I'd just as soon pick something up while cruising rather then at my job where I work with hundreds of drooling, runny nosed, spewing children each day! I figure- what a way to go!

 

[Scratch42]

Before we leave for FLA this week I will wrap the couch in Foil!

Hopefully he will not find another spot!LOL

Scratch

 

[tlens]

I am so grossed out.